LET US MECHANISE OUR AGRICULTURE SECTOR

Dear Editor,

FARM mechanisation, in basic terms, is the application of machinery to improve production.

This is very crucial for African countries, Zambia included, to mechanise because there are sad statistics which show that in a few years to come, the continent will eventually fail to feed its own population.

If we are to halt such eventualities or their chances, then Africa must really embrace and invest in farm mechanisation for, among other vital reasons, to increase production while reducing on labour.

Having been on the ground long enough, I know first-hand that most of our Zambian farmers are still using the hoe extensively.

But this good tool, which has served us faithfully for so many years, has some serious side effects which call for its immediate replacement.

Back pain and fatigue have also been reported resulting from too much bending when using the hoe. In addition, the hoe is very slow hence it's negative effect on a farmer's overall production rate and scale.

So why should we mechanise? The answer cannot be any clearer. If the Malabo Declaration of sending the "Hoe to the museum" is indeed to be realised, then we must start mechanising on a largescale today, not tomorrow - now, not in the future. Time waits for no man they say.

Sweating and breaking your back with a hoe does not necessarily mean that you are producing more.

If you invest wisely and welcome technology on your farm, you can do the same or even a job of a monster magnitude in the comfort of your tractor cabin while listening to your music and whistling.

Or you can jab hundreds of your animals using an automatic vaccination syringe while, through your headsets, listening to your favourite country music: "...loving you desperately... look what you've done to me..."

Recently at the Natural Resources Development College (NRDC), we witnessed the spraying of crops using drones.

This is just a drop in the farm high tech ocean. But let such displays sweep around the country, to our humble farmers specially, that they may see how their tomorrow looks like.

Dear fellow farmer, if you are subsistence, start striving now to become a small-scale farmer.

If you are a small-scale farmer, start striving now to become a commercial farmer. If you are not getting better they say, then you are getting worse.

Yes -we will face risks. Yes, we must make many sacrifices. Greatness is neither cheap nor for the faint hearted, any kind hearted German will tell you so.

And yes, we will overcome. We will produce enough food and animals for our families and friends, and enough to share with the world. Let us mechanise. Viva farmers!