CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1                   GENERAL BACKGROUND AND THE SUBJECT MATTER

          The indispensable factor for sustainable agriculture advancement which has too often been missing in Enugu state projects in the past has been an effective blend between social and cultural development and agricultural technology. This is immensely difficult to achieve, but at least it is now becoming more focus or attention within the developing aim framework to the people in Enugu. This instance to Enugu Enugu state now needs to be linked to their willingness to integrate the management of natural resources into her economic planning for better agricultural improvement.

          They supply agricultural products to different parts of the nation. Their main product include palm oil, palm kernel oil, cassava, rice, cashew nut, livestock product etc. recently, this idea is diminishing due to the charges in climatic factors and other advance factors which this research will deal with.

          Consequently, the state cannot even boast of enough items to satisfy the citizen talk of exporting some as usual.

          In Enugu state, here are pleasant farmers who produce food crops for their own consumption with a few extra for sale and produce some export crops. and some who engage in livestock production that have a little for the people high rate of demand.

          There have been attempts in Enugu state to improve agriculture through modern mechanization but the attempts have not completely displaced the traditional mode of farming.

1.2     PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SUBJECT MATTER

          There are numerous problems which had been associated with the practice of agriculture in Enugu state. In some other developed state most of those problems have been partially if not wholly surmounted. In Enugu state however, farmer have continued to encounter a lot of problems. The farmer especially phinomer and those at ninth mile area. Udi local government area of the state is the one that these researches will review thus:

1.     Poor marketing system: the sole aim of commercial agriculture is profit making, but this cannot be achieved due to the following .the activities of middlemen who try to remove all the gain, create artificial scarcity. And non functional food commodity board for food crops, poor market channel for farm produce with poor storage facilities foe agricultural products based on all these fact lead to fluctuation in price system on agricultural products.

2.                 Farmers are not educated, poorly educated farmers are very conservative and are loss ready to accept technological changes or new ideas in agriculture. They do not know the modern trends in agriculture. This situation is aggrieved by the fact that there is no adequate extension service for farmers all types. Uneducated farmers, generally entrusted the use of new machines, generally mistrusted the use of new machines, chemicals and farming techniques the extension workers are not sent to the farmer in the  villages and where they exist at all, they are not enough to make any noticeable impact on the farmers for this reasons, the farmers remain ignorant of the latest farming techniques and the results of the research finding continues to eluide the farmer in different villages where they have no choice but to continue with their out dated system of farming.

3.                 There are no system basic ammonites in the local government of udi to be used by the farmers. Farm work is carried out mostly in the village areas but there are no pipe born water. Storing facilities, electricity etc. to aid the farmingsystem in the area e.g like use of light by incubator for egg process.

Cultural machines such as tractors, harvesters, incubators to alleviate this problem the state government should help farmers by making provision for loan, providing those agricultural equipment on hire basis and at reduce cost so that farmers will be able to make use of them, in order to boast on high agricultural output for the state. Government of Enugu state should through the agricultural development bank, liberalize the granting of loan to farmers at a reduced interest rates and with little or no securities, provided it is satisfied that such farmer is hard working who can repay the loan from the sale of his farm product the government should help by training and funding of the extension programmes, and encourages. Agricultural co-operative societies which will educate the farmers on how proper conservation tillage and crop rotation helps in preserving the soil fertility, for proper crop growth and agricultural output for the crop growth and agricultural output for the state. And also ways in which the farmer can subscribe for loan by the farmer through financial institute provided by the government for agricultural purpose e.g. agric bank.

4.                 The government of the state should provide the agencies responsible for environmental control for proper methods of prevention the degradation of the environment which will avoid act parasite and endoparasites attack of poultry product, causing considerable looses to poultry farmers. This agencies help in educating the industries around the areas and also education in the poultry farmers on how to keep proper maintenance of a high standard of sanitation in the poultry houses and the regular use of deworming drugs will help to keep worms in check.

1.3     THE IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING THE AREA.

1.                 To study or find out those problems encountered by farmers and to bring out possible solution to them.

2.                 To bring out guidelines on how to adopt an effective agricultural technological system.

3.                  To re-orientates the poor agricultural system in the state.

4.                 To extend the best method of agricultural practice system to the farmers.

5.                 It will also help farmers to loam from their past experience and make ways for proper implementation of modern agricultural technology.

6.                 It will also teach the farmer on ways to increase their knowledge of education in agricultural sector or practice.

7.                 It also enables or teaches the farmer on ways to obtain loan and benefit of having agricultural co-operative bank for adequate agricultural out put production.