This seminar looks at the prospects of agriculturalmechanization as a good strategy to ensuring food security, raw materials for agro-allied industries and enhanced financial status of farmers in Nigeria.

1. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL
AND BIOSYSTEMS ENGINEERING
SEMINAR
9th Edition

2. Agricultural Mechanization:
A Catalyst for Increased
Production of
Food, Raw Materials and
Rural Wealth

3. PRESENTER:
T. A. Adekanye
Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
Landmark University, Omu – Aran, Kwara State, Nigeria.
adekanye.timothy@lmu.edu.ng

4. Outlines
Overview of Nigerian Agricultural situation
Agricultural Mechanization: Concept, Objectives, Hindrances
and Solutions
My Research Contributions to Agricultural Mechanization
Suggestions for LU

5. Objective
This seminar looks at the prospects of
agricultural mechanization as a good
strategy to ensuring food security, raw
materials for agro-allied industries and
enhanced financial status of farmers in
Nigeria.

6. INTRODUCTION
Nigerian Agricultural Situation
• Nigeria is blessed with over 98.3million hectares of arable land-mass
and 2.5 million hectares of irrigable land, out of which 83 million ha
are suitable for cultivation but only 30 to 34 million ha presently
under cultivation (Oni,1996; FMANR, 2001; EEPC, 2003; Adekanye
and Ojediran, 2013)
• Nigeria has one of the best agro-ecology to grow variety of crops.
• Nigeria has not been able to take the best advantage of her climatic
conditions to produce enough food for the ever-increasing
population and raw materials for agro-based industries,
• Lack of appropriate farm power and machineries that can cater for
the requirements of small-scale farms has been identified as one of
the major causes low food production in Nigeria.

7. INTRODUCTION cont’d
• Agriculture was, until the discovery of oil, the mainstay of Nigerian economy;
provided employment for well over 60% of the population most of which were
resident in the remote and rural areas of the country (Anazodo et al., 1989),
• Though the Nigerian population engaged in farming then was high, most of
the farmers were peasants, hardly producing enough food crops to meet their
individual family requirements and in rare cases only small portion for export.
• In spite of these challenges, agriculture contributed to the national
development through provision of food, employment, raw materials, market
for inputs, source of foreign exchange through exports, etc.
• With the level of agricultural production then, the country was able to export
some agro-industrial raw materials such as cocoa, groundnut and oil palm
products while the country was self-sufficient in staple food crops such as
yam, cowpea, maize and rice

8. INTRODUCTION cont’d
The Challenge
• The population engaged in agricultural production has drastically reduced and
food consumption is all-year round, the use of machines and associated
devices have to be employed into Nigerian agriculture for sustainable food
production for the teeming populace, raw materials and wealth for the
farmers
• Reliance on hand tool technology has remained the greatest technical
problem because of low work rate efficiency (Asoegwu and Asoegwu, 2007;
Olayanju, 2016) ,
• To create a future in which every Nigerian would have a chance to live a
healthy and productive life, there must be transformation in the farmers
ability to produce food and raw materials for agro-industrial development,
which can be effectively implemented only by the adoption of agricultural
mechanization.

9. The Challenge cont’d
• This can be done by increasing agricultural productivity through
mechanization. This has been done in such other countries like in
China (Li, 2005) and in Oman (Ampratwum et al., 2004).
• Mechanization of agriculture helped transform American
agriculture from the situation where one farmer fed 5 people in
1880 to that where one farmer could feed 80 people in 1982 (Ani
and Onwualu, 2002).
• With 90% of Nigeria’s agricultural work done with hand tools, 7%
with animal-drawn tools and only 3% with engine powered
technology, it is understandable that self-sufficiency in food still a
mirage (Onwualu and Pawa, 2004).

10. Concept of Agricultural Mechanization
Agricultural mechanization is the application of mechanical
technology and increased power to agriculture, largely as a
means to enhance the productivity of human labour and to
achieve results well beyond the capacity of human labour.
This includes the use of tractors of various types as well as
animal-powered and human-powered implements and tools,
and internal combustion engines, electric motors, solar power
and other methods of energy conversion.
Mechanization also includes irrigation systems, food
processing and related technologies and equipment.

11. Agricultural Mechanization
11
Tillage &
seedbed
Preparation
Planting Fertiliser
Application
Irrigation Harvesting
Post
Harvesting
Inter Cultivation
Plant Protection
Mechanized Solutions for whole chain
Mechanization is clearly the answer to key performance parameter
at every stage of cropping cycle

12. Objectives of Mechanization
As a major agricultural production input and a catalyst for rural
development, mechanization aims to:
Reduce drudgery in farming activities, thereby enhancing lifestyles,
 Enhance timeliness and efficiency of farm operations; improves the
quality and value of work, produce and processed products,
provide employment (entrepreneurship) and sustainable rural
livelihoods,
 provide agriculture-led industrialization and markets for rural
economic growth,
Reduction of dependence on wasteful and low sources of farm
power,

13. Objectives of Mechanization Cont’d
Enhance the dignity of the farmer, therefore, serving as a
moral booster
Increase wealth generation through earnings from farming,
Reduce loses in crop handling, leading to Increases the
agricultural output per man hour.
reduce spoilage, waste and other losses of products.
develop new land for agriculture by clearing of obstructions
or by draining, levelling or other reclamation operations.
creates a greater measure of well-being for farm families.

14. Description of a Peasant farmer
“The man with the hoe”

15. Table 1: Sources of power for land preparation (% of total)
Human
Muscle Power
Draught
animal
Engine power
Sub-Saharan
Africa
65 25 10
East Asia 40 40 20
South Asia 30 30 40
Latin America
and the
Caribbean
25 25 50
Source: FAO, 2006.

16. Agriculture without Engineering
indigent dreadful
populated
by the
aged and
ageing
peasants
drudgery

17. Manual power vs Machine power

18. • Mechanization is the missing input
required for the intensification of
sustainable food production and agro-
raw materials.
• Application of modern agricultural
machines in the farms can enhance
production of food, agro-industrial
raw materials and economic status of
the farmers.
• Agricultural sector must be very
attractive, lucrative and dynamic like
other sectors of economy for
meaningful agricultural development,

19. Agro Allied industries
•Agro Allied industries or
Agro-based industries are
industries whose primary
raw materials are
agricultural products.
•Agriculture provides vital
resources and raw
materials to the industrial
sector.

20. Mechanized Agriculture and Agro Allied industries
Mechanized
Agriculture
Provides raw
materials to
industries
Industries
produce agro-
chemicals for
agriculture
uses
Industries
provide large
employment
opportunities
Improve
economic
status of
farmers
Industries supply
tools and
equipment like,
tractors, ploughs,
harvesters, etc
Enhance
food
production

21. EXAMPLES OF AGRO ALLIED INDUSTRIES AND THEIR RAW MATERIALS
Agro Allied Industries Raw Materials Used
Beverage Industry Coffee, cocoa and tea
Soap industries Oil seeds/oil
Feed mill Cereal and grains
Tyre industries Rubber latex
Sugar industries Sugar cane
Paper industries Pulp wood
Starch industry Cassava and maize
Breweries Cereals
Textile and Ginnery Cotton
Tobacco industry Tobacco leaves
Fruit canning industry Fruits
Oil milling industry Oil seed

22. Mechanization limiting factors
Land tenure
system
Poverty and lack of
credit facilities
Lack of
Technicians
Inconsistent Govt.
policies
Illiteracy of farmers
Poor infrastructures

23. SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS OF AGRICULTURAL MECHANIZATION

24. The Way Forward
 The government needs to develop conducive policies and strategies for
mechanization.
 Government must encourage local manufacturers of agricultural
machinery and equipment.
 Government should also ensure solid technological base for self-
sustaining local fabrication and mass production of tested prototypes by
(a) initiating and promoting the rapid and wide-spread development of
foundries and associated refractory materials.
(b) initiating and accelerating the pace of development of materials
science and engineering, including steel mills, heavy engineering plants,
alloy metals and special steels as areas of focus, and
(c) by initiating development and copy-creativity activities in the area of
machineries, tools and spare-parts.

25. The Way Forward cont’d
 Traditional agricultural engineering training is too limited and should be
expanded to include new areas such as emerging technologies, information
and communication technologies.
 Agricultural engineers should lead and guide developments in agro-bio-
technological evolution leading to better understanding of biological processes
and properties of biological materials to coincide with technological
developments in materials science and machinery,
 There is a need to sensitize and raise awareness at the local level of the
potentials of agricultural mechanization for development
 The rate of growth of agricultural production in Nigeria should increase
appreciably in order to mitigate hunger, diseases, raw materials dependence
on foreign sources and food importation, as well as to improve on the quantity
and quality of food per person and the well-being of the farmer and his family.

26. My Research Contributions to Agricultural
Mechanization

27. My Research Contributions to Agricultural Mechanization
My research focus in the past few years has been on the development of
agricultural machines with special emphasis on mechanization of small scale
agriculture. I have participated in mechanizing the following operations;
 planting (maize, cowpea and soybean),
 weeding,
 dehulling (locust beans seed)
 threshing (cowpea and soybean).
 Drying (maize)
 Juice extraction (Watermelon) and
 Preservation (evaporative cooling)

28. S
SOYBEAN THRESHER
EVALUATION OF THE THRESHER

29. MULTI-CROP PLANTER

30. EVAPORATIVE COOLING DEVICE

31. WATERMELON JUICE EXTRACTING MACHINE

32. LOCUST BEAN DEHULLING MACHINE

33. Conclusion
Appreciation to LU Management
1st Private University in Nigeria with ABE Dept.,
Scholarship to students in agricultural related courses
Excellent staff development
Well conducive academic environment
Regular salary
Some Suggestions for LU
More equipment for ABE and staff development
Synergy between ABE and others (LU farms, Teaching and Research farms, etc.)
Collaborative Research across Colleges and Departments.
Tractor shed