FOOD PRODUCTION IN NIGERIA
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FOOD PRODUCTION IN NIGERIA
ABSTRACT
This article examines the Nigerian food and agricultural sector to draw conclusions on the implications of economic policy for African growth. Nigeria’s food and agricultural difficulties include low productivity and production, which are caused by factors such as limited access to input sources, the use of conventional technologies, and inadequate government and reform initiatives.
Gender studies in Nigerian agriculture show that women play an important role in Africa’s rural economy as food and agricultural producers, processors, and merchants.
In this study, their strategic position is contrasted with the fact that they frequently function on the outskirts of society due to their limited control over inputs and outputs. A paradigm.
The document advocates a transition. This will be accomplished by deliberately incorporating gender as a separate variable into development programming and projects. This will ensure, among other things, that production inputs reach the actual producers, many of whom are small-scale female farmers.
The question is therefore not whether economic development policy should be implemented in Africa. It is how rapidly it is possible to encourage the development of African rural economies.
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Development initiatives in Nigeria after independence have yielded uneven results. These findings are largely owing to the growth-oriented approach to development planning, which prioritised increase in macroeconomic variables such as Gross National Product (GNP), investment, and so on. Thus, Nigeria had progress until the 1970s.
The average annual rate of GDP growth was 4% in the 1950s, 3.5% in the 1960s, and 6.5% in the 1970s (Diejomaoh, 1984). Growth rates in the 1970s were quite high: 8.7% in 1976-77, 7.5% in 1977-78, and 8.8% in 1979-80. However, many sectors performed poorly. The agricultural industry, in particular, performed quite poorly.
When the first National Development Plan (1962-68) was introduced, agriculture accounted for 61.2% of GDP and was the country’s primary foreign exchange earner. Planning efforts focused on industrialisation, which resulted in the neglect of agriculture.
This neglect was exacerbated by the discovery and extraction of crude oil in Nigeria. The ‘oil boom’ made Nigeria heavily dependent on oil earnings, to the detriment of other sectors, particularly agriculture.
The agricultural sector’s neglect prevented it from performing its planned functions, such as providing employment opportunities, self-reliance in food production, higher per capita income, foreign exchange revenues, and industrial raw materials (Federal Ministry of National Planning, 1975).
Instead, rising food costs, rising food import expenses, a reduction in conventional exports, and increased rural-urban migration were the outcomes. Imports of food and drinks increased from N61.6 million in 1970 to N2.1 billion in 1981.
Food production per capita has been falling. During the Third Development Plan Period (1975-1980), attempts were undertaken to restore the agriculture sector.
Food demand is expected to grow at a pace of 3.5% per year, while food production grows at only 1% per year. As a result, rising food deficits were predicted if no efforts were taken to enhance food production.
One of the agricultural sector’s objectives for the fourth plan period was to (Federal Ministry of National Planning, 1981): promote increased production of food and other raw materials to meet the needs of a growing population and rising industrial production; a basic goal in this regard is to achieve food self sufficiency within the plan period.
The Green Revolution Programme was launched during the Fourth Plan period, as were a number of other agricultural measures. However,
Table 1 demonstrates that total food output did not expand considerably, and per capita
Food production has dropped. While Nigeria might cover food import costs, food production shortages may be absorbed. However, the oil glut of 1980 resulted in diminishing foreign cash and an inability to pay for food or raw material imports.
This, combined with rising foreign debt, suggests the need for an economic overhaul. The notion of’structural adjustment’ was a prominent economic policy instrument used in the 1980s to achieve greater balance in developing countries’ economy.
The Structural Adjustment Programme was implemented in Nigeria in 1986. The Central Bank of Nigeria’s 1986 objectives included:
* Restructure and diversify the production basis of the economy to lessen reliance on the oil sector and imports.
* Ensure fiscal and balance of payments viability.
* establish the foundation for reasonable, non-inflationary growth.
* Reduce the dominance of unproductive investments in the public sector, increase its efficiency, and boost the private sector’s growth prospects.
The focus was to be on demand management policies, which included (Ikpeze, 1988):
• Reducing recurring expenditure by limiting pay increases and employment freezes
* Reduced transfers to parastatals, along with a cost-recovery mechanism.
In addition to monetary, fiscal, and external policy measures, several sectoral policies have been tightened to broaden and diversify the economy’s production base. In the agriculture sector, for example, the primary goals were to:
* Increase domestic food production to raise nutritional standards and eliminate food imports.
* Increase the supply of raw materials for the manufacturing sector
* Increase production of exportable cash crops
* Increase rural employment and earnings.
The overall focus was on achieving self-sufficiency in food production and basic raw resources. The measures adopted included:
* withdrawal of the government from direct involvement in food
* Establishing the Directorate of Food, Roads, and Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI) in collaboration with state governments.
* Provide critical support services to private farmers.
An Agricultural Policy was introduced in 1988, following the passage of the Structural Adjustment Programme. This was a comprehensive policy package that would be implemented over the next fifteen years to improve the performance of the country’s agriculture industry. The primary objectives of the policy were (Central Bank of Nigeria, 1988):
* achievement of self-sufficiency in food production.
* Self-sustaining growth in the agricultural sector.
Policy mechanisms used to attain these aims included:
* Providing selected subsidies on farm inputs and equipment to lower the cost of agricultural output and producer pricing
* Tariff laws to encourage exports and deter non-essential imports
* favourable fiscal and lending parameters to boost the competitiveness of agricultural goods in global markets.
* A reassessment of land acquisition and allocation laws in support of agriculture.
Strategies for achieving these objectives included (Central Bank of Nigeria, 1988).
* Ecological specialisation in agriculture, livestock, and forest production.
* promoting all sizes of production, namely large, medium, and tiny.
Farming
* input supply, that is, the government’s production, procurement, and distribution of relevant agricultural inputs
* expanding and rationalising the many support services provided by the government
While the Federal Government will establish a general policy framework:
Agricultural development would be predominantly the responsibility of state governments.
* Promotion of Extension Services
* Ensuring effective access to farmland
* participation in training and development of appropriate professionals.
* Pest and disease management at the state level
* Agriculture credit administration at the state level
* Provision of storage for price stability.
Local governments were to help with extension services, rural infrastructure, and farmer organisation promotion, while the private sector was expected to play a key role in investment, as well as farm production, marketing, processing and storage. It was also expected to contribute to input supply and distribution, agricultural mechanisation, research, and basic infrastructure development (Central Bank of Nigeria, 1988).
Thus, achieving self-sufficiency in food production has long been a top priority for Nigeria’s agricultural sector. Self-sufficiency in food production suggests that Nigeria should produce enough food to feed itself while also having a surplus to export if possible.
Historically, agricultural policy have tended to focus on male farmers, who raise the majority of cash crops exported for use as industrial raw materials. However, current data indicates that
Rural women dominate food crop cultivation and processing in Nigeria, as they do in many other Mrican countries. This project examines a food production survey in Edo State’s Orhionmwon Local Government Area.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Agriculture used to be the primary driver of the Nigerian economy, particularly until the 1970s, when petroleum became vital. Agricultural exports propelled the economy forward. However, even at that point, the food sub-sector was stagnant. As a result, the entire agricultural industry saw stagnation and decline.
Thus, for much of the period beginning about 1970, agriculture has been unable to spearhead Nigeria’s economic development. Even the 1980s Structural Adjustment Policy (SAP) failed to promote agricultural development. Much of the gain in agricultural growth indexes was nominal, with little change in real terms. This study will explain some of the issues that the agricultural sector is facing today:
I. Capital problems
ii. Method of Land Acquisition
iii. Lack of farm machinery
iv. Marketing of farm products
v. Poor road infrastructure and
vi. Neglect by the government.
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
This research focusses on a survey of food production. Therefore, the goal of this study is to:
1. Determine the level of food and agricultural production in the research area.
2. A problem confronting the agricultural industry now.
3. Identify the government’s role in food production.
4. Identify sources of capital for farmers.
5. Identify how farmers promote their products.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
1. Does increasing domestic food production enhance nutritional standards while eliminating food imports?
2. Does the government’s withdrawal from agriculture reduce the country’s food production?
3. Does providing critical support services to farmers boost food production in Nigeria?
4. Does the government make policies that benefit farmers?
5. Is Nigeria self-sufficient in food production?
6. Is the land acquisition policy in favour of farmers?
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Nigerian food production has been neglected by the government since the Colonial Era. This reinforced the questionable idea that Nigeria has enough food to feed the country.
It was not until the later half of the 1970s, when the government implemented measures to increase food production, that the government acknowledged that there is a food crisis in the country.
However, the government’s actions had minimal impact on food and cash crop production. It is amusing that many plans in which the government took the initiative and fully mobilised its institutions had little influence, whereas programs in which the government was hesitant to begin had the greatest impact on agricultural production.
It is clear that governmental or semi-governmental agricultural organisations, which are designed to boost agricultural productivity in the country, were ineffective and even hampered. As a result, this study will benefit both the government and private farmers.
This study will also shed light on the amount of food production in Nigeria. Identifying the agricultural sector’s problems and potential solutions.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY:
This study is named “A survey on food production” and is limited to Edo State’s Orhionmwon Local Government Area.
Definition of TermsFood:
SAP: Structural Adjustment Programme.
Agricultural Policy: This refers to government-enacted rules that regulate the country’s agricultural industries.
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