Diversification in the agricultural sector: a catalyst for sustainable economic development in Nigeria
Agriculture implies the cultivation of the land, the breeding and rearing of animals, in order to produce food for humans, animal feed and raw materials for industry. It involves forestry, fishing, processing and marketing of these agricultural products. Essentially, it is made up of agricultural production, livestock, forestry and fishing.
Agriculture is the mainstay of many economies. Throughout the world, the development of a sustainable economy goes hand in hand with agricultural development, so Nigeria needs to exploit its various agricultural resources to their full potential to accelerate its pursuit and efforts to achieve sustainable economic development.
Agriculture is considered a catalyst for the overall development of any nation; Development economists have always assigned the agricultural sector a central place in the development process. Early development theorists, while emphasizing industrialization, counted on agriculture to provide the necessary production of food and raw materials, along with the labor that would gradually be absorbed by industry. and services. Much later, thought placed agriculture at the forefront of the development process; hopes for technical change in agriculture and the “green revolution” suggested agriculture as the dynamo and magic wand for economic growth and development.
The industrial revolution of the 19th century that catapulted the agrarian economies of most of the countries of Europe drew its stimulus from agriculture; The sector in recent history has also worked a tremendous miracle in countries like Mexico, India, Brazil, Peru, the Philippines and China where the Green Revolution was one of the great successes. In fact, the importance of agriculture in the economy of any nation cannot be overemphasized, for example, in the United States of America, agriculture contributes approximately 1.1% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
The above statistics indicate that the more developed a country is, the lower the contribution of agriculture to the Gross Domestic Product. Economic diversification is an economic development strategy characterized by increasing the number of the income base of an economy. The Nigerian economy is a monocultural economy that relies on crude oil as its main source of revenue, so it is critical that the government no longer believe that oil provides an inexhaustible source of revenue.
As a matter of priority, the Nigerian government should encourage rapid diversification of the Nigerian economy as this is the only sustainable way to survive the current environment of global economic uncertainty of international oil price volatility and crisis, unfavorable quota system and exhaustion.
Therefore, diversification in the agricultural sector is suggested for Nigeria as a developing economy to ensure food and nutrition security, income and employment generation, poverty alleviation and encourage industrialization, alleviate pressure on the balance of payments, a reliable source of government revenue and the general economic development of the country.
Before the political crisis of 1967-1970, the positive contributions of agriculture to the economy were essential to sustain economic growth and stability. Most of the demand for food was met by domestic production, thus obviating the need to use scarce foreign exchange resources to import food.
Stable growth in agricultural exports forms the backbone of a favorable trade balance. Sustainable amounts of capital were raised from the agricultural sector through the imposition of various taxes and the accumulation of marketing surpluses, which were used to finance many development projects, such as the building and construction of Ahmadu Bello University (Zaria) and the first skyscraper -Nigerian cocoa house. in Ibadan. The sector, which occupied 71% of the total labor force in 1960, occupied only 56% in 1977, the number was 68% in 1980, falling to 55% in 1986, 1987 and 1988; and 57% per year from 1989 to 1992, and has continued to plummet in the 2000s as a result of the abandonment of the sector.
To embark on the path of modern development, Nigeria must examine what factors hampered the development of its agricultural sector, which was the backbone of the Nigerian economy before the oil boom era. You should rectify the mistakes you made over 54 years by immediately putting these strategic plans into action. The people of Nigeria can lift themselves out of poverty and anguish by eradicating corruption and dedicating themselves to fighting for progress.
The 2020:20 initiative will keep Nigeria focused on improving its economy and, combined with a significant effort to reduce food imports and increase food production within its own country, Nigeria may see a timely turnaround in its investment. Nigeria has the necessary components to return to an economy based on agriculture. Research has shown that a return to an agricultural economy is not only possible, but will greatly benefit the entire country of Nigeria.
To achieve sustainable economic development and lift the latent and ever-declining contribution of the agricultural sector, Nigeria needs to have some recommended prerequisite diversification policies, such as providing financial resources to the sector to get it up and running; To boost the agricultural market, a combination of government provision of subsidies, seedlings and improved and high-yielding breeds to private companies and small farmers producing up to 85% of the agricultural production of the sector is needed.
There is also a need to review current import and export regulations to make it more convincing for other countries to accept agricultural products from Nigeria. It is an established fact that with a population of more than 170 million, vast arable land, favorable climate and soil, Nigeria has the productive resources to be strongly embraced by the agricultural sector as a driver for sustainable economic development. .
Therefore, it is plausible that Nigeria would diversify into the agricultural market in its effort to become more self-sustaining and recognized as one of the world’s economic powerhouses.