The Prospects of Agriculture in Nigeria: How Our Fathers Lost Their Way - A Review

Abstract

The Nigerian agricultural sector was a resilient sustainer of the economy and the Nigerian people in terms of food supply, employment and national income generation. This was possible as a result of focused regional based policy and commodity comparative and absolute advantage. However, the sector has struggled to perform the above stated functions since the 1980s due to policy neglect, economic distraction and economic indiscretion of successive Nigerian government. The exploration of crude oil in commercial quantity and the “oil boom” experienced in Nigeria in the 1970s heralded an era of decay and decline in agricultural output and the overall contribution of the sector to the economy changing Nigeria’s perception of the place and role of agriculture in national development considerably over time. The policies, strategies and schemes used to address issues relating to the contribution of agriculture to the country’s development also changed with this perception making different dynamic strategies spelt out in policy programs overlap and difficult to separate into appropriate time phases. In this review, an attempt is made to awaken the consciousness of the average Nigerian to some areas of negligence, economic indiscretion and policy inadequacy on the part of successive administrations in Nigeria since political independence from which the current precarious condition of the Nigerian agricultural sector may have resulted. A number of recommendations on possible ways to salvage the situation in the sector have been highlighted.