Agricultural development in Nigeria: the constraints and potentials (original) (raw)

Rural Development Trends In Nigeria: Problems And Prospects

The study is on the reflections of rural development in Nigeria. Rural development is the integrated approach to food production as well as physical, social and institutional infrastructural provisions with an ultimate goal of bringing about both quantitative and qualitative changes which result in improved living standard of the rural population. Embarking on rural development is very important considering the fact that more than two-third of the Nigeria’s population are living in rural areas, and they experience a lot of misery, poverty, morbidity and under-development. Reflection on the Nigerian Government experiences in rural development showed that not much has been achieved even before and after independence. There exists a sharp contrast between policy formulation and its implementation. The resultant effect becomes more hardship and poor standard of living among the rural dwellers. This paper also x-rayed the various approaches to rural development by highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each. The government’s failure in the various rural development strategies emanated from lack of national philosophical base, lack of cohesive identity, inadequate community participation, lack of grassroots planning and inability of the government to optimize local resources, among other problems. Finally, the study postulated that there should be adequate supply of infrastructural facilities, small and medium-scale industries and political empowerment of the rural people by government. These measures would go a long way improving their living conditions.

SALVAGING THE UNDER-DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL AREAS IN NIGERIA

The framework of government plans were centered on facilitating the development of urban areas. Consequently, most of these initial infrastructure development efforts in Nigeria were skewed at the detriment of rural areas. This paper is aimed at examining the development plans and implementation vis a vis retardation state of rural environment in Nigeria. It emphasises the need for a paradigm shift in the development of rural areas in Nigeria. This paper utilised information obtained from secondary (existing literature) sources such as journals and other archived materials. A wide disparity was observed between rural and urban areas owing to long-term neglect of the former. It was also observed that policy initiation and implementation was not done with sincerity of purpose among policy makers and programme implementers. This paper therefore recommends the establishment of ministry and department of rural development which will be saddled with the responsibility of transforming the rural areas.

A Spatial Analysis of Some Indicators of Development in the Rural Areas of Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria

Journal of Geography, Environment and Earth Science International, 2017

This study examines the indicators of development in the rural areas of Okene in order to determine the levels of socioeconomic development of the rural areas by identifying and analysing the available development indicators. Based on the yearnings of the people, the appropriateness of the indicators as catalysts for development and their availability in the selected fifty five (55) rural areas, forty six (46) development indicators were identified and evaluated for the study. The forty six (46) development indicators were subjected to Principal Component Analysis which brought out fourteen (14) dominant indicators that explained the variance in the levels of development in the rural areas. The fourteen indicators (such as institutions, agriculture, health facilities, commerce, super market, infrastructure, irrigation facilities, water facilities, tourist sites, cultural and religion institutions)

Case Study The Underlying Factors of Rural Development Patterns in the Nsukka Region of Southeastern Nigeria

This case study analyzes the patterns and underlying factors of rural development in the Nsukka region of southeastern Nigeria. It identifies leading and lagging communities with a view to making appropriate recommendations for even development. To achieve this aim, 35 rural communities were randomly selected and their scores on selected infrastructural facilities were used to ascertain the pattern of rural development. The relative strength of the underlying factors was determined by factor analysis. The results reveal a disparity in the spatial distribution of rural development facilities, with communities on the central plateau fairing better. Factor analysis revealed 4 underlying factors that account for 71.3% of the total variance. One implication of the results is that achievement of spatially even rural development will require the adoption of an integrated governmental approach.

Application of Geoninformatic Technology in Evaluating Urban Agriculture and Urban Poverty in Lokoja, Nigeria

The role of urban agriculture in the food supply of cities and towns, as a complement to rural agriculture is becoming an important issue in a globalizing world economy. The developing countries see it as a way to alleviate urban poverty. Remote sensing and GIS techniques were used to assess areal extent of urban agricultural land in Lokoja. Questionnaires were also used to evaluate the contributions to urban agriculture to food security and income generation among the urban poor in Lokoja. The result revealed that urban agricultural land had increased, thereby implying that urban agriculture is supporting many urban poor households. Governments, Urban Planners and policy makers are to provide an enabling environment for the urban poor to be involved in the provision of food security in the urban centre and thereby make a decent living from it.

RURAL PLANNING IN THE NATIONAL AND REGIONAL POLICY CONTEXT IN NIGERIA

Rural developments are crucial for the structural transformation and economic development of any nation. According to Nyagba (2009), agriculture contributes 20 per cent of GDP in northern Africa and 30 per cent of GDP in sub-Saharan Africa. With this, the rural population represents an average of over 60 per cent of the total population on the continent in which about 90 per cent of the rural labor force engages directly or indirectly in agricultural activities. The Nigerian situation presents a paradox because the country is rich but the people are poor, with the poverty experienced by Nigerians being pervasive, multifaceted and chronic affecting the lives of a large proportion of the populace.