Agricultural Mechanization as a Driver of Food Security: Insights from Benue and Niger States, Nigeria

Abstract

Agricultural mechanisation continues to remain within the realm of imagination of larger population of Nigeria farmers, despite huge budgetary outlays on mechanisation, machinery, financial disbursement, and trainings. The failure of attaining agriculture mechanisation amidst food insecurity calls for academic concern. This study engaged Resouce Based Theory to investigate agricultural mechanization as a driver of food security with insights from Benue and Niger States, Nigeria. The study adopts survey research design. The population of the study; Benue and Niger states totals 12,924,600 and this being a large and finite population, hence this study employed scientific sampling technique determination of Krejcie and Morgan (1970) to arrive at a sample size of 384. The study utilized primary data source elicited from a structured five Likert scale questionnaire. While descriptive statistics was used to check the influence of Agricultural mechanization as a driver of food security: Insights from Benue and Niger States, Nigeria. Findings from this study revealed that agriculture mechanisation is outside the reach of most farmers whose productivity is still connected with drudgery, sheer labour, and largely classified as small placeholder farmers. Findings from the study also establish that mechanisation strategies as seen by government and her agencies has not yet established direct link to the real farming communities for training, sensitisation, financial disbursement, and equipment distribution. Based on these findings, the study recommends that Benue and Niger States government should get farming communities buy-in on agriculture mechanisation, which could lead to community ownership.