Feeding the Future: Mechanized Farming and Food Accessibility

Agriculture as we all know by now is the backbone of life. Human beings need food and water to survive. They say we are what we eat, and this means that we wouldn’t be here in the first place without what to eat. What we eat is very important and that’s why so much is being invested in it.

There’s no day that we wake up and say we won’t eat. Even if we all agreed to that, we will still have people who will break that plan and eat because food is good for us all. I didn’t study agriculture but a few years back, I developed an interest in it when I moved up north to school. They say food is cheaper in the north but here in Ghana, food is rather cheaper down south. That is my point of view, someone may agree otherwise.

I’ve been to so many farm ranging from a few acres to hundreds and have seen the differences. We have people who farm just for their family and sell a small amount of what they harvest. These people have about one to 5 acres of land. They usual don’t use any machines aside the little fertilizers they are able to buy.

And then we have those who are into agriculture full time. These people have hindered a of acres of land where they cultivate a variety of crops for our consumption. These people provide their produce to big dealers in the big markets who also distribute to smaller businesses. And this is where the real money is. These people make use of huge tractors, harvesters and many other machines and they have the money to maintain these machines.

Aside the farming and selling aspect which has always been the olden way ,the government and so many organizations are helping young agriprenuers scale up their business ideas in the agricultural field and I happen to be one of these lucky people even though I’m not directly working with farmers or food stuff. I’m in the field of agricultural waste management but I know people who have developed apps that connect seller to buyers in bigger cities. You just need to log into the website, connect to a seller, speak to them and settle everything on there. Then your produce is delivered to you safe and sound.

My only problem with these websites and apps is the fact that they are sometimes difficult to navigate given the fact that most of these farmers are illiterate and also these websites do not undergo constant maintenance and updates to meet the current market. If I had the chance to come up with an app that would help farmers and buyers, these are the first things I would tackle and I would also make sure everything is simple, swift and easy for us all.

At the end of the day, the main goal is for everyone to eat.

all images belong to me.