The impact of agricultural policies on nigeria economy – complete project material

Thesis Overview

<p> </p><div><p><b><br>CHAPTER<br>ONE<br><br>INTRODUCTION<br><br>1.1 &nbsp; <br>Background<br>of the study<br><br>Agriculture in the context of the economy is tied with the<br>various sectors and is essential for generating broad based growth necessary<br>for development. Agriculture is fundamental to the sustenance of life and it is<br>the bedrock of economic development, especially in the provision of adequate<br>and nutritious food so vital for human development and industrial raw<br>materials. Sustainable agricultural development is propelled by agricultural<br>policies. The first national policy on agriculture was adopted in 1988 and was<br>accepted to remain valid for about fifteen years, that is, up to year 2000.<br>Also, in year 2001, a new policy document on agriculture, was lunched. The new<br>policy document has most of the features of the old ones, but with more focused<br>direction and better articulation. Agricultural policies are supported by<br>sub-policies that facilitate the growth of the sector. Implementation of<br>agricultural policies is however moderated by macro-economic policies which<br>provide the enabling environment for agriculture to grow paripassu with the<br>other sectors. These policies usually have major impact on profitability of the<br>agricultural system and the welfare of farmers as they affect the flow of funds<br>to the sector in terms of budgetary allocation, credit, subsides, taxes and<br>therefore, must be in harmony and mutually reinforcing with the agricultural<br>policies. The macro-policies comprise the fiscal, monetary, trade budgetary<br>policies and other policies that govern macro-prices.<br><br>Agriculture contributes immensely to the Nigeria economy in<br>various ways, namely, in the provision of food for the increasing population,<br>supply of adequate raw materials (and labour input) to a growing industrial<br>sector, a major source of employment; generation of foreign exchange earnings,<br>and, provision of market for the products of the agrarian sector (Okumadewa,<br>1997). The agrarian sector has a strong relationship with the economy;<br>hence, concern for agricultural policies and the economy. Support for<br>agriculture is widely driven by the public sector, which has established<br>institutional support in form of agricultural research extension, commodity<br>marketing, input supply and land use legislation, to fast-track development of<br>agrarian sector to achieve the aim of economic development. The importance of<br>the agrarian sector, also suggests the intervention of the private sector<br>through sponsorship of research and breakthrough on agricultural issues in<br>Universities, capacity building for farmers and, most importantly, the<br>provision of fund for farm businesses. International governmental and<br>non-governmental agencies including the World Bank Fund and Agricultural<br>Organization of the United Nations, also contribute through on farm and<br>off-farm support in form of finance, input supply strengthening of technical<br>capacity of other support institutions.<br>Agricultural policies provide among others, for<br>adequate financing of agriculture. The role of agricultural sector in<br>diversification of economy cannot be over emphasized, given that it guarantees<br>food security of any nation. Public expenditure on agriculture has, however,<br>been shown not to be substantial enough to meet the objectives of Government<br>agriculture policies (IFPRI, 2008). For a developing country with a<br>mono-product oil economy such as Nigeria, Government’s indifferent to<br>agriculture portends great danger to the economy for many reasons. For<br>instance, fluctuating food prices are a precursor of inflation. Secondly, from<br>the expenditure approach to national income accounting, it is likely that Engel’s<br>Law that a large chunk of expenditure in developing economics goes to<br>food-holds meaning that shocks to the domestic agricultural production and<br>supply could be damaging to price stability. There is also the perspective of<br>food security, in an era when food has been used as a weapon of War (United<br>Nations Oil for food Deal in Iraq) and as bargaining tool (North Korea- United<br>States Food Deal), even within Nigeria, the federal military government<br>during Nigerian-Biafran War used food blocked as a tool of war. This paper<br>examines Nigeria’s agricultural policies and its impact on the economy. It is<br>interesting to note that this area of study has generated a lot of research. Be<br>it as it may, current thinking, particularly in Nigeria seems to focus on how<br>to improve on agriculture as oil has taken sole control of Nigeria economy<br><br>1.2 STATEMENT OF THE<br>PROBLEM<br><br>Agriculture<br>is the main-stay of the Nigerian economy. According to about 80% (percent) of<br>the Nigerian population engage in agricultural dominated activities. In other<br>words, agricultural sector in Nigeria from right sense of judgment suppose to<br>be the major source of revenue to government as well as the Nigerian citizens<br>especially the (agriculturalist). This was exactly the case in 1960s to 1980s,<br>considering the achievements made from the earnings of agricultural sector in<br>the then three regions of Nigeria, namely, Eastern, Western and Northern<br>regions (Anyanwu,1997). However, with the discovery of crude oil in Nigeria,<br>agriculture has gradually been neglected. Soludo (2004:678) captures this when<br>he stated that: Despite the dominant role of the petroleum sector as the major<br>foreign exchange earner, agriculture remains the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy.<br>In addition, to contributing the largest share of GDP, it is the largest nonoil<br>export earner, the largest employer of labour, and a key contributor to wealth<br>creation and poverty alleviation, as a large percentage of the population<br>derives its income from agriculture and related activities…. Over the years the<br>rate of growth in agricultural production has stagnated and failed to keep pace<br>with needs of a rapidly growing population, resulting in a progressive increase<br>in import bills for food and industrial raw materials.<br>Implicit from the above quotation is that the potential of the agri-business<br>sector as a major employer of the growing labour force and an earner of<br>foreign exchange has also been undermined. As a result, the large majority<br>of Nigeria’s population, many of whom live in rural areas, remain poor. In a<br>similar view, the Nigeria Poverty Assessment 2007 attributed the galloping<br>increase in the rate of Nigerian poverty rate as a result of low and declining<br>yield/ productivity in agriculture and this contributes significantly to rural<br>poverty. The Nigerian Poverty Assessment Report further contended that in the<br>light of the poor state of agriculture, as the survey results show, households<br>whose heads are engaged in the sector tended to have the highest level of<br>poverty incidence, over to per cent in 2004 compared to other occupations where<br>the incidence was less than 50 per cent. The sector thus accounts for a<br>significantly large proportion of the poor in Nigeria. Farming households<br>experience greater poverty due to low income from farming activities. As a<br>matter of fact, some of key reasons identified by some scholars such as Anyanwu<br>(1997), Onah (2006), Umoh (2001) and Ayatse and Akuva (2009) that have<br>contributed and hindered agricultural productivity and income from agriculture<br>in Nigeria are linked to poor policy formulation and implementation in the<br>sector. For instance Anyanwu (1997) observed that most of government policies<br>on agricultural have failed to address the issues of land tenure system,<br>provision of adequate agricultural facilities to farmers, access to<br>agricultural micro credits, access to markets for the sale of agricultural<br>provision of agricultural education to rural farmers on mechanized farming,<br>among others. Eze et al (2010) noted that access to credit is a problem for all<br>farmers and is particularly acute for poor farmer. It is on this note that the<br>Report of the Nigerian Poverty Assessment 2007 stated that:<br>None of the existing credit sources on agriculture appear able to provide<br>credit to poor farmers, without which it is unlikely that they will invest<br>heavily in productivity-increasing inputs. Given that poor farmers are less likely<br>to have assets for collateral, innovative ways need to be found to provide<br>credit, perhaps based on the group credit systems operating in other countries.<br>On the other hand, improving agricultural extension services as well as<br>providing adequate agricultural infrastructures have remained poor. Over 85%<br>(percent) of the Nigerian farmers have no access to agricultural extension<br>services and lack of necessary agricultural infrastructures that increase<br>productivity. We cannot understand why outside the poor agricultural policies<br>in Nigeria. The implication of this has been poor impact of the agriculture on<br>Nigerian economy. Therefore there is no empirical evident to show for the<br>enormous resources put into the agricultural sector as a means diversifying the<br>Nigerian economy from its crude oil based economy. The truth is that the<br>beneficiaries of these agricultural policies are mainly people who are outside<br>agricultural occupation. This situation has always present the introduction of<br>any agricultural policy or programme as illusive and deceit on the view farmers<br>and all others who wish to take occupation in agriculture. As a matter of fact,<br>the initiation of these policies do not take into consideration, the<br>environmental Impact Analysis (EIA) the economic impact analysis (EIA) and the<br>social impact analysis (SIA) to give the problems of agriculture in Nigeria a<br>holistic approach.Apparently, the intended goals and objectives of agricultural<br>policies such as generating massive employment through agriculture and<br>agro-based businesses, reduction of high poverty rate, ensuring sufficiency in<br>the supply of food for the Nigeria’s teeming population, improving per capital<br>income of Nigerians who engage in agriculture, taking comparative advantage on<br>the Nigerian agricultural products in the international markets among other<br>have remained partially unachievable considering some research findings on the<br>assessment of agriculture in Nigeria. The national Economic Empowerment and<br>Development Strategy (NEEDS) 2004 report give that the Gross Domestic Product<br>(GDP) of Nigerian agriculture has continue to decline drastically. This<br>indeed is worrisome considering the number of agricultural policies and<br>programmes which have been introduced by government to boost agricultural productivity<br>in Nigeria such as the National Accelerated Food Production Project (NAFPP),<br>the Nigerian Agricultural and co-Operative Bank (NACB), the River Basin<br>Development Authorities (RBDAs), Operation Feed the Nation (OFU), Agricultural<br>Credit Guarantee Scheme (ACGS), Green Revolution Programme (GRP), Agricultural<br>Development Project (ADPs), among others. It is therefore against this backdrop<br>that this study will investigate on the topic, the impact of agricultural<br>policies on Nigerian economy. It is in view of the fore-goings that this study<br>tends to raise the following questions:<br><br>(i)<br>Have agricultural policies made significant impact on Nigeria economy?<br>(ii) Have the agricultural policies reflected on the growth and development of<br>agricultural sector in Nigeria?<br><br>(Iii)<br>If not, what are the constraints militating against the agricultural policies<br>in Nigeria?<br><br>(iv)<br>Do the formulation and implementation of agricultural policies follow?<br>(v) What are the measures to be adopted in improving formulation and implementation<br>of agricultural policies in Nigeria?<br><br>1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY<br><br>For purpose of clarity, the objectives of this study are<br>grouped into two categories namely: Broad and specific.<br><br> Broad objective of the<br>study is to evaluate the impact of agricultural policies on Nigerian economy.<br><br>Specific objectives of this study are to:<br><br>(i) Ascertain the impact made by agricultural policies so far<br>on the Nigerian economy.<br>(ii) Examine whether the impact of agricultural<br>policies have reflected on the growth and development of agricultural sector in<br>Nigeria.<br>(iii) Identify the constraints militating<br>against the agricultural policies in Nigeria.<br>(iv) Proffer solutions towards improving the<br>formulation and implementation of agricultural policies in Nigeria.<br><br>1.4 SRESEARCH<br>HYPOTHESES<br><br>For<br>the successful completion of the study, the following research hypotheses were<br>formulated by the researcher; <br><br>H0:there is no impact made by agricultural policies so far on<br>the Nigerian economy.<br>H1: there is impact made by agricultural policies so far<br>on the Nigerian economy<br><br>H02:there are no constraints militating against the agricultural<br>policies in Nigeria.<br>H2:there are constraints militating against the<br>agricultural policies in Nigeria.<br><br>1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY<br><br>The<br>significance of the study presents the value or contribution which the research<br>will make to the existing knowledge. Obasi (1999:73), asserts that research is<br>most important tool for advancing knowledge and enables man to relate more<br>effectively to his environment. The significance of this study are categorized<br>into theoretical, empirical and practical significance. Theoretical<br>Significance:-<br>Theoretically, this study has the potential of<br>contributing greatly to the growth of existing theories in social sciences<br>particularly in public administration by helping to enrich the bank of<br>knowledge through its reliable findings on the assessment of the impact of agricultural<br>policies on Nigerian economy. This is to say that our study would assist in<br>improving the frontiers of knowledge especially in the management of the public<br>policies in Nigeria especially in the agricultural sector. The study will be of<br>immense significance in ascertaining the progress so far made by the government<br>in improving Nigerian economy through agriculture. On the other hand, the study<br>will assist in unveiling the challenges or factors militating against effective<br>implementation of government policies and programmes on agriculture and will<br>make useful suggestions towards ensuring the achievement of goals of such<br>agricultural policies and programmes. This is important because it is only<br>through viable agricultural policies that the government can revamp the<br>agricultural sector and ensure its target goals and objectives in national<br>development. This study also has the potentials of contributing immensely to<br>the existing body of literature on this subject matter. Literature on the<br>assessing the impact of agricultural on Nigerian economy are richly available<br>but few have been able to justify the current poor state of agriculture in<br>Nigeria from policy perspectives. Empirical Significance:- Empirically, this<br>study will serve as a foundation or base for future researchers who may in due<br>course of time wish to embark on the investigation on assessing the impact of<br>agricultural policies on Nigerian economy. In other words, this research will<br>serve the academia as a useful and veritable bibliographical reference which<br>will stimulate research for other related studies in relation to agricultural<br>policies and their impact in Nigeria economy. Practical Significance:-<br>Practically, this study is considered significant because it will contribute in<br>providing the decision makers and other key actors in the government with the<br>road- maps that will necessitate prompt, responsive and efficient policy making<br>in Nigerian agricultural sector. It will also suggest the panacea through which<br>frequent failures in Nigerian agricultural policies can be effectively tackled.<br>Last, but not the least, this study has the potential to strategically improve<br>the practical steps in implementations of the government agricultural policies<br>through its advocacy on reforming the public bureaucracies in Nigeria<br>especially those concerned with the implementation of government policies on<br>agriculture. In this regard, this work is a practical pain staking “post<br>mortem” surgical examination of the problems of Nigerian agricultural sector as<br>well as the way forward.<br><br>1.7SCOPE AND<br>LIMITATION OF THE STUDY<br><br>This study focuses on the evaluation of the impact of<br>agricultural policies on Nigerian economy. This study covers in detail, past<br>and present government policies and programmes on agriculture in Nigeria.<br>Nevertheless, a study of this magnitude cannot be completed successfully<br>without the researcher encountering some constraints or limitations. Therefore,<br>this work will not pretend to be containing all holistic information on the<br>government policies and programmes on agriculture, rather it will endeavour to<br>highlight the dominant issues and their impact in the Nigerian economy. Another<br>obvious limitation is the effort to trim the paper to a sizeable and acceptable<br>volume for a Master of Public Administration Degree. This obviously has not<br>been easy considering the subject matter of this research which boarder on<br>sensitive issues on the government agriculture policies, though this has in no<br>way affected the quality of this research work.<br>It is also pertinent to mention that inadequacy<br>of data or near absence of a reliable and up to date central data bank on the<br>theme of this study, which has been compounded by the inability of public<br>bureaucracies to grant full access to the researcher nearly mar the effort of<br>the researcher. In other words, paucity of literature on the impact of<br>government agricultural policies on Nigerian economy almost mar the effort of<br>the researcher. Also most of the relevant information collected so far, for this<br>study is in piece-meal and need serious effort to trim to the required<br>standard. On the other hand, some information are said to be classified<br>information and out of bound to non staff. Considering this, the researcher<br>seek other means to supplement and consolidate the information through the use<br>of internet materials, text books, journals, newspapers, magazines and past<br>research projects by students and research institutes. Further information were<br>collected from the (civil servants in the Ministry of Agriculture and<br>governmental agencies on agriculture) using questionnaire and interview. Also<br>considered as a limitation in this study hinges on our inability to elicit<br>information from the top government officials especially the Minister,<br>Commissioner, and Permanent Secretaries who failed to grant access to the<br>researcher to interview them face- to- face. Others who availed themselves for<br>interview still exhibited signs of fear to provide answers to some questions<br>asked while some questions were said to be top civil service secret. This as we<br>all know is common in Nigeria public sector organizations, because a country<br>where freedom of expression is problematic, it will be difficult getting the<br>unbiased views of some civil servants on apparently sensitive issues on<br>government policies on agriculture. As it is also a well known fact that<br>critics of government policies in the country had always suffered one form of<br>victimization or the other, such as loss of employment, suspension from their<br>jobs and at times harassment by the top government officials. In other words,<br>it is of concern to mention that it was difficult to maintain the researcher’s<br>neutrality in trying to be non-judgmental as this is an essential factor to<br>avoid, since the subjectivity of respondents invariably breeds a consequential<br>loss of objectivity. In other words, some respondents seek to force the<br>researcher to express his own opinions, particularly as he sought to know there’s<br>because it enables them to identify the researcher’s mind in order to adapt<br>responses. Impartial neutrality to some extent rendered the research colorless<br>as if one is a spy on managerial activities. However, the researcher ensured<br>that the limitations/constraints did not affect the outcome of the study by<br>supplementing the available information through internet material, text books,<br>journals and administration of questionnaire and oral interview.<br><br>1.7 SDEFINITION OF<br>TERMS<br><br>AGRICULTURE:Agriculture is the cultivation<br>and breeding of animals, plants and fungi for food, fiber, biofuel, medicinal<br>plants and other products used to sustain and enhance human life.<br><br>POLICY: A policy is a deliberate system of principles to guide<br>decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent, and<br>is implemented as a procedure or protocol.<br><br>ECONOMY:Economy is an area of the production, distribution, or trade,<br>and consumption of goods and services by different agents.<br><br>1.8<br>ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY<br><br>This<br>research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows<br><br>Chapter<br>one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the<br>study), historical background, statement of problem, objectives of the study,<br>research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the<br>study, definition of terms and historical background of the study. Chapter two<br>highlights the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the<br>review of related literature. Chapter three deals on the research design and<br>methodology adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrate on the data<br>collection and analysis and presentation of finding. Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and<br>recommendations made of the study <br><br>Get Complete Project Now »<br>Talk to us right now: (+234)906-451-7926 (Call/WhatsApp)<br><br>Share a Comment<br>Purchase Detail<br>Hello, we’re glad you stopped by, you can download the complete project materials to this project with Abstract, Chapters 1 – 5, References and Appendix (Questionaire, Charts, etc) for N5000 ($15) only,<br>Please call 08111770269 or +2348059541956 to place an order or use the whatsapp button below to chat us up.<br>Bank details are stated below.<br>Bank: UBA<br>Account No: 1021412898<br>Account Name: Starnet Innovations Limited<br><br><br><br>CHAPTER<br>ONE</b></p><p><b>INTRODUCTION</b></p><p><b>1.1 &nbsp; &nbsp; <br></b><b>Background<br>of the study</b></p><p>Agriculture in the context of the economy is tied with the<br>various sectors and is essential for generating broad based growth necessary<br>for development. Agriculture is fundamental to the sustenance of life and it is<br>the bedrock of economic development, especially in the provision of adequate<br>and nutritious food so vital for human development and industrial raw<br>materials. Sustainable agricultural development is propelled by agricultural<br>policies. The first national policy on agriculture was adopted in 1988 and was<br>accepted to remain valid for about fifteen years, that is, up to year 2000.<br>Also, in year 2001, a new policy document on agriculture, was lunched. The new<br>policy document has most of the features of the old ones, but with more focused<br>direction and better articulation. Agricultural policies are supported by<br>sub-policies that facilitate the growth of the sector. Implementation of<br>agricultural policies is however moderated by macro-economic policies which<br>provide the enabling environment for agriculture to grow paripassu with the<br>other sectors. These policies usually have major impact on profitability of the<br>agricultural system and the welfare of farmers as they affect the flow of funds<br>to the sector in terms of budgetary allocation, credit, subsides, taxes and<br>therefore, must be in harmony and mutually reinforcing with the agricultural<br>policies. The macro-policies comprise the fiscal, monetary, trade budgetary<br>policies and other policies that govern macro-prices.</p><p>Agriculture contributes immensely to the Nigeria economy in<br>various ways, namely, in the provision of food for the increasing population,<br>supply of adequate raw materials (and labour input) to a growing industrial<br>sector, a major source of employment; generation of foreign exchange earnings,<br>and, provision of market for the products of the agrarian sector (Okumadewa,<br>1997). The agrarian sector has a strong relationship with the economy;<br>hence, concern for agricultural policies and the economy. Support for<br>agriculture is widely driven by the public sector, which has established<br>institutional support in form of agricultural research extension, commodity<br>marketing, input supply and land use legislation, to fast-track development of<br>agrarian sector to achieve the aim of economic development. The importance of<br>the agrarian sector, also suggests the intervention of the private sector<br>through sponsorship of research and breakthrough on agricultural issues in<br>Universities, capacity building for farmers and, most importantly, the<br>provision of fund for farm businesses. International governmental and<br>non-governmental agencies including the World Bank Fund and Agricultural<br>Organization of the United Nations, also contribute through on farm and<br>off-farm support in form of finance, input supply strengthening of technical<br>capacity of other support institutions.<br>Agricultural policies provide among others, for<br>adequate financing of agriculture. The role of agricultural sector in<br>diversification of economy cannot be over emphasized, given that it guarantees<br>food security of any nation. Public expenditure on agriculture has, however,<br>been shown not to be substantial enough to meet the objectives of Government<br>agriculture policies (IFPRI, 2008). For a developing country with a<br>mono-product oil economy such as Nigeria, Government’s indifferent to<br>agriculture portends great danger to the economy for many reasons. For<br>instance, fluctuating food prices are a precursor of inflation. Secondly, from<br>the expenditure approach to national income accounting, it is likely that Engel’s<br>Law that a large chunk of expenditure in developing economics goes to<br>food-holds meaning that shocks to the domestic agricultural production and<br>supply could be damaging to price stability. There is also the perspective of<br>food security, in an era when food has been used as a weapon of War (United<br>Nations Oil for food Deal in Iraq) and as bargaining tool (North Korea- United<br>States Food Deal), even within Nigeria, the federal military government<br>during Nigerian-Biafran War used food blocked as a tool of war. This paper<br>examines Nigeria’s agricultural policies and its impact on the economy. It is<br>interesting to note that this area of study has generated a lot of research. Be<br>it as it may, current thinking, particularly in Nigeria seems to focus on how<br>to improve on agriculture as oil has taken sole control of Nigeria economy</p><p><b>1.2 STATEMENT OF THE<br>PROBLEM</b></p><p>Agriculture<br>is the main-stay of the Nigerian economy. According to about 80% (percent) of<br>the Nigerian population engage in agricultural dominated activities. In other<br>words, agricultural sector in Nigeria from right sense of judgment suppose to<br>be the major source of revenue to government as well as the Nigerian citizens<br>especially the (agriculturalist). This was exactly the case in 1960s to 1980s,<br>considering the achievements made from the earnings of agricultural sector in<br>the then three regions of Nigeria, namely, Eastern, Western and Northern<br>regions (Anyanwu,1997). However, with the discovery of crude oil in Nigeria,<br>agriculture has gradually been neglected. Soludo (2004:678) captures this when<br>he stated that: Despite the dominant role of the petroleum sector as the major<br>foreign exchange earner, agriculture remains the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy.<br>In addition, to contributing the largest share of GDP, it is the largest nonoil<br>export earner, the largest employer of labour, and a key contributor to wealth<br>creation and poverty alleviation, as a large percentage of the population<br>derives its income from agriculture and related activities…. Over the years the<br>rate of growth in agricultural production has stagnated and failed to keep pace<br>with needs of a rapidly growing population, resulting in a progressive increase<br>in import bills for food and industrial raw materials.<br>Implicit from the above quotation is that the potential of the agri-business<br>sector as a major employer of the growing labour force and an earner of<br>foreign exchange has also been undermined. As a result, the large majority<br>of Nigeria’s population, many of whom live in rural areas, remain poor. In a<br>similar view, the Nigeria Poverty Assessment 2007 attributed the galloping<br>increase in the rate of Nigerian poverty rate as a result of low and declining<br>yield/ productivity in agriculture and this contributes significantly to rural<br>poverty. The Nigerian Poverty Assessment Report further contended that in the<br>light of the poor state of agriculture, as the survey results show, households<br>whose heads are engaged in the sector tended to have the highest level of<br>poverty incidence, over to per cent in 2004 compared to other occupations where<br>the incidence was less than 50 per cent. The sector thus accounts for a<br>significantly large proportion of the poor in Nigeria. Farming households<br>experience greater poverty due to low income from farming activities. As a<br>matter of fact, some of key reasons identified by some scholars such as Anyanwu<br>(1997), Onah (2006), Umoh (2001) and Ayatse and Akuva (2009) that have<br>contributed and hindered agricultural productivity and income from agriculture<br>in Nigeria are linked to poor policy formulation and implementation in the<br>sector. For instance Anyanwu (1997) observed that most of government policies<br>on agricultural have failed to address the issues of land tenure system,<br>provision of adequate agricultural facilities to farmers, access to<br>agricultural micro credits, access to markets for the sale of agricultural<br>provision of agricultural education to rural farmers on mechanized farming,<br>among others. Eze et al (2010) noted that access to credit is a problem for all<br>farmers and is particularly acute for poor farmer. It is on this note that the<br>Report of the Nigerian Poverty Assessment 2007 stated that:<br>None of the existing credit sources on agriculture appear able to provide<br>credit to poor farmers, without which it is unlikely that they will invest<br>heavily in productivity-increasing inputs. Given that poor farmers are less likely<br>to have assets for collateral, innovative ways need to be found to provide<br>credit, perhaps based on the group credit systems operating in other countries.<br>On the other hand, improving agricultural extension services as well as<br>providing adequate agricultural infrastructures have remained poor. Over 85%<br>(percent) of the Nigerian farmers have no access to agricultural extension<br>services and lack of necessary agricultural infrastructures that increase<br>productivity. We cannot understand why outside the poor agricultural policies<br>in Nigeria. The implication of this has been poor impact of the agriculture on<br>Nigerian economy. Therefore there is no empirical evident to show for the<br>enormous resources put into the agricultural sector as a means diversifying the<br>Nigerian economy from its crude oil based economy. The truth is that the<br>beneficiaries of these agricultural policies are mainly people who are outside<br>agricultural occupation. This situation has always present the introduction of<br>any agricultural policy or programme as illusive and deceit on the view farmers<br>and all others who wish to take occupation in agriculture. As a matter of fact,<br>the initiation of these policies do not take into consideration, the<br>environmental Impact Analysis (EIA) the economic impact analysis (EIA) and the<br>social impact analysis (SIA) to give the problems of agriculture in Nigeria a<br>holistic approach.Apparently, the intended goals and objectives of agricultural<br>policies such as generating massive employment through agriculture and<br>agro-based businesses, reduction of high poverty rate, ensuring sufficiency in<br>the supply of food for the Nigeria’s teeming population, improving per capital<br>income of Nigerians who engage in agriculture, taking comparative advantage on<br>the Nigerian agricultural products in the international markets among other<br>have remained partially unachievable considering some research findings on the<br>assessment of agriculture in Nigeria. The national Economic Empowerment and<br>Development Strategy (NEEDS) 2004 report give that the Gross Domestic Product<br>(GDP) of Nigerian agriculture has continue to decline drastically. This<br>indeed is worrisome considering the number of agricultural policies and<br>programmes which have been introduced by government to boost agricultural productivity<br>in Nigeria such as the National Accelerated Food Production Project (NAFPP),<br>the Nigerian Agricultural and co-Operative Bank (NACB), the River Basin<br>Development Authorities (RBDAs), Operation Feed the Nation (OFU), Agricultural<br>Credit Guarantee Scheme (ACGS), Green Revolution Programme (GRP), Agricultural<br>Development Project (ADPs), among others. It is therefore against this backdrop<br>that this study will investigate on the topic, the impact of agricultural<br>policies on Nigerian economy. It is in view of the fore-goings that this study<br>tends to raise the following questions:</p><p>(i)<br>Have agricultural policies made significant impact on Nigeria economy?<br>(ii) Have the agricultural policies reflected on the growth and development of<br>agricultural sector in Nigeria?</p><p>(Iii)<br>If not, what are the constraints militating against the agricultural policies<br>in Nigeria?</p><p>(iv)<br>Do the formulation and implementation of agricultural policies follow?<br>(v) What are the measures to be adopted in improving formulation and implementation<br>of agricultural policies in Nigeria?</p><p><b>1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY</b></p><p>For purpose of clarity, the objectives of this study are<br>grouped into two categories namely: Broad and specific.</p><p>&nbsp;Broad objective of the<br>study is to evaluate the impact of agricultural policies on Nigerian economy.</p><p>Specific objectives of this study are to:</p><p>(i) Ascertain the impact made by agricultural policies so far<br>on the Nigerian economy.<br>(ii) Examine whether the impact of agricultural<br>policies have reflected on the growth and development of agricultural sector in<br>Nigeria.<br>(iii) Identify the constraints militating<br>against the agricultural policies in Nigeria.<br>(iv) Proffer solutions towards improving the<br>formulation and implementation of agricultural policies in Nigeria.</p><p><b>1.4 SRESEARCH<br>HYPOTHESES</b></p><p>For<br>the successful completion of the study, the following research hypotheses were<br>formulated by the researcher; </p><p><b>H0:</b>there is no impact made by agricultural policies so far on<br>the Nigerian economy.<br><b>H1: </b>there is impact made by agricultural policies so far<br>on the Nigerian economy</p><p><b>H02:</b>there are no constraints militating against the agricultural<br>policies in Nigeria.<br><b>H2:</b>there are constraints militating against the<br>agricultural policies in Nigeria.</p><p><b>1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY</b></p><p>The<br>significance of the study presents the value or contribution which the research<br>will make to the existing knowledge. Obasi (1999:73), asserts that research is<br>most important tool for advancing knowledge and enables man to relate more<br>effectively to his environment. The significance of this study are categorized<br>into theoretical, empirical and practical significance. Theoretical<br>Significance:-<br>Theoretically, this study has the potential of<br>contributing greatly to the growth of existing theories in social sciences<br>particularly in public administration by helping to enrich the bank of<br>knowledge through its reliable findings on the assessment of the impact of agricultural<br>policies on Nigerian economy. This is to say that our study would assist in<br>improving the frontiers of knowledge especially in the management of the public<br>policies in Nigeria especially in the agricultural sector. The study will be of<br>immense significance in ascertaining the progress so far made by the government<br>in improving Nigerian economy through agriculture. On the other hand, the study<br>will assist in unveiling the challenges or factors militating against effective<br>implementation of government policies and programmes on agriculture and will<br>make useful suggestions towards ensuring the achievement of goals of such<br>agricultural policies and programmes. This is important because it is only<br>through viable agricultural policies that the government can revamp the<br>agricultural sector and ensure its target goals and objectives in national<br>development. This study also has the potentials of contributing immensely to<br>the existing body of literature on this subject matter. Literature on the<br>assessing the impact of agricultural on Nigerian economy are richly available<br>but few have been able to justify the current poor state of agriculture in<br>Nigeria from policy perspectives. Empirical Significance:- Empirically, this<br>study will serve as a foundation or base for future researchers who may in due<br>course of time wish to embark on the investigation on assessing the impact of<br>agricultural policies on Nigerian economy. In other words, this research will<br>serve the academia as a useful and veritable bibliographical reference which<br>will stimulate research for other related studies in relation to agricultural<br>policies and their impact in Nigeria economy. Practical Significance:-<br>Practically, this study is considered significant because it will contribute in<br>providing the decision makers and other key actors in the government with the<br>road- maps that will necessitate prompt, responsive and efficient policy making<br>in Nigerian agricultural sector. It will also suggest the panacea through which<br>frequent failures in Nigerian agricultural policies can be effectively tackled.<br>Last, but not the least, this study has the potential to strategically improve<br>the practical steps in implementations of the government agricultural policies<br>through its advocacy on reforming the public bureaucracies in Nigeria<br>especially those concerned with the implementation of government policies on<br>agriculture. In this regard, this work is a practical pain staking “post<br>mortem” surgical examination of the problems of Nigerian agricultural sector as<br>well as the way forward.</p><p><b>1.7SCOPE AND<br>LIMITATION OF THE STUDY</b></p><p>This study focuses on the evaluation of the impact of<br>agricultural policies on Nigerian economy. This study covers in detail, past<br>and present government policies and programmes on agriculture in Nigeria.<br>Nevertheless, a study of this magnitude cannot be completed successfully<br>without the researcher encountering some constraints or limitations. Therefore,<br>this work will not pretend to be containing all holistic information on the<br>government policies and programmes on agriculture, rather it will endeavour to<br>highlight the dominant issues and their impact in the Nigerian economy. Another<br>obvious limitation is the effort to trim the paper to a sizeable and acceptable<br>volume for a Master of Public Administration Degree. This obviously has not<br>been easy considering the subject matter of this research which boarder on<br>sensitive issues on the government agriculture policies, though this has in no<br>way affected the quality of this research work.<br>It is also pertinent to mention that inadequacy<br>of data or near absence of a reliable and up to date central data bank on the<br>theme of this study, which has been compounded by the inability of public<br>bureaucracies to grant full access to the researcher nearly mar the effort of<br>the researcher. In other words, paucity of literature on the impact of<br>government agricultural policies on Nigerian economy almost mar the effort of<br>the researcher. Also most of the relevant information collected so far, for this<br>study is in piece-meal and need serious effort to trim to the required<br>standard. On the other hand, some information are said to be classified<br>information and out of bound to non staff. Considering this, the researcher<br>seek other means to supplement and consolidate the information through the use<br>of internet materials, text books, journals, newspapers, magazines and past<br>research projects by students and research institutes. Further information were<br>collected from the (civil servants in the Ministry of Agriculture and<br>governmental agencies on agriculture) using questionnaire and interview. Also<br>considered as a limitation in this study hinges on our inability to elicit<br>information from the top government officials especially the Minister,<br>Commissioner, and Permanent Secretaries who failed to grant access to the<br>researcher to interview them face- to- face. Others who availed themselves for<br>interview still exhibited signs of fear to provide answers to some questions<br>asked while some questions were said to be top civil service secret. This as we<br>all know is common in Nigeria public sector organizations, because a country<br>where freedom of expression is problematic, it will be difficult getting the<br>unbiased views of some civil servants on apparently sensitive issues on<br>government policies on agriculture. As it is also a well known fact that<br>critics of government policies in the country had always suffered one form of<br>victimization or the other, such as loss of employment, suspension from their<br>jobs and at times harassment by the top government officials. In other words,<br>it is of concern to mention that it was difficult to maintain the researcher’s<br>neutrality in trying to be non-judgmental as this is an essential factor to<br>avoid, since the subjectivity of respondents invariably breeds a consequential<br>loss of objectivity. In other words, some respondents seek to force the<br>researcher to express his own opinions, particularly as he sought to know there’s<br>because it enables them to identify the researcher’s mind in order to adapt<br>responses. Impartial neutrality to some extent rendered the research colorless<br>as if one is a spy on managerial activities. However, the researcher ensured<br>that the limitations/constraints did not affect the outcome of the study by<br>supplementing the available information through internet material, text books,<br>journals and administration of questionnaire and oral interview.</p><p><b>1.7 SDEFINITION OF<br>TERMS</b></p><p><b>AGRICULTURE:</b>Agriculture is the cultivation<br>and breeding of animals, plants and fungi for food, fiber, biofuel, medicinal<br>plants and other products used to sustain and enhance human life.</p><p><b>POLICY: </b>A policy is a deliberate system of principles to guide<br>decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent, and<br>is implemented as a procedure or protocol.</p><p><b>ECONOMY:</b>Economy is an area of the production, distribution, or trade,<br>and consumption of goods and services by different agents.</p><p><b>1.8<br>ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY</b></p><p>This<br>research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows</p><p>Chapter<br>one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the<br>study), historical background, statement of problem, objectives of the study,<br>research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the<br>study, definition of terms and historical background of the study. Chapter two<br>highlights the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the<br>review of related literature. Chapter three deals on the research design and<br>methodology adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrate on the data<br>collection and analysis and presentation of finding. Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and<br>recommendations made of the study &nbsp;</p><div>Get Complete Project Now »</div><p></p><p><b>Talk to us right now: (+234)906-451-7926 (Call/WhatsApp)</b></p><h5>Share a Comment</h5><p></p></div><h3>Purchase Detail</h3><p>Hello, we’re glad you stopped by, you can download the complete project materials to this project with Abstract, Chapters 1 – 5, References and Appendix (Questionaire, Charts, etc) for N5000 ($15) only,<br>Please call <b>08111770269</b>&nbsp;or <b>+2348059541956</b>&nbsp;to place an order or use the whatsapp button below to chat us up.<br>Bank details are stated below.<br><b>Bank:</b>&nbsp;UBA<br><b>Account No:</b>&nbsp;1021412898<br><b>Account Name:</b>&nbsp;Starnet Innovations Limited</p><p><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blazingprojects.starnet"></a></p><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blazingprojects.starnet"><br> </a><br><p></p>