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

Abstract

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