The Role of Agriculture in the Nigerian Economy
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
In this chapter of the research work, the review of related literature is presented under the following heading:
□ Role of Agriculture in an Economy
□ Importance of Agriculture
□ Analysis of Selected Indicators of Agricultural Growth
□ Agricultural Constraints
□ Institutional Reforms
□ Major agricultural policies in Nigeria from 1960-2005
□ Macro-economic variables affecting economic growth
□ Government expenditure
□ Investment
□ Foreign investment
□ The new Nigerian Agricultural Policy
2.0 The role of agriculture in an economy It is important to first define the term-Agriculture before talking about the role of agriculture in the economy.
Oxford (2000) defines agriculture as the science or practise of farming. Anyanwu (1997) noted that agriculture “involves the cultivation of land, raising and rearing of animals for the purpose of production of food for man, feed for animals and raw materials for industries. It involves cropping, live–stock, forestry, and fishing, processing and marketing of these agricultural products”. Abayomi (1997), like many other economists opined that “in most developing countries, agriculture is both the main traditional pursuit and the key to sustained growth of the modern economy. She noted that economic growth has gone hand in hand with agricultural progress; stagnation in agriculture is the principal explanation for poor economic performance, while rising agricultural productivity has been the most important concomitant of successful industrialization. Among the roles conventionally ascribed to the agricultural sector in a growing economy are those of: providing adequate food for an increasing population; supplying raw materials to a growing industrial sector; constituting the major source of employment; earning foreign exchange through commodity exports, and providing market for the products of the industrial sector”.
LITERATURE REVIEW
In this chapter of the research work, the review of related literature is presented under the following heading:
□ Role of Agriculture in an Economy
□ Importance of Agriculture
□ Analysis of Selected Indicators of Agricultural Growth
□ Agricultural Constraints
□ Institutional Reforms
□ Major agricultural policies in Nigeria from 1960-2005
□ Macro-economic variables affecting economic growth
□ Government expenditure
□ Investment
□ Foreign investment
□ The new Nigerian Agricultural Policy
2.0 The role of agriculture in an economy It is important to first define the term-Agriculture before talking about the role of agriculture in the economy.
Oxford (2000) defines agriculture as the science or practise of farming. Anyanwu (1997) noted that agriculture “involves the cultivation of land, raising and rearing of animals for the purpose of production of food for man, feed for animals and raw materials for industries. It involves cropping, live–stock, forestry, and fishing, processing and marketing of these agricultural products”. Abayomi (1997), like many other economists opined that “in most developing countries, agriculture is both the main traditional pursuit and the key to sustained growth of the modern economy. She noted that economic growth has gone hand in hand with agricultural progress; stagnation in agriculture is the principal explanation for poor economic performance, while rising agricultural productivity has been the most important concomitant of successful industrialization. Among the roles conventionally ascribed to the agricultural sector in a growing economy are those of: providing adequate food for an increasing population; supplying raw materials to a growing industrial sector; constituting the major source of employment; earning foreign exchange through commodity exports, and providing market for the products of the industrial sector”.