Abstract:
The global food consumption is expected to double by the year 2050 and this calls for an increase in the world
food production. The situation is even more challenging for sub-Sahara Africa where there will be more rapid
population growth (from 770 million in 2005 to between 1.5 and 2 billion in 2050). However, unlike other
developing countries in Asia, the level of agricultural mechanization in Sub-Sahara Africa is still very low and is
faced with a number of constraints. It is important for the attention of governments and other institutions to be
drawn to these for immediate intervention to be taken. The objective of this paper was to identify some of the
factors responsible for the present abysmally low level of agricultural mechanization in the Sub-Saharan Africa
and proposed the way out of the doldrums within the shortest possible time. The identified factors which
constitute main constraints to agricultural mechanization in most Sub-Saharan African countries include lack of
adequately trained personnel with the required technical expertise, low level of research and extension activities
on appropriate technologies for land preparation, crop harvesting and post-harvest operations; unfavourable and
inconsistent government policies and interventions which work at cross purposes with agricultural
mechanization
