Role Of Agriculture In Economic Growth And Poverty Reduction In Nigeria
Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic
DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL
Role Of Agriculture In Economic Growth And Poverty Reduction In Nigeria
ABSTRACT
The study sought to examine agriculture’s contribution in Nigerian economic growth and poverty alleviation. The data used came from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s statistical bulletin and the World Bank’s development indicators, and they covered a 33-year period from 1981 to 2014. The data was analysed using multiple regression.
The results demonstrated that agriculture has a considerable impact on Nigeria’s economic growth. It was also demonstrated that agriculture has a considerable impact on poverty alleviation in Nigeria. The other variable in the model, non-agricultural output, had no meaningful impact on poverty reduction.
The study thus recommends, among other things, that the government increase funding for Nigerian agriculture universities to conduct research on all aspects of agricultural production;
this will result in more exports and improve Nigeria’s agricultural reproduction competitiveness in international markets. The Central Bank of Nigeria should also develop a steady policy for loan distribution to farmers at a reasonable interest rate.
Chapter One: Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study.
Agriculture’s significance in economic growth and poverty alleviation has sparked widespread concern in both developed and developing countries. According to Nnadi (2005), agriculture is critical in addressing economic growth and poverty reduction, two of the most challenging difficulties confronting many countries around the world, particularly emerging countries where the majority of the population is deemed poor.
Evidence in Nigeria shows that the number of people living in poverty has continued to rise. The author went on to say that the rising profile of poverty in Nigeria is becoming concerning, as evidenced by empirical investigations.
In line with this, Ojo (2008) stated that Nigeria, a Sub-Saharan African country, has at least half of its population living in extreme poverty. The UN Human Poverty Index of 1999, which credited Nigeria with 41.6%, portrayed the situation more clearly, placing the country among the 25 poorest nations in the world.
As of 2004, Nigeria’s HPI (Human Poverty Index) value of 40.6 ranked 76th out of 102 developing countries for which the index was calculated. In the face of significant economic growth, the country has an increasing rate of poverty at both the regional and national levels, a high unemployment rate, high income disparity, low quality human capital, a large percentage of the population on welfare, and a high outflow of migrants.
Agriculture is the systematic cultivation and harvesting of plants and animals to provide food, feed, fibre, and other items (Akinboyo 2008). According to Brandt (2011), agriculture is the cultivation of land, growing and rearing animals for the aim of producing food for humans, animals, and industries.
It includes crop cultivation, livestock and forestry, fishing, processing, and marketing of agricultural products (Umaru & Zubairu, 2012). Agriculture, as defined in this study, is the cultivation of land, raising and rearing of animals for the goal of producing food for humans, animal feed, and raw materials for industries.Agriculture is ideally indispensable since it promotes economic development.
According to Romer (2008), economic growth is defined as an increase in an economy’s capacity to generate goods and services over time. Weil (2008) defined economic growth as the long-term extension of the economy’s productive capacity.
According to Acemoglu and Robinson (2012), economic growth is a positive change in a country’s output, or production. According to the authors, this description encompasses all components of an economy, including profits, taxes, and wages, as well as production rates. This study defines economic growth as an increase in an economy’s output over time.
Economic growth is essential since it can affect poverty levels. Poverty is defined as the inability to acquire fundamental capabilities such as proper nutrition, healthy living, the possession of skills to participate in economic and social life, and permission to participate in community activities, to name a few (Oyeranti&Olayiwola, 2005).
According to Alfa, Audu, and Otaida (2014), poverty is a condition in which an individual or a group of individuals or a community is unable to meet their basic material needs such as food, potable water, clothing, shelter, basic health care, education, lack of participation in the prevailing social standard of living, dignity, and having a limited chance of advancing their welfare only to the limit of their capabilities.
Poverty is defined as a state in which people are deprived of the good things in life and are unable to achieve the appropriate level of well-being and socially acceptable standard of living (Omobowale, 2014).
In this study, poverty is defined as a situation in which an individual is unable to meet an acceptable minimum standard of living, resulting in material deprivation, a lack of recreational opportunities, a lack of access to economic and political power, an inferiority complex, isolation, and social deregulation.
Poverty reduction is critical in the fight against poverty. According to Smith (2010), poverty reduction is an endeavour to rebuild the shattered economy and eliminate widespread destitution by government policy intervention in order to empower the poor and raise their overall standard of living. (Zimmerman, 2013) described poverty reduction as the creation of general conditions that allow men to live in dignity
where people are free to make their own life decisions, and where the poor become increasingly empowered to engage in social, political, and economic decision making.
Poverty alleviation is a major policy priority for many governments, particularly in emerging nations where the incidence is high. It is commonly understood that poverty reduction is a crucial condition for long-term economic growth and development. In this context, Nigeria is working to boost economic growth and eliminate poverty using sectoral and multi-sectoral approaches.
Agriculture, health, education, transport, housing, and finance are examples of sectoral approaches, while multi-sectoral approaches include the Directorate of Food, Roads, and Rural Infrastructures (DFRR1), the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Better Life for Rural Women, the Family Support Programme, and many others.
Agriculture has been shown to outperform other sectors of the Nigerian economy in terms of poverty reduction in recent years, as it provides the majority of employment, particularly among the poor.
Nigeria’s recent agricultural growth rate is close to the 6% target set for Africa by the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) initiative, and with this achievement, the Nigerian government has set an even higher target of 10% for overall agricultural growth (Olajide, Akinlabi, & Tijani, 2012).
The Nigerian government has implemented initiatives to continue this growth rate and expand agriculture’s sectoral contributions to GDP. Some of the policies include the New Agricultural Policy (NAP), the National Food Security Program (NSFP), the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategies (NEEDS), the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA)
the Rural Sector Development Strategy (RSDS), the Strategy Grains Reserves Programme (SGRP), fishery development, small ruminant production, and pasture grazing reserves. Agriculture has been shown to benefit the poor more than other sectors of the Nigerian economy (Osayemi, 2003).
Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic