Farmers need good seeds to get a good harvest. They need fertiliser to increase yields. They also need farm implements to get bumper harvest. Using the hoe can only lead to low outputs after back breaking toil.
It is acknowledged in the National Development Plan (NDP) that, “the poor performance of the sector has resulted in deepening rural poverty and stalled GDP growth, which is barely able to keep up with population growth.”
So long that farmers are not provided with adequate quality seeds, appropriate fertiliser and mechanized farm implements on a large scale, poverty and food insecurity will continue to hunt us. If planners don’t know this, farmers know it.
