This article was originally published as: An Analysis of the Impact of the Oil Boom on Agriculture and Agricultural Research in Northern Nigeria, 1970-1987
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Abstract
Since the 1970’s, food security has eluded Nigeria despite its indisputable agricultural potential and abundant human resources. The current imports of over $10 billion of food stuffs and other agricultural products to make up for the shortfalls only serve to demonstrate the scale of the crises. In the first decade of the country’s independence, however, food was in abundance and was also the major source of foreign earnings. The paper traces the origin of the Nigerian agricultural Crises in both colonial and post[1]Colonial periods. To achieve this, it adopts the qualitative method of research which relies on the collection and analysis of primary and secondary data. It argues that the foundation of the crises was laid by Britain which deliberately prioritised export crops over food crops and linked the agricultural sector to their industries at the expense of local industries during the colonial period. It also contends that the failure of the Nigerian leadership to undo colonial agricultural trajectories as well as the costly mistake made during the oil Boom era which saw agriculture de-emphasised in the country’s economic life worsened the situation. Consequently, budgetary allocation for agriculture and research reduced drastically, which slowed down agricultural development and the economy in general. The study concludes that for any meaningful economic development to be achieved in Nigeria, the economy has to be diversified and the traditional leading role of agriculture must be revived and linked to the budding industries. In this regard, the critical role agricultural research has to play was brought to the fore.
Authors
- Sunday Moses Adebayo ALOKO (Kaduna State University, Kaduna)
Keywords
Impact, Agriculture, Agricultural Research, Oil Boom, Northern Nigeria, IAR
References
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