Agricultural policy in Nigeria has evolved considerably since the country’s independence. The 1960s were characterised by strong public intervention in agriculture, with development guidelines and plans established at the federal level and implemented in the states. The government’s priority at the time was to boost domestic production, particularly of cash crops. This strongly interventionist period pushed Nigeria to the position of the world’s top producer of rubber, groundnuts and palm oil, and the world’s second-largest cocoa producer. The information for the study was collected using primary and secondary methods of data collection. For the primary data collection, questionnaires, personal observations and oral interviews were used while existing literature relevant to the topic was consulted for the secondary data. The researcher used chi-square statistical model to analyze the data. From the findings, a number of policy issues stand-out clearly. First, the emphasis of the government on the capital expenditure revives the ailing agricultural sector. This should be complemented with well- monitored credit facilities to acquire modern farming techniques and equipment. River basins and irrigation facilities should be made a priority to have all-year round production. Food importation should be banned to encourage local producers and population control measures should be intensified in the rural settings.

TABLE OF CONTENT

Title page

Approval page

Dedication

Acknowledgement

Abstract

Table of content

CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background of the study

1.2 Statement of the problem

1.3 Objectives of the study

1.4 Significance of the study

1.5 Research question

1.6 Research Hypothesis

1.7 Scope and limitation of the study

1.8 Definition of terms

Reference

CHAPTER TWO

Review of related literature

2.1 Historical perspective of agricultural reforms/policies and

programmes

2.2 Effects of agricultural reforms, policies and programmes on the agricultural sector

2.3 The 1960 to 1969 era (period of minimum government intervention)

2.4 The 1985 to 1990 era (structural adjustment programme (SAP) and post sap period)

2.5 The new millennium agricultural policies (1999 to 2011)

2.6 Problems/challenges of the agricultural reforms, policies and programmes

2.7 The impact of federal government agricultural expenditure on agricultural output in Nigeria

2.8 Introduction commercial agriculture development project (CADP) in Nigeria

2.9 Enugu state commercial agriculture development

Reference

CHAPTER THREE

3.0 Research design and methodology

3.1 Research design

3.2 Area of the study

3.3 Population of the study

3.4 Sampling size and sampling technique

3.5 Sources of data

3.6 Data collection methods/Instrument Used

3.7 Design and administration of research instrument

3.8 statistical techniques used in Data analysis

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 Data presentation analysis and interpretation

4.1 presentation

4.2 Testing of hypothesis

CHAPTER FIVE

5.0 Summary of findings , Conclusion and Recommendation

5.1 Summary of findings

5.2 Conclusion

5.3 Recommendations

Bibliography

AppendixI

AppendixII

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Nigeria is an agrarian country with about 70% of her over 160 million people engaged in agricultural production (NBS/CBN, 2006) and provides subsistence for two-thirds (2/3) of Nigerians who are low income earners (Usman, 2006). While the Northern part can guarantee the production of cereals such as sorghum, maize, millet, groundnut, cowpea and cotton, the Middle Belt and the South have the potentials to produce root tubers such as cassava, yam, cocoyam and other crops like plantain as well as maize (Abdullahi, 2003). In addition to crops, the country is also involved in the production of livestock, fisheries, forestry and wildlife.

Nigeria is generally endowed with abundant natural resources, numerous all-season rivers and a favourable tropical climate. Rainfall is generally adequate and fairly well distributed throughout the country (Ukpong et al, 1995). Out of the 98.321 million hectres of land available in Nigeria, about 75.30% may be regarded as arable land, which 10% is under forest reserves and the remaining 14.70% is assumed to be made up of permanent pastures, built up areas and uncultivable waste (Olajide, 1980).In the light of the foregoing, agriculture is still a major sector as well as remains the cornerstone of the Nigerian economy (Salami, 2006; Igboeli, 2000).

Since Nigeria attained independence in 1960, there has been a consistent drive towards the improvement of the agricultural sector. This can be seen in the various agricultural policies that have been embarked upon by different regimes, military and civilian alike.

The colonial agricultural policy which was embarked upon by the imperialists from 1900 to 1949, was based on cash crops production. By this therefore, the imperialists forced Nigeria into capitalism by way of making Nigeria produce only for the capitalists market of Europe. These cash crops produced were shipped to Europe at Very low prices and processed in Europe, only to be sold back to Nigerians at very high and exorbitant prices. This imperialist expropriation of Nigeria was the fundamental reason behind free-trade imperialism in Nigeria, the central point of the colonial relationship was the transfer of surplus to strengthen the capitalist class and the capitalist mode of production in the imperialist country (Onimode,B.).

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, with an urban population growing at an exponential rate. The government’s objective of achieving food self-sufficiency is a major challenge. In this country that is experiencing relatively rapid economic growth, this goal is not unrealistic but will require a great deal of effort. The government’s priority at the time was to boost domestic production, particularly of cash crops. This period pushed Nigeria to the position of the world’s top producer of rubber, groundnuts and palm oil, and the world’s second-largest cocoa producer.

The 1970-1986 period, which coincided with intensive petroleum exploitation, was marked by lack of interest in supporting agriculture. The strong decline in domestic agricultural production reduced the country to growing dependency on imported food stuffs. In the wake of the major food crisis in the country in 1976, programmes such as “Feed the Nation” (1976-1979) and “Green Revolution” (1979-1983) were set up. These programmes focused on strengthening agricultural production, providing subsidised inputs, community development, and access to credit. However, they were implemented without a transparent framework to structure action, and the successive governments at the head of the country did not ensure continuity. The enactment of the Land Use Act in 1976, marked an historic turning point for land use management in Nigeria.

The movement was reversed in 1987 with the structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) that sought to reduce the national economy’s dependency on oil and promote the private sector as the engine driving growth.

In 1998, the Nigerian government once again turned its attention to the agricultural sector. It adopted an agricultural policy that had the objective, among others of ensuring food security for the population by developing local production.

Agriculture at the Heart of Nigeria’s Current Strategic Frameworks. Since the reference document “Agriculture in Nigeria : The New Policy Thrust” was issued in 2001, the government has assigned the agricultural sector an ambitious role in its strategic planning frameworks. The strategic document for reducing poverty in Nigeria, “National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy” (NEEDS II 2008-2011) emphasising economic development driven by the private sector, and the “7-point Agenda”, the framework guiding economic reform in the country that was adopted in May 2007, are the medium-term policy documents intended to help the country achieve the Millennium Development Goals for 2015 and its own “2020 Vision” plan. The aims to make Nigeria one of the top twenty economies in the world by 2020. For agriculture, this means increasing current domestic production six fold. The National Food Security Programme (NFSP) issued in August 2008 by the federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources is designed to attain food security by ensuring that all Nigerians have access to good-quality food while making Nigeria a major exporter of foodstuffs. The programme designates priority crops (cassava, rice, millet, wheat) for achieving food security and outlines objectives for all stages of these supply chains. The aim is to create more value in production, particularly downstream in the chain, by improving storage, processing, and access to agricultural markets. The programme also plans the creation of irrigation schemes. The strategic frameworks in NEEDS II and the 7-point Agenda have been translated into short-to-medium programmes. The federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources has drawn up a “5-point Agenda” for agriculture, a detailed road map of steps to be implemented to attain the objectives listed for agriculture in the 7-point Agenda.

Olusegun Obasano’s government also launched Presidential Initiatives in 1999 for seven agricultural products (cassava, rice, vegetable oil, sugar, livestock, cultivated trees and dry grains). The aim of these initiatives is not only to boost Nigeria’s agricultural exports by taking advantage of preferential agreements in the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Economic Partnership Agreements between the European Union and the Africa-Caribbean. Pacific countries but also to make the most of the potential regional market made up of neighbouring countries. Although these measures have shown that investment in the agricultural sector can have concrete results in terms of increasing domestic production, their overall outcomes have been mixed in that only the “intensification of production” segment has been taken into account, ignoring the downstream segments of the value chain such as product processing.

In Nigeria, the ECOWAP/CAADP “pact” was signed in late 2009, and the elaboration of the NAIP led to a Medium- Term Sector Strategy (MTSS) for Nigeria for the 2010-2012 period covering investments funded by the federal government and partnership programmes initiated by international funding agencies. The agriculture policy measures in the “5-point Agenda” comply with the major orientations outlined in the CAADP. Policies Still Lacking in Coherence. Nigeria’s agricultural policy has its limitations : a general lack of coherence, issues of programme continuity, issues in relation to other sectoral policies, and implementation issues at various institutional levels.

Nigeria’s agricultural policies were for a long time opportunistic and not coordinated among each other. Critics regret the absence of continuity in policy, and the fact that the successes, failures and lessons learned in preceding programmes have not been analysed. Strategies have not always been transposed into action in the field. The absence of indicators makes it hard to track and evaluate policy implementation. In terms of cross-sector policy coherence, little has been done to link agricultural policy with rural development policy, support for small and medium sized enterprises and management of water and natural resources. Finally, at the institutional level, roles are not clearly divided between the various administrative offices responsible for agricultural development. The sharing of responsibilities between the federal, state and local governments does not appear to be optimal, either in terms of areas of intervention or resources allocated. Generally speaking, while agricultural programmes managed by the states seem to be more effective than federal programmes, many observers deplore that agricultural policy is elaborated from the top down, with little participation by stakeholders.

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Some of the problems that geared this research work include the following:

There has been problems of government Agricultural policies on Agricultural productivity Enugu state.

1. Some of the agricultural policies, programmes has been hindering the commercial production of Agricultural products in the state and this to a great extent has affected the rural dwellers in the state.

2. Some of the Government agricultural policies has contributed to the poor marketing and distribution of agricultural products in Enugu state.

3. There are so many problems and factors that militate against the achievement of the desired impact of these policies by Enugu state commercial Agricultural scheme.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

This study was therefore designed primarily to assess the effect of government Agricultural policies on Agricultural productivity with particular reverence to Enugu state commercial Agricultural scheme. Specifically the study sought to:

1. To strengthen agricultural production system

2. To facilitate access to marketer for targeted value chains among small and medium scale commercial farmers in Enugu state.

3. Determine the effects of these policies on Enugu state Agricultural sector.

4. Identify the problems and factors that militate against the achievement of the desired impact.

5. Determine the impact of Enugu state commercial Agricultural development project on agricultural productivity.

6. Ascertain how grants/loans are extended to beneficiaries.

7. To ascertain the relationship between the scheme and increased agricultural productivity.

8. To examine critically how Enugu state commercial agriculture development project evolve.

9. Analyse the socio-economic characteristicties of the beneficiaries.

10. Make recommendations based on the findings

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research question were designed in this research work:

1. What are the effects of Government Agricultural policies on Agricultural productivity?

2. What are the effects of individual contribution to Agricultural productivity in Enugu state commercial Agriculture development project?

3. What are the possible problems or factor militating against the achievement of the objectives of the Government Agricultural policies in Enugu state commercial Agriculture development project?

4. Is there any relationship between Government Agricultural Policies and Agricultural productivity in Enugu state?

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

The following hypothesis were formulated in this research study:

H0: Government Agricultural policies do not have any effect on Agricultural productivity in Enugu state commercial Agriculture development project.

H1: Government Agricultural policies have a significant effect on Agricultural productivity in Enugu state commercial Agriculture development project .

H0: There is no effect of individual contribution to Agricultural productivity in Enugu state commercial Agriculture development project.

H1: There is a significant effect of individual contribution to Agricultural productivity in Enugu state commercial Agriculture development project.

H0: there is no problem militating against the achievement of the objectives of the Government Agricultural policies in Enugu state commercial Agriculture development project.

H1: There are so many problems militating against the achievement of the objectives of the Government Agricultural policies in Enugu state commercial Agriculture development project.

H0: There is no relationship between Government Agricultural Policies and Agricultural productivity in Enugu state commercial Agriculture development project.

H1: There is a significant relationship between Government Agricultural Policies and Agricultural productivity in Enugu state commercial Agriculture development project.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SUDY

This study will be of immense significant to the students and lecturers who will want to do research on the effect of Government Agricultural policies on Agricultural productivity.

This study will serve as a guide to the students who are in this field of study.

It will be useful to the Nigerian government especially to the policy makers as it will be an aid to them. It will serve as a reference material to those who will want to write on this same topic it will be useful to overcome the set back that Nigeria has before as a developing country on home made products.

It will also serve as a tool for managerial decision and policy making and finally, 'this research work is useful information to the existing literature in the area of Government Agricultural policies.

1.7 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

This study is aimed only at evaluating the effect of Government Agricultural policies on Agricultural productivity with particular reference Enugu state Agricultural scheme. The research work was however, hampered, by the following unavoidable constraints.

1. Time: The battle of carrying out this research along with the semester academic work was enormous and tedious. The researcher could only manage any available time at her disposal that would not disturb her own academic works.

2. Resource Constraint: The financial need of the research work is also enormous. The fact the researcher is prone to only a paltry fixed a salary at the end of every month were daily bread, is met has actually limited the research work because of the cost of data collection.

3. Respondents: The information used was based on that provided by top management staffs of Enugu state Commercial Agricultural scheme that are seen as actual participants in the agricultural policy making.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Agriculture

Agriculture is defined as the cultivating of land for the purpose of producing food for man, animal and fiber or raw materials for our industries.

Agricultural productivity

The index of the ratio of the value of the total farm output to the value of the total input used in farm produce.

Agricultural policy

Agricultural policy is a set of law relating to domestic agriculture and import of foreign agricultural products.

Productivity

The rate at which a worker, a company or a country produces goods and the amount produced, compared with how much time, work and money is needed to produced them.

Production

The act of creating output a good or service which has value and contributes to the utility of individuals.

Natural resources

It is the material or substances such as minerals, forest, water and fertile land that occur in nature and can be used for economic gain.

Programmes

It is defined as a plan of things that will be done or included in the development of something for the economy.

Domestic production

It means the production of goods for use in the home country.

Water resources

It is sources of water that are useful or potentially useful. Uses of water include agricultural, industrial, household, recreational and environmental activities. Virtually all of these human uses require fresh water .

Strategy

This is a plan that is intended to achieve a particular purpose