Abstract

Nigeria’s rural sector accounts for no less than 98 “/;, of the 98.3 million hectares comprising the country’s land area. Out of the 71.2 million hectares cultivable in the rural sector, less than 35.6 million hectares (i.e. 50%) have as yet been brought under cultivation (Third National Development Plan, 1975-1980, p. 63). Bearing this in mind, in an environment where the various ecological zones involved favour the production of virtually all types of tropical agricultural products at practically any period of the year, it can be said that the potentials of the rural sector are still very immense. Although nearly 75% of the country’s estimated 80 million inhabitants constitute the rural communities (leaving outside population concentrations of 20,000 and over), the average population density of the country is as yet below 80 persons per sq. km (it was 60 per sq. km by the 1963 Census). This seems to suggest that there is still much room for expanding per capita production, given a rational system of land tenure.

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