Fertilizer Policy, Governance, and Agricultural Transformation in Nigeria: A Review of Political Economy from Historical Perspectives

Abstract

Given the increasing importance of policy and governance in economic development and the need for Nigeria to diversify her oil economy, this chapter provides a review of the literature with relevance to fertilizer policy environment in Nigeria. First, it discusses fertilizer policy era in Nigeria issues on fertilizer use and agricultural production in the country by presenting the fertilizer consumption and cereal yield between 1980 and 2014. Second, it explores fertilizer policy environment in Nigeria and then shows the structure of fertilizer procurement and its politics. Third, it examines Nigeria political economy performance given the six world governance indicators. The chapter concludes that the fertilizer policy instruments used by the Nigerian government cannot, on its own, sufficiently drive agricultural transformation but has to be combined with good governance economically and politically as well as to be intensified with other complementary modern inputs. Therefore, it is recommended that the Nigerian government should strengthen the governance structure and encourage intensification of agricultural inputs to revitalize her dwindling agriculture dominated by small holder farmers.