Abstract
Agriculture is key to overall economic growth and development of African countries like Nigeria. A suitable policy that charts a clear roadmap to large scale and commercial agricultural production is necessary to achieving food sufficiency and exports. This paper reviews the Nigerian Agriculture Promotion Policy 2016 – 2020 (APP) in order to determine how it addresses the challenges that have stifled the growth of agriculture in Nigeria, and the attendant negative impacts on the socio-economic development of the country. The adopted methodology is a desk review and content analysis of the Policy Document, together with other literature on Nigeria’s experience in agriculture policy administration. This paper finds that the APP clearly provides a new paradigm in approach and processes towards attaining food security and foreign exchange earnings in Nigeria’s agricultural production in the short, medium and long terms. This paper however recommends that in order for the APP to endure for stable and consistent implementation of its long term solutions to Nigeria’s agricultural challenges, it should be presented to the National Assembly for enactment as a piece of legislation. This is necessary to sustain the current successes and realize the future potentials of Nigeria’s agricultural production as suitably laid out in the APP. Keywords: Agriculture policy, agricultural production, economic development, food security, foreign exchange earnings DOI : 10.7176/PPAR/9-3-07 Publication date :March 31 st 2019
Highlights
In developing African countries millions of people are engaged in agriculture
In Nigeria the limitation of small scale farming or subsistence agriculture is that it leads to rural-urban migration of young people who leave behind an ageing farming population that cannot sustain agricultural production sufficient enough to cater for the food needs of the country
The thrust of this paper is to closely examine the Nigerian new Agriculture Promotion Policy 2016 – 2020 in order to determine what it offers and how it addresses the challenges that have stifled the growth of agriculture in Nigeria, and the attendant negative impacts on the socio-economic development of the country
Summary
In developing African countries millions of people are engaged in agriculture. But for many decades this has been largely on a small scale or subsistence level, and mostly as a source of livelihood for rural dwellers. The thrust of this paper is to closely examine the Nigerian new Agriculture Promotion Policy 2016 – 2020 in order to determine what it offers and how it addresses the challenges that have stifled the growth of agriculture in Nigeria, and the attendant negative impacts on the socio-economic development of the country. In order to fully understand the context in which the Policy can be distinguished from previous agriculture policies in Nigeria, the paper highlights the milestones in the history of agriculture polices in the country This approach is important because the Agriculture Promotion Policy 2016 – 2020 needs to be appreciated from the perspective of how it presents a new paradigm to ensure domestic food security and foreign exchange earnings in agricultural production in Nigeria
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