Impediments to the development of Nigeria’s agricultural exports

Abstract

Until the 1960s, Nigeria exported many types of agricultural products: peanuts, peanut butter, cocoa beans, rubber, palm oil. The main cash crop was cocoa. However, as a result of neglecting the agricultural sector and focusing on the oil sector, Nigeria has turned from an exporter of agricultural products into a major food importer. The country continues to export cocoa, oil seeds and fruits, tobacco, animal skins, fruits and nuts, and agricultural products have been occupying the second place in export earnings after petroleum products throughout the years. However, the share of these goods in the total exports is insignificant. The successive Nigerian governments tried to launch their own programs for the development of agricultural production, the implementation of which would diversify exports. Over the past 50 years, this objective has not been met: 96% of export revenues still come from the sale of petroleum products. The author of the paper makes an attempt to identify factors that impede the stable development of the production of agricultural products for export. The identification of these factors should allow us to understand why the country has failed to diversify its export revenues by increasing the share of agricultural goods intended for export.

Examining the Relationship Between the use of Mobile Phones and Extension Methods in Adoption of Groundnut Farming Practices in Northwestern Nigeria

“…However, the drought of 1974/75, accompanied with pest invasion, culminated into a huge loss to farmers and about 750, 000 hectares of the crop (Aboki et al, 2018). Additionally, crude oil discovery has significantly drawn back the sector as the nation move towards energy-driven economy at the expense of agriculture (Gavrilova, 2020). To boost the decline in production situation, several collaborative researches were undertaken in the 1990s in collaboration with multifaceted research institutes within and outside the country .…”