Examining the crises in the food sector of Nigerian agriculture

Abstract

Food output in Nigeria has deteriorated since the 1970s, whereas the population continues to grow. Consequently, the country experiences a fall in per capita food production. Grouping the country's food producers under four categories, this paper argues that production has remained a predominantly peasant affair, characterized by subsistency, inefficiency and low productivity. For a way forward out of the food crises, we introduce a theoretical model of the impact of policy mechanisms on agricultural output. We also look at the target group of the policy mechanisms. The paper concludes that to tackle the food crises, the country needs a radical approach to the problem, with emphasis on a total departure from its hitherto subsistence farming to a modem commercial farming.