Agriculture in Nigeria has greatly improved in the
past few years because of the advent of
technology and other necessary infrastructures.
Initially, most Nigerian farmers merely engage in
subsistence farming to provide food for their family
while very little is made available in the market. Growth in agricultural output has no doubt been on
the rise as farmer are stepping
away from subsistence agriculture and embracing
modern civilization - investing in large scale
farming and ultimately increasing agricultural
products The Nigerian soil and climatic condition is very suitable for the production of wide verities of
crops, there are
over a hundred different food crops produced by
farmers in Nigeria on yearly basis which includes
yam, maize, millet, sorghum, beans, potatoes, rice,
onions garbage, carrot, pear, cocoa, cocoa yam, okra, vegetables and very many others Nigeria is
the world number 1 producer of cassava... Cassava
farming has taken the center stage in Nigeria and
contributes over 45 percent of Nigerian agricultural
GDP. Agriculture in Nigeria contributes merely
about 20 percent of the Nigeria total GDP, trailing behind petroleum which is the major Nigerian
domestic produce.
Although Nigeria depends heavily on the oil
industry for its budgetary revenue it is believed
that if the agricultural sector is properly managed
and enhanced, it would greatly boost the country's gross domestic product and even replace oil on the
top of the list, considering the vast area of land that
is unused in Nigeria. In 1990, it was speculated that
about 82 million hectares out of Nigeria's total land
area of 91 million hectares were found to be
arable, and merely 42 percent of this cultivable area was farmed. Much of this land was farmed
under the bush fallow system, a process whereby
land is left idle for a period of time to allow natural
regeneration of soil fertility and replacement of soil
nutrient. It is believed that the agricultural sector is
one of Nigeria's potential source of revenue that is yet underdeveloped and unexplored. Animal rearing in Nigeria Agricultural practices in
Nigeria also include the rearing of animals for meat
production and animals that serves as beast of
burden - aides in the transportation of goods and
man.
Livestock farming is a very important aspect of agriculture in Nigeria, the Nigerian community
depend mostly on meat from cows and chicken.
Meat in Nigeria is an important part of the Foods in
Nigeria, it suitable to say that Nigerians don't cook
foods without meat or fish. the kind of animals
reared in Nigeria includes - Cow, Goat, Sheep, Cattle, Pig, Horse and several
others while poultry birds includes chicken, turkey,
duck, pigeons and in Nigeria could use a little push
at strategic points if success is to be achieved,
there is a need for the education of farmers, most
farmer in Nigeria who engage in subsistence agriculture have very little knowledge of the
operational method of the improved agricultural
system If farmers in Nigeria are provided with the
necessary tool and adequate resources, there
would be gross improvement in Nigerian
agricultural sector; the land would be properly utilized and this would greatly reduce the high level
of food stuff importation and ultimately increase
employment rate. There are lots of problem hampering the
production of food crops in Nigeria and rearing of
animals, chiefly among them is electricity. Over 40
percent of Nigeria perishable goods get spoilt after
harvest due to the lack of electricity needed for the
storage and processing. Electricity is needed for the running of large farm equipment, most Nigerian
farmer simply chose to stick with manual labor as
the cost of running machines with alternative
source of power is often steep. Another problem facing agriculture in Nigeria is the
lack of good roads needed for the transportation of
harvested crops from the farm land
to the main roads, most farms in Nigeria are
located about a mile away from the main road and
the only entrance to these farms are mostly a path beaten by the foot of men. Nigeria Farmers also
encounter the problems of funds needed for
running a farm and construction of farm houses
and proper storage system. Way Forward for
Nigeria AgricultureIf the government of Nigeria and
the ministry of agriculture would intervene in solving the problems of farmers in Nigeria, it is
believed that by 2020 the country would witness a
gross decrease in the importation of food stuffs and
animals. With good planning and the needed
resources, Nigeria has what it takes to multiply her
GDP just with cassava products alone.


Source-http://agricng..com

Lalasticlala, mynd44

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