FOOD PRODUCTION IN NIGERIA
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FOOD PRODUCTION IN NIGERIA
ABSTRACT
This study utilises the situation of Nigeria’s food and agriculture sector to draw implications for developing African economic policy. Nigeria’s food and agricultural difficulties include low productivity and production as a result of variables such as limited access to input sources, the use of conventional technologies, and inefficient government and policy change.
Gender studies on 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 reality that, due to their lack of control over inputs and output, they frequently function on the outskirts of society. A framework
The document advocates for a transition. This will be accomplished by consciously incorporating gender as a separate variable into development programming and projects. This ensures, among other things, that production inputs reach the true producers, many of whom are small-scale female farmers.
Thus, the question is not whether African economic development policy is required. It is how soon the development of African rural economies may be stimulated.
CHAPITRE ONE
INTRODUCTION
HISTORY OF THE STUDY
Nigeria’s post-independence development initiatives have yielded varied results. These outcomes are largely owing to the growth-oriented approach to development planning, which emphasised growth in macroeconomic variables such as GDP, investment, and so on.
As a result, Nigeria saw progress until the 1970s. GDP growth averaged 4% per year in the 1950s, 3.5% per year in the 1960s, and 6.5% per year in the 1970s (Diejomaoh, 1984). In the 1970s, growth rates were very impressive: 8.7% in 1976-77, 7.5% in 1977-78, and 8.8% in 1979-80. However, performance in many sectors was subpar. The agricultural industry, in particular, underperformed.
Agriculture provided 61.2% of GDP and was the country’s main foreign exchange earner when the first National Development Plan was implemented (1962-68). Planning efforts focused on industrialization, while the focus on industry resulted in the neglect of agriculture.
The discovery and utilisation of crude oil in Nigeria exacerbated this disregard. The ‘oil boom’ made Nigeria overly reliant on oil earnings, to the detriment of other sectors, particularly agriculture.
The agricultural sector’s neglect meant that it was unable to meet expectations, such as providing employment opportunities, self-sufficiency in food production, increased per capita income, foreign exchange revenues, and industrial raw materials (Federal Ministry of National Planning, 1975).
Instead, the results were rising food prices, rising food import bills, a decline in traditional exports, and increased rural-urban migration. Food and beverage imports increased from N61,6 million in 1970 to N2,1 billion by 1981 (Adeyemo, 1984).
Food production has been dropping in per capita terms. Attempts were undertaken to revitalise the agriculture sector during the Third Development Plan Period (1975-1980). Food demand was anticipated to expand at a 3.5% annual rate, while food production grew at a 1% annual rate.
If no attempts were made to boost food production, rising food deficits were to be expected. 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 being the attainment of self sufficiency in food within the plan period.
During the Fourth Plan period, the Green Revolution Programme was launched, as were various other agricultural initiatives. However,
As shown in Table 1, total food production did not increase considerably, nor did per capita food output.
Food production has decreased. While Nigeria could finance food import bills, food production deficits could be absorbed. However, the 1980s oil glut resulted in dwindling foreign exchange reserves and an inability to pay for food or raw material imports.
This, combined with rising foreign debt, suggests that the economy must be revitalised. The notion of’structural adjustment’ was the dominant economic policy instrument of the 1980s for achieving greater balance in developing countries’ economy. Nigeria implemented the Structural Adjustment Programme in 1986. Among its goals were the following (Central Bank of Nigeria, 1986):
* Restructure and diversify the economy’s production base to lessen reliance on the oil sector and imports
* attain fiscal and payment-balance viability
* establish the foundation for reasonable non-inflationary growth
* reduce the dominance of unproductive investments in the public sector, improve sector efficiency, and increase the private sector’s development potential.
The emphasis was to be on demand management policies such as (Ikpeze, 1988):
* reduction in recurring spending through wage restraint and employment freezes
* A reduction in transfers to parastatals, along with a cost-recovery policy.
In addition to monetary, fiscal, and external policy measures, several sectoral policies were enhanced to broaden and diversify the economy’s production base. For example, in the agriculture sector, the main goals were to:
* boost domestic food production to improve nutritional standards and eliminate food imports
* Increase raw material supply to the manufacturing sector
* Increase exportable cash crop production
* Increase rural employment and earnings.
The overall focus was on achieving self-sufficiency in food production and basic raw resources. Among the measures implemented were:
* the government’s withdrawal from direct participation in food
* establishing, in collaboration with state governments, the Directorate of Food, Roads, and Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI).
* Providing private farmers with the essential support services.
Since the implementation of the Structural Adjustment Programme in 1988, an Agricultural Policy has been implemented.
This was a comprehensive policy package designed to improve the performance of the nation’s agriculture industry during the next fifteen years. The policy’s key objectives were as follows (Central Bank of Nigeria, 1988):
* achieving self-sufficiency in food production
* Self-sustaining agricultural growth.
Policy instruments used to attain these goals included:
* selected farm input and equipment subsidies to lower agricultural production costs and producer prices
* Tariff rules to encourage exports while discouraging non-essential imports
* advantageous fiscal and credit policies to boost agricultural commodities’ competitiveness on global markets
* An examination of land acquisition and allocation rules in support of agriculture.
Among the strategies used to achieve these goals were (Central Bank of Nigeria, 1988).
* Ecological specialisation in agricultural production, livestock production, and forestry production
* promoting all production scales, including large, medium, and smallsca1e
Farming
* input supply, i.e. government production/procurement and distribution of relevant agricultural inputs
* the expansion and rationalisation of the numerous government support services
While the Federal Government is responsible for providing a general policy framework:
State governments were to be primarily responsible for agricultural development.
* Extension service promotion
* ensuring effective access to farmland
* participation in the training and development of appropriate personnel
* State-level pest and disease control
* State-level agricultural credit administration
* supply of storage in order to keep prices stable.
Local governments were to help with extension services, rural infrastructure, and farmer organisation promotion, while the private sector was expected to lead in investment and farm produce production, marketing, processing, and storage.
It was also anticipated to participate in input supply and distribution, agricultural mechanisation, research, and basic infrastructure development (Central Bank of Nigeria, 1988).
Thus, self-sufficiency in food production has been an overarching goal for Nigeria’s agricultural sector over the years. Self-sufficiency in food production indicates that Nigeria should generate enough food to feed itself and, if possible, have a surplus to sell.
Historically, agricultural policy have tended to focus on male farmers, who raise the majority of cash crops exported a: utilised as industrial raw materials. However, available data increasingly shows that
Rural women dominate food crop cultivation and processing in Nigeria, as they do in many other Mrican countries. This project investigates the survey of food production in Edo State’s Orhionmwon Local Government Area.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Agriculture was the primary driver of the Nigerian economy until the 1970s, when petroleum became crucial. Agricultural exports fueled the economy. Even so, the food sub-sector was stagnant at the time. As a result, the entire agricultural industry saw stagnation and decline.
As a result, agriculture has been unable to spearhead the development of the Nigerian economy for much of the time since around 1970. Even the 1980s Structural Adjustment Policy (SAP) was unable to bring about agricultural prosperity. Much of the increase in agricultural growth indices was fictitious, with little change in real terms. This study will detail some of the issues that the agricultural sector is now dealing with:
i. Capital-related issues
ii. Land acquisition procedure
iii. a scarcity of farming machinery
iv. Agricultural produce marketing
v. Inadequate road network and
vi. Neglect on the part of the government.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
This study is based on a food production survey. As a result, the goal of this research is to:
1. Determine the amount of food and agricultural production in the research area.
2. The current issue confronting the agricultural industry.
3. Determine the government’s role in food production.
4. Determine the farmers’ source of capital.
5. Determine how the farmers promote their products.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. Does increasing domestic food production enhance nutritional standards and reduce the need for food imports?
2. Does the government’s disengagement from the agriculture sector affect the country’s food production?
3. Does providing farmers with the appropriate support services boost food production in Nigeria?
4. Does the government enact measures that benefit farmers?
5. Is Nigeria self-sufficient in terms of food production?
6. Is the land acquisition policy favourable to farmers?
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY
Since the Colonial Era, the government has ignored Nigerian food production. This bolstered the shaky idea that Nigeria has enough food to feed the country. It wasn’t until the latter half of the 1970s, when the government took steps to increase food production, that the government acknowledged that there is a food crisis in this country.
However, the government’s actions had little impact on food crop production and cash crop production. It is amusing that many plans in which the government took the initiative and fully mobilised her institutions had little influence, whereas programmes in which the government was hesitant to begin had the greatest impact on agricultural productivity.
It is clear that governmental or semi-governmental agricultural institutions, which are designed to improve agricultural productivity in the country, have been ineffective rather than helpful. As a result, this study will be useful to both the government and private farmers.
This research will also provide information about the amount of food production in Nigeria. Identifying the difficulties that agricultural sectors face and possible solutions.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
This study is named “A survey on food production” and is limited to the Orhionmwon Local Government Area of Edo State.
DEFINITION OF TERMS Food:
SAP stands for Structural Adjustment Programme.
Agricultural Policy: This refers to legislation enacted by the government to oversee the country’s agricultural industries.
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