Poverty: Place of Agricultural Development on Economic Growth of Nigeria

No society attains development where poverty and economic insecurity prevail. This article examines poverty with the place of agricultural development on the economic growth of Nigeria. It aims at examining the importance of agricultural growth on sustainable development while also looking at the barriers to effective economic growth through agriculture. Agriculture has always been a major boost in Nigeria's economy from inception until the shift from agriculture to oil production which has brought about the declining trend of growth in Nigeria. The study adopted a survey as the design for the study. The Cluster sampling technique was employed in this study. 200 respondents carefully arrived at on referrals from farming associations in Kwara state made up the sample size for the study. The study gathered data from the study population through questionnaires and such data collected were analyzed using simple percentages and frequency tables so as to reach conclusions to the issues being addressed. Findings from the study reveal that majority of the respondents have no tertiary education and thus practice traditional methods of farming. It also brought forth that agriculture, as practiced by the majority of the respondents, is a vital tool to reducing unemployment but not able to reduce poverty. It sees lack of support from the government as a blow to the interest of the youth in Agriculture It, therefore, suggests that for the economic growth of Nigeria to be repositioned, the nature and manner in which agriculture is practiced should be reviewed and government intervention should be intensified

Poverty: Place of Agricultural Development on Economic Growth of Nigeria

No society attains development where poverty and economic insecurity prevail. This article examines poverty with the place of agricultural development on the economic growth of Nigeria. It aims at examining the importance of agricultural growth on sustainable development while also looking at the barriers to effective economic growth through agriculture. Agriculture has always been a major boost in Nigeria's economy from inception until the shift from agriculture to oil production which has brought about the declining trend of growth in Nigeria. The study adopted a survey as the design for the study. The Cluster sampling technique was employed in this study. 200 respondents carefully arrived at on referrals from farming associations in Kwara state made up the sample size for the study. The study gathered data from the study population through questionnaires and such data collected were analyzed using simple percentages and frequency tables so as to reach conclusions to the issues being addressed. Findings from the study reveal that majority of the respondents have no tertiary education and thus practice traditional methods of farming. It also brought forth that agriculture, as practiced by the majority of the respondents, is a vital tool to reducing unemployment but not able to reduce poverty. It sees lack of support from the government as a blow to the interest of the youth in Agriculture It, therefore, suggests that for the economic growth of Nigeria to be repositioned, the nature and manner in which agriculture is practiced should be reviewed and government intervention should be intensified

Political Sociology

Political sociology is a discipline drawn from two social sciences: Sociology and Political science. It deals with the study of power and its uses in society across micro and macro components. The micro components focus on how individuals' political behaviors, such as voting and attitudes towards political participation are influenced by group behavior and social traits. The macro components on the other hand are concerned with the nation-state, political institutions, their evolution and the reasons for political and social change, particularly in connection to significant social movements or other kinds of collective action. Political sociologists have inquired why and how political groups assume the forms they do, when, and how groups experience a substantial change. As a major subfield of sociology, the development of political sociology began only after World War II. Political sociology's micro and macro domains overlap with political science. However, political sociologists' primary focus is on the underlying social factors that influence a political structure rather than the internal operations or mechanics of the system

Does Exchange Rate Devaluation Affect Agricultural Output? Evidence from Nigeria

The purpose of this research was to examine the effect of exchange rate devaluation on agricultural output in Nigeria. This investigation used the available time series data of 30 years (1986-2016) from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Statistical Bulletin and the National Bureau of Statistics. Moreover, the real effective exchange rate was used as the proxy for currency devaluation and Consumer Price Index (CPI) was used as a proxy for inflation. Other variables were Agricultural Gross Domestic Product (AGDP), Price of Export (PEXP), and Real Agricultural Exports (RAEXP). The research through the Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) and Philip Perron’s unit root tests find that the variables used in the model are integrated in the same order. Using the Johansen’s cointegration test results show that the variables are cointegrated. The results of the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) indicates that a percent increase in the Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER), a proxy for devaluation. It will lead to a decrease in gross agricultural output. This implies that total agricultural output responds negatively to exchange rate devaluation. The result of the causality test by Toda and Yamamoto reveals that a unidirectional causality exists between real effective exchange rate and price of exports. This shows that a significant relationship exists between exchange rate devaluation and gross exports earnings. It reveals that the past values of the price of exports can be used to predict the current values of agricultural output

The Impact of International Financial Reporting Standards on Financial Performance

Globalization, capital market crash and the Enron’s case led the accounting profession to insist on the need for a single set of high quality reporting standards. International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) were first adopted in 2005 by EU countries while Nigeria agreed to adopt in 2012. The question is: How does IFRS adoption improve the monetary relevance of accounting information? Several studies have explored the monetary relevance of IFRS adoption; however, they are based on foreign countries while Nigerian researches do not contain empirical evidence as they are mostly theoretical. This study therefore seeks to investigate the effect of IFRS adoption on financial performance. The study used correlation research design and data on Earnings per Share (EPS), Change in Earnings per Share (CEPS), Book Value per Share (BVPS) and net profit margin. Getting bearing from the finding of this study, it is realized that the general notion of improved value relevance with the adoption of IFRS has been confirmed. Book values and change in earnings proved value irrelevant

WOMEN AND POLITICAL MARGINALIZATION IN NIGERIA

The word marginalization is a social process of becoming or being relegated to the fringe of society. Marginalization at the individual level results in an individual’s exclusion from meaningful participation in society. An example of marginalization at the community level is the marginalization of women. Women are excluded from the labour force and their work in the home is not economically valued and compensated. Feminists’ theorists argued that women should equally participate in the labour force, both in the public and private sectors. Today, it is argued that women are still marginalized from executive positions and continue to earn less than men at upper management cadres. In this study, the concept of marginalization and women political participation is critically examined. It also examines the steps and procedures being followed in order to encourage women to participate in politics during the last democratic dispensation of the Jonathan administration; for example, the Women for Change Initiative and the Women Empowerment Programme. The study examines the problems faced by women during elections in Nigeria due to violence; harassment and electoral malpractices and the level of performance of various women elected into various offices

DISCOURSE AND NARRATIVE OF THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY: FROM THE AGRICULTURAL POLICIES PERSPECTIVE

ABSTRACT For decades, agriculture has been associated with production of essential food crops. At present, agriculture above and beyond farming includes forestry, dairy, fruit cultivation, poultry, beef keeping, mushroom etc. Today, processing, marketing and distribution of crops and livestock products etc. are all acknowledged as part of current agriculture. Thus, agriculture could be referred to as the production, processing, promotion and distribution of agricultural products. Agriculture is the backbone of economic system of a given country. In addition to providing food and raw material, agriculture also provides employment opportunities to very large percentage of population and a high potential for food security and poverty reduction. However, these potentials has remained largely untapped which has led to the dwindling performance of the agricultural sector both domestically and in the international trade over the years. The study contends that government’s agricultural policies over the years in Nigeria recorded partial success, going by this fact the country still face problems of food security, malnutrition and hunger, low earnings from agriculture as the GDP from agricultural sector declines. This study covered the key issues on Nigerian agricultural policies especially as it concerns the formulation and implementation of agricultural policies and programmes as well as their achievements. The agricultural sector has a strong relationship with the economy; hence, the concern for agricultural policies and the economy. The functionalist theory was adopted for this study. Keywords: Agricultural Policies, Nigerian Economy, Employment, Poverty, Food Securit

Labourism and Good Governance In A Democratic Society: The Role Of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC)

Today, around three-quarters people affected by poverty live in countries whose economies are dominated by the natural resources sector; this leads to the weakening of state structures and the destruction of the environment, and it can give rise to or exacerbate social conflict. Political democracy is a key ingredient in Africa's regeneration or renaissance. Without political democracy, our societies are condemned to be ruled by self-appointed dictators. The broader progressive movement, including the labour movement, has a crucial role in fighting for political democracy in Africa. It is important that we root out corruption, nepotism and create conditions for popular participation to flourish. Good governance is not a luxury but a necessary condition for open, participatory, accountable and democratic governance. Studies of good governance in Nigeria have not adequately addressed how the role of the labour movement in a democratic society can bring about good governance. This study, therefore, examined the role of the labour movement in promoting good governance in a democratic society like Nigeria. The functionalist theory provided the conceptual framework while the Secondary data collection method was used to elicit information for the study

Taxation and Sustainable Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence from Nigeria

Like every other developing economy, Nigeria has a vision of being referred to as a developed economy but this vision cannot be realized without adequate sustainable funds to meet up with the basic criteria of a developed economy which includes good infrastructure (such as good roads, schools, hospitals and industries, a high Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate and of course good standard of living for its citizens. Nigeria being a mono-culture economy solely dependent on the exportation of crude oil is in disarray because of the recent decline in crude oil prices which is the fulcrum for the nation’s budget. This has led to a huge shift for the Nigerian government to look into non-oil sectors for alternative means of sourcing for fund and to also improve existing sources of revenue generation in order to meet up with their expected goals