AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT DRIVERS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH OF NIGERIA (1970-2015).
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AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT DRIVERS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH OF NIGERIA (1970-2015).
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Agriculture is regarded to be the cornerstone and bedrock on which the creation of stable human communities has been based across the universe, including rural and urban communities.
Agriculture is the practice of cultivating land, raising animals, and producing food for humans, animals, and industries. It includes crop production, livestock and forestry, fishing, processing, and marketing of agricultural products.
The study of economic history provides abundant evidence that the agrarian revolution is a necessary precondition for economic progress.
The agriculture sector has the ability to serve as a catalyst for a country’s industrial and economic growth.
Indeed, agricultural operations are typically concentrated in less developed rural areas that require rural transformation, redistribution, poverty reduction, and socioeconomic development.
Production is only complete when it reaches the end consumers. To this purpose, the importance of agriculture in reshaping an economy’s social and economic framework cannot be overstated (Simon Kuznet 1966).
According to Jerzy W. (2013), agriculture is any activity that combines labour, land or soil, living animals, plants, solar energy, and so on; the Minister of Agriculture is the Minister of the Beginning of Life.
People that participate in that type of activity are doing something exceptional. In recognition of this important role, the Minister of Agriculture and the Federal Government of Nigeria have taken significant steps to handle agriculture as a serious political, economic, and investment concern in Nigeria.
It is also a source of food and raw materials for the industrial sector; it is also critical for expanding employment opportunities, reducing poverty, and improving income distribution, as well as accelerating industrialization and relieving pressure on the balance of payments. In effect, it has served as a source of profitable employment for the country’s growing population, as well as a steady source of government revenue.
Despite the different agricultural policies in place, agriculture in Nigeria has progressed slowly. In fact, the government has recognised the unhealthy state of Nigeria’s agricultural sector since 1970, and has developed and implemented a variety of projects and measures to address the situation.
These efforts included the establishment of large-scale mechanised farms by the state and federal governments, as well as the implementation of programmes like the River Basin Development Authority.
The Agricultural Credit Scheme was adopted by successive governments (Omobowale 2009).
Despite these initiatives, agricultural development has been modest, with little impact on economic growth and development.
Nigeria’s economic growth has been mostly driven by persistent agricultural expansion. According to Nigeria Vision 2020’s first implementation plan for 2010-2013, the agriculture sector accounted for 73% of GDP growth from 1999 to 2009.
With real growth averaging around 70% per year from 2004 to 2008 and value added at 42% of GDP during the same period, Nigeria’s agricultural sector clearly stands out as the most dominant and leading component of economic growth (CBN Annual Report and financial statements 2008).
Agricultural growth is linked to performance in four sub-sectors: crops, livestock, fisheries, and forests.
On average, the agriculture sub-sector accounted for the most growth, followed by livestock, forestry, and the fishery sector, all of which expanded significantly after 1974.
Among all of these, the crops subsector continues to dominate Nigeria’s agricultural economy. As a result, the crop sub-sector’s performance has had a significant impact on the agriculture sector’s growth.
Prior to independence, the agriculture industry accounted for the majority of Nigeria’s GDP.According to Helleiner (1966), in 1929, export production accounted for 57% of Nigerian revenue, with agriculture accounting for around 80% of exports.
When Nigeria gained political independence in 1960, the trend remained remarkably similar; the Nigerian economy could reasonably be regarded as an agricultural economy because agriculture served as the engine of growth for the entire economy (Ogen 2003).
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