“Next to the gift of life is technology, for it is
the greatest of God’s gifts. It offers the poor of the earth a short cut to
greatness and wealth, a way of getting rich by cleverness rather than
back-breaking labour” –Dyson, 1989.
Dyson’s quotes on technology applies to all goods and services used
by man for comfort, security, conservation of natural resources and
advancement. Imagine how the World would be without the use of various
technologies in our day to day activities. Wikipedia defines Technology as
the collection of techniques, skills, methods and processes used in the
production of goods or services or in the accomplishment of objectives, such as
scientific investigation. It can be extended to include knowledge of
techniques, processes, etc. or it can be embedded in machines, computers,
devices and factories which can be operated by individuals without detailed
knowledge of the workings of such things. In as much as the technology is
important in all facets of human endeavor, Technology has many negative effects.
Many technological processes produce unwanted by-products, such as pollution and
depletion of natural resources to the detriment of Earth's environment. Various
implementations of technology influence the values of a society and new technology often raises
new ethical questions. Examples include the rise of the notion of efficiency in terms of human productivity, a term
originally applied only to machines, and the challenge of traditional norms.
Despite this seeming disadvantage(s) of technology, there is no doubt that the
world population couldn't be fed without application of technology in all
aspects of agriculture.
The simple meaning of
technology is the use of science to invent useful things or to solve
problems. This means application of scientific knowledge to address problems or
improve productivity and efficiency is technology. Major professionals in the
vanguard of promoting technology utilization in man’s day to day life are the
engineers. Engineering is synonymous with technology provision and application.
No doubt, engineering has transformed the modern societies as it was the basis
of the industrial revolution. In
Nigeria, engineers have played significant roles in our developmental efforts
over the years. However, these roles are downplayed because of the nature of
our development as a nation with an under-developed economy. Engineers in
Nigeria are qualified like their counterparts in developed nations and given
the opportunity and right environment, they can do as well as their colleagues
in the developed nations. Among the crop of engineering professions, one of the
most relevant to our national rural developmental plan and food self
sufficiency is Agricultural Engineering. This 3 - series article is cataloguing
some of the breakthroughs made within the agricultural engineering sphere in
Nigeria. It is hoped that relevant stakeholders (industries, developmental
agencies and NGOs) will take the gauntlet to complete the race and make
end-users benefit from these innovations.
Agricultural
engineering is the application of engineering principles for the production,
processing management and utilization of bio-resources (agriculturally based
goods and services) as well as the management of our natural resources and
environment. The discipline concerns itself with development of labour-saving devices
and farm machines, farm buildings, irrigation and drainage systems, processes
for preserving and converting agricultural products to useful food, feed, and
fibre products. The Agricultural Engineer is a practically and intensively
trained individual. He designs and provides solutions to problems militating
against efficient agricultural production, harvests, processing, handling,
packaging, transportation and storage of agricultural products. Similarly, the
engineer addresses systemic problems such as interaction between machines and
humans, plants, animals, microorganism and biological materials. He/she develops
alternative and best uses for agricultural products, by-products, wastes and
our natural resources - soil, water, air, and energy. The Agricultural engineer
is constantly striving to ensure that the growing world population access basic
necessities of life: safe and abundant food and water to eat and drink; timber
and fibre for shelter and clothing; renewable energy resources; clean air; and
a safe, healthy environment in which to live. Prof. Makanjuola,
one of the first set of Nigerian Agricultural Engineers defined the profession
in 1977 as “that
field of engineering in which the physical and biological sciences are utilized
to find and apply better ways of exploiting natural resources for the
production, handling, processing and storing of food and fodder. It is also concerned with finding better ways
for carrying out such allied activities as rural housing and living.
Agricultural Engineering consequently involves the design, development,
testing, manufacturing, marketing, operation, maintenance, and repair of all
agricultural tools, implements, machines and equipment which are used in
mechanizing agricultural operations with the objective of raising the
productivity of human labour and land in the face of prevailing economical,
human and social realities of the time and place concerned.”
The uniqueness of the agricultural engineer is the
interest and commitment to solving problems and pursuing opportunities in all
the aforementioned areas and peculiar working environment. The biological and
economic constraints will continue to make this a challenging career. This is
why the Agricultural engineer’s training is usually broad with a wide coverage.
Before focusing on the breakthroughs of agricultural engineers in the Nigerian
environment, let us briefly understand what the word "Agriculture"
entails.
Agriculture is the production of
foods, fibre and forestry through farming. Agriculture was the key development
that led to the rise of human civilization, with the husbandry of domesticated
animals and crops, creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more
densely populated and stratified societies. Agriculture includes a wide variety
of specialties and techniques, encompassing ways to expand the lands suitable
for plant raising by digging water-channels and other forms of irrigation. Cultivation of crops on arable land and the
pastoral herding of livestock on rangeland remain at the foundation of
agriculture.
The range of achievements made by
agricultural engineers are diverse and uncountable as more than 50 universities
and polytechnics offer the programme at first degree/higher diploma, some up to
PhD level. Each year, the institutions produce and package research results
from students/staff projects addressed at solving specific agricultural
problems. The followings are few of such achievements;
Mechanical
Cassava Planter
Cassava is a major food crop in
many African countries. The crop tolerates relatively dry and harsh weather
conditions experienced in many parts of the African Continent. Nigeria and
Tanzania are among the major producers. Nigeria remains the dominant World
producer with an annual production in excess of 34 million metric tons while
Tanzania's production as at 2010 stood at 5.5 million metric tons. Cassava is used
as both an industrial crop as well as a food crop for many households in
Nigeria. Thus, it can be exported to generate foreign exchange for the country.
Cassava production is a highly labour intensive enterprise especially in
Nigeria where most production operations particularly planting and harvesting
are done manually. A one-row semi-automated mechanical cassava planter was
designed and fabricated by the combined efforts of two Nigerian Agricultural
Engineers and One Tanzanian Engineer. The Nigerians were Engrs Abdulgafar R. Kamal of National Centre for
Agricultural Mechanization (NCAM), Ilorin and Akeem O. Lawal of NAERLS, Ahmadu
Bello University, Zaria . The Tanzanian was Engr A. M. Kilemwa of Ministry of
Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives, Tanzania. The objective of their
research work was to develop a simple, efficient and affordable planter for
small and medium scale farmers. At the end of their research work, the feat was
successfully achieved. The single row,
tractor drawn planter required one
operator who feeds the planting materials as the planter is drawn by a tractor.
The results of the field tests were impressive- when the planter was operated
at an optimum speed of 3.7 km/h, the planter was able to plant cassava in one hectare
within a period of one hour. Traditionally, this will require twenty hefty able
men to plant the same area within the same period. The excellent features of
this planter are simplicity in design and operation, use of locally available
materials for its fabrication, and relatively low cost of construction and
maintenance. The planter developed seven years ago is currently being improved
as a two row planter. Rather than languishing on the shelf at NCAM as many
proven technologies do across Nigeria, Nigerian fabricators and Industrialists
could get on board under a suitable arrangement for its commercial production.
(to be continued)
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