Poverty Eradication In Nigeria Through Agriculture And Enterprise Revolution

Africas most populous nation had an overwhelmingly agricultural economy during the hundred years spent under British colonial rule since 1860, and well into the first decade nearest its independence.

In the 1960s Nigeria was the worlds second largest causation of cocoa, the largest exporter of palm oil and a principal ground and exporter of cotton, rubber and groundnut. Working acknowledged equipment and practices, Nigerian peasants contributed 70 % of export revenue and 60 % of GDP in the corresponding period1. The total food requirement was met midpoint entirely by local produce and agricultural imports were to the bare minimum.

Case poles apart too much with the oil boom of the 1970s, as the description of capacious oil and gas resources in the strategically pregnant sub - Saharan nation rancid its fortunes drive. The windfall transformed Nigerias agricultural landscape into a gigantic oil field crisscrossed by more than 7, 000 km of pipelines connecting 6, 000 oil wells, two refineries, innumerable flow stations and export terminals.

The colossal investments in the sector paid off, with unofficial estimates suggesting Abuja raked in more than $600 billion in petrodollars in the last decade alone.

Unfortunately, the obsession with non - renewables over all other sectors of the economy eventually rancid Nigerias boon into a bane. Newfound assets spawned political instability and massive corruption in government circles, and the country was rent asunder by decades of unrestrained civil hostility and later military coups. Agriculture was one of the first casualties of the oil regime, and by the 1990s, sprouting accounted for righteous 5 % of GDP2. Farming modernisation and support king-size to hang in low on the catalogue of national priorities as capacious stretches of rural Nigeria gradually plunged into poverty and food scarcity. Deforestation, soil erosion and industrial pollution further hastened the down - spiral of agriculture to the point where it ended up as a provision animation.

The fall of Nigerian agriculture coincided with the collapse of its macroeconomic and human development indicators. With income distribution concentrated on a few urban pockets, the majority of rural Nigeria was left reeling under massive poverty, unemployment and food shortages. A widening urban - rural divide sparked social unrest and mass migration into towns and cities. Organised urban crime became as real a security threat as militancy in the Niger Delta region. Nigeria plummeted to the bottom in world economic rankings and Africas most populous nation acquired the unhappy distinction of having more than half ( 54 % ) of its 148 million people living in abject poverty3. The World Bank coined the term Nigerian Paradox specifically to describe the unique condition of extreme underdevelopment and poverty in a country brimming with resources and potential. The country was ranked 80th in a 2007 UNDP poverty survey covering 108 countries.

The transition to democratic civilian rule at the end of the last century paved the way for an enthusiastic programme of economic reform and restructuring. Abujas urgency for inclusive growth was much in evidence in the adoption of an ambitious blueprint designed to reverse trends and jumpstart a stagnating economy. The Vision 2020 document adopted under former president O Obsanjo lays out broad parameters for sustainable development with the specific goal of instating Nigeria as a global economic superpower in a time - bound manner. The 2020 goals are in addition to Nigerias commitment to the UN Millennial Declaration of 2000 that proposes universal basic human rights by 2015.

The realisation of these allied and intertwined objectives depends entirely on Abujas ability to bring about inclusive growth by means of an entrepreneurial revolution, while simultaneously correcting massive infrastructural shortages and administrative anomalies. Economies usually begin expanding with an initial agricultural revolution: The case of Nigeria however calls for agriculture to be part of a larger enterprise revolution that efficiently leverages the nations extensive resources and human capital.

The intricacy of issues involved here is reflected in the fact that the National Poverty Eradication Programme of 2001 identifies agriculture and rural development as its primary area of interest. The fact that all development has to begin from the bottom - up cannot be overemphasised in the context of Nigeria, where a farming boom can ensure not just food supply and exports but also provide industrial raw materials and a market for products.

Agricultural expansion is key to Nigerias economic prosperity and long - term goals, especially considering its massive poverty - eradication challenge. The following are some of the most urgent prerequisites to coordinating a successful agricultural revolution:

* Active promotion and establishment of agro - based industries that generate employment, sustain local food requirements and encourage exports.

* Effective steps to modernise and diversify the agricultural economy as a means of buttressing entrepreneurial growth in ancillary sectors.

* Institution of a tariff system that promotes local produce against cheaper imports, together with the removal of institutional barriers against agricultural profitability.

* Subsidies on technologically advanced farm equipment and practices that help boost productivity without any adverse ecological side effects.

* An umbrella poverty alleviation programme designed specifically to promote agrarian reforms while simultaneously improving the quality of life in rural communities.

* Enhanced access to agricultural enterprise loans through a network of regulated lending institutions sympathetic to farming realities.

* Adult education programmes designed to help Nigerian farmers upgrade to locally relevant but modern methods of cultivation, marketing and distribution.

* Encouragement of both public and private sector agricultural research aimed at correcting technological constraints faced by local farming communities.

If Nigerias agricultural potential is enormous, it is partly because more than 90 % of its 91 million hectares of total land area is arable4. While soil fertility is generally estimated on the lower side, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation ( FAO ) predicts medium to high yields across the country with optimal utilisation of resources. Combined with Nigerias substantial rural population traditionally involved in agriculture, this projection translates to gigantic prospects in terms of agricultural productivity and, by extension, economic resurgence.

For a nation emerging out of a troubled past and struggling to attain social, political and economic stability, the ideals of agricultural and entrepreneurial revolution hold vitally important. Because they are also inextricably linked in the Nigerian context, the countrys future position on the world economic stage depends literally on the bounty of its harvest.

Poverty Trap in Africa

Jeffrey D. Sachs examines the state of poverty in the nations of sub - Saharan Africa and suggests salutary measures to break the poverty traps.

According to Sachs, Africa is characterized by growth in population, need of growth in food production, fragmentation of land, and lack of basic infrastructure pushing it in the poverty trap. They have a high child necrosis percentage due to poor health programs. In nonconformity, the British colonial existence in India at numero uno endowed her with a sound railway network penetrating to her villages. No corresponding infrastructure is set up in Africa.

However, the economic burdens in Africa can be succulent bowled over. According to Sachs, the barriers to economic development evident in Africa can be overthrown at a low cost, but finance is difficult for the African nations living on tuck. " The escape from consummate poverty " argues Sachs, " requires four basic types of investment ". The proposed investments are required in ( i ) Agriculture ( ii ) Health ( iii ) Education, and ( iv ) Infrastructure, to attain sustained growth. A temporary aid over several years if utilized optimally can lead to permanent rise in productivity.

The initial external investment can be used for boosting agricultural productivity, and a parallel can be seen in the green revolution in India in the latter half of 1960s. With the initial investment in agriculture, the external aid can be further utilized for boosting growth in education, health, and infrastructure thereby triggering a process of self - sustained growth ( Sachs 231 ). In agriculture, the experience shows that with little cost of inputs in terms of fertilizer and high yielding varieties of seeds, the return is spectacular. The yield per hectare can grow from as little as 0. 5 ton per hectare to as high as 1 to 5 tons per hectare with as little investment as $200 but small farmers lack even that little finance. The same goes for health. A little investment can go a long way in controlling most of the diseases that commonly originate from infectious diseases, nutritional deficiencies, and unsafe childbirth. The nations like Zanzibar and Tanzania have already shown dramatic results from the help that arrived in the form of mass bed net, anti - mosquito spray from the Global Fund, and the United States.

Similarly a little investment in education and literacy will open doors to mass employment in agriculture, exports, agricultural processing and industry simultaneously with interventions in infrastructural upgradation and build up.

Regional development strategy is seen as going a long way in generating economic prosperity, employment and sound infrastructure in underdeveloped regions. Sachs offers two examples of successful regional development - Tennessee Value Authority ( TVA ) created under the New Deal package covering seven states in the southeastern United States, and world ' s largest regional development project in the Western China Development Project. Out - migration from regionally underdeveloped to the developed regions is yet another strategy of development. However, migration of unskilled laborers from poor nations to rich nations is a deeply contentious issue. Also migration and sending remittances by the migrants are only part solutions to the development.

The UN sponsored Millennium Development Project and the Millennium Village Projects are quick impact investments aimed at uplifting depressed regions and villages. The goal here is to empower communities to achieve sustained long term growth through key investments in agriculture, health, education, and infrastructure. The initial results have been positive for agriculture productivity in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Malawi. The progress was also seen in health and education.

Sachs demystifies the concept that nations like Israel, India, Taiwan, and Korea developed on the strength of their internal resources as he goes on to show the sources of their external funding and time when these nations received financial aid that helped them take off before external aid became redundant. The railway infrastructure in India was bequeathed to her by the British rule. The green revolution in India was externally aided. It is also a myth that aid - propelled growth is unsustainable and that aid can sustain only on a small scale.