Agricultural Development and Emplyoment Generation: The Nigeria Experience.

Abstract

This paper examines Agricultural Development and employment generation with particular reference to Nigeria. The paper acknowledged the important role agriculture plays in developing countries such as Nigeria not only in employment generation but also for overall economic growth. It showcases the agriculture sector as the most critical and basic sector that has significant potentials for the transformation of the Nigerian economy. It provides the overview of agricultural development in Nigeria and also provides a framework for understanding the agricultural sector in relation to the strategies employed by government to develop the sector.The paper further acknowledged that although most public policies in Nigeria have been tailored towards food security, supply of agricultural raw materials needed by the manufacturing sector to provide adequate employment and income.However, the potential of the sector is yet to be maximised. In assessing the growth of agricultural sector in Nigeria and impact in employment, data were obtained from Central bank of Nigeria and Federal Office of Statistics. This paper also identifies some major factors constraining the development of agricultural sector in Nigeria such as neglect of agriculture arising from the discovery of oil, inadequate infrastructural facilities, inadequate extension services, shortage of labour to rural-urban migration, decline quality of land because of oil activities in the Niger Delta Region, Policy inconsistency etc. The paper recommends the provision of credit facilities to farmers, extension services, price stabilization and making agriculture a priority e.tc to ensure that the sector takes its rightful place in our economy.