Farm in an Igbo community, source: vanguard news.
Good day or evening everyone from all over the world, I trust we’re all doing well. In today’s topic, I will love to talk deeply about agriculture in Africa. I’m very happy that Agriculture is something that is taken seriously in Africa. Ranging from crop farming to livestock farming, the continent of Africa has been known to produce the most natural farm produce one will ever find anywhere in the world. By this I mean that farm produce are not bio or genetically engineered. They are as fresh as how God created them. I’m just writing this to encourage my brothers and sisters to keep investing in agriculture. Good thing is that those in the villages are doing that very often which is commendable but how about those in the urban areas? They are my major focus for this write up.
The following are reasons why I believe as a people, we should farm or plant gardens more.
1. Beautifies the compound
Part of the section of the compound which surrounds the house at the village can be used as a demand for different plants and vegetables. I wish most houses in the city had been designed to have little fruits and vegetables garden. Some are but due to underdevelopment, houses can be built without proper planning by the authorities leading to overcrowding or pollution of a suburb or town. Houses should be designed by licensed architects who understand the importance of greeneries and will incorporate them into every design to help preserve nature and beautify the compound with beautiful flowers, fruits and flowers.
2. Availability of food/reduction of expenses
With the rising hunger in the country, at least someone that farms or gardens consistently will have something to eat and quench their appetite. Not everyone will afford the money to buy food at the market but growing one’s food will be cheaper and will even make food an accessible item for you and your family. For those in the urban areas who don’t have time to garden or farm, you can always till the soil from time to time and water for a while or employ a gardener to help you take care of it so that the plants don’t wither.
3. It provides Therapy
The act of caring for nature whether it is by cultivating the soil, watering of plants, harvesting of plants and even staring at it have a way of providing effective psychological healing to individuals everyday. Same thing goes for people who live by the water bodies. They get the chance to view the beautiful ocean or rivers together with their homegrown plants blossoming each day. It provides this feeling of happiness and satisfaction which improves one’s mental health in the long run.
4. It can be used as a source of income
Like I mentioned previously, having a home garden saves one monetary expenses but at the same time it can add to one’s savings or income. Even if you have a job already, you can decide to sell some of your produce at very affordable prices that can help you fetch good amount of money overtime. This is how having a garden provides you a golden opportunity to earn income but my quick advice will be to make sure you preserve a reasonable amount of your bountiful harvest for your family always. Always is the word dears.
5. Improvement of physical health
I previously mentioned how gardening can improve the mental health of an individual. Now I must include the physical health of which I believe most of us know the benefits. From blood production (vegetables) to strength and calories (tubers and grains) to various vitamins (fruits) to proteins (legumes), etc. The benefits are numerous to ignore.
While I’ve mentioned the crop cultivation, don’t forget livestock farming is still very much part of agriculture. Though not everyone will engage in it, most people who decide to do it, do it solely for business purposes. It can be capital intensive too considering the amount of things needed to rear the animals and ensure they are in healthy state. I wish those in this line of business the best and I pray God crowns all your efforts will massive success. Remember your farms also provide oxygen which will also improve air circulation in your compound. Anyone who has an existing piece of land and feels they don’t have much space at home, or even has more money can extend their farmlands which will even be a great investment for everyone in the family.
No comments:
Post a Comment