Rural Development In Nigeria Research Articles

Women in agriculture in Nigeria: Problems and policies for development

This paper focuses on the involvement of Nigerian Women in Agriculture. A total of 600 women was selected for study in three different areas of Nigeria (West, North and East) in order to capture differences in the socio-economic activities of the women. A ranking of the socio-economic activities of the women studied indicated that their most important activity was the care of children, followed by house-keeping and then trading. A ranking of the women's preferred socio-economic activity revealed that the women would like to spend less time on home-related activities to increase time spent on farming, processing and trading. On an overall basis, trading was the women's most important occupation outside the home, followed by farming. Yoruba women of Western Nigeria are more often traders than Ibo women of Eastern Nigeria, who are often farmers. The Hausa/Fulani women of Northern Nigeria are positioned between the two other groups with respect to their involvement in farm operations. For the whole of Nigeria, economic considerations are a major determinant of the extent to which women are involved in farming as against processing and trading. Once men move out of farming into such non-farm occupations as factory work, mining and distribution of industrial goods, women take up food production for home consumption and for sale, regardless of which ethnic group they belong to, although in relative terms the restricting influence of the Moslem religion on the women in the North must be acknowledged. About 40 per cent of all the women studied could be classified as farmers, 28 per cent as processors and 52 per cent as traders. Processing was often part of farming or trading. The women were mainly involved in the production, processing and trading of such food crops as maize, rice, cassava, yam and palm oil. They were rarely connected with agricultural export crops such as cocoa, cotton and groundnuts. The women who were farmers undertook most farm operations themselves, including the more difficult ones such as land clearing and land preparation for planting. When necessary, they used supplementary family and hired labour. An analysis of the women's life and work indicated that they feel themselves left behind in the general drive towards development. The main policy implication of the research findings is that an employment-educational and incomes strategy needs to be devised for the women in order to enhance their contributions to agricultural and rural development in Nigeria and for their own personal fulfilment.

Farm size, agricultural and rural development in Nigeria

Agricultural modernization in many developing countries has been interpreted in terms of the establishment of large-sized farms worked by heavy machinery. In Nigeria, the need to be self-reliant in food production and to revive the primary export sector to complement the oil sector, has led to policies and practices directly or indirectly aimed at the evolution of large-scale farms. How are farmers responding to the various governmental programmes on agricultural development with particular reference to their farm sizes? This is the major question of interest in this paper. Farmers for study were randomly selected from two Local Government Areas in the southeastern part of the country and from two Agricultural Development Project areas located in the northern part. It was found that Nigerian farmers had not increased their farm size in recent years although their yields had increased remarkably. It is concluded that perhaps, when the ill effects of large-scale operations are taken into consideration, plus the on-going popular opposition to the nationalization of land, Nigeria's best interest would be served by concentrating on enhancing the productivity of her small-scale farmers.

A Geography of Rural Development in Nigeria

(1982). A Geography of Rural Development in Nigeria. Economic Geography: Vol. 58, No. 1, pp. 92-93.

Integrated rural development in Nigeria: The Funtua project

The Funtua Agricultural Development Project is the oldest World Bank financed rural development project in Nigeria. This article evaluates the impact of the project on the area and its implications as a prototype for rural development in Nigeria. Increased agricultural production has not occurred to the extent and in the direction that the project expected. The project's activities appear to be concentrated on large-scale and progressive farmers rather than on the traditional farmer which could result in increased income differentials and the creation of a ‘landless’ class. The costs of the project are too high for the benefits involved. Extension of the project to other parts of the country would be difficult to organize and manage due to the lack of trained manpower.

Factors related to the effective administration of extension in agriculture and rural development in Nigeria

This paper is based on data arising from a study 1 carried out to investigate the extent to which factors essential to a progressive rural structure prevail in Nigeria. A mail questionnaire was used to collect the data from 160 Agricultural Superintendent and Agricultural Assistant trainees of the Federal School of Agriculture, Umudike-Umuahia, Nigeria. The findings would suggest that the involvement of field extension workers and clientele in the planning and evaluation of programmes was minimal—and in many cases inadequate—for the effective administration of agricultural programmes. Extension workers are thought to be the main source of awareness of new innovations for the farmers through personal and group contacts while government and commercial banks are considered to be the main sources of credit for farmers. Within Nigeria there exists the basis for a progressive rural structure. However, the findings would suggest the need to bolster the administration of the existing extension organisations if there is to be an adequate progressive rural structure throughout the country.

Improving rural development administration in Nigeria

Rural development in Nigeria is a very important and popular economic activity. In spite of its importance its prosecution in the past had been left entirely in the hands of local agents with little or no direction. Although government efforts to be actively involved in this sector in the recent past are laudable, the programme has been beset with various bureaucratic constraints which have caused failures. This paper enumerates some of the major constraints which are: (a) limitation in the flow and supply of funds and materials; (b) lack of executive capacity; (c) institutional bureaucratic delay and interference and cultural beliefs; (d) attitudinal problems; (e) lack of a requisite data base for planning; (f) planning from the top which leads to ill-conceived projects and (g) inadequate supervision of project implementation and progress reporting. In order to improve on rural development administration, the paper suggests the removal of these constraints and advocates alternative solutions which will involve the active participation of, and consultation with, all sorts of community groups as agents of government in prosecuting the urgent task of rural development in Nigeria.

Planning for Rural Development in Nigeria: A spatial approach

Planning for Rural Development in Nigeria: A spatial approach

Urban and Rural Development in Nigeria by H. I. Ajaegbu London, Heinemann, 1976. Pp. 112. £6.80. £2.90 paperback.

Urban and Rural Development in Nigeria by H. I. Ajaegbu London, Heinemann, 1976. Pp. 112. £6.80. £2.90 paperback.

Urban and Rural Development in Nigeria

* A sense of place* Climate change* Planning and the city* Globalisation* Landscape* Consumption

Urban and Rural Development in Nigeria

Urban and Rural Development in Nigeria