ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
African food production is in crisis. Today, despite Africa’s vast physical and climatic potentials
to produce food, most African States depend on food importation. Africa’s capacity to deal with
its food battles is severely constrained by its political instability, its early stage of scientific and
institutional development, and a rapidly changing and complex global environment. In Nigeria
and in most developing economies, there is a fundamental lack of political commitment to
come grips with poverty, malnutrition and access to food. Because of these barriers, traditional
economics is a rather limited tool to understand food production and other related variables.
Poverty, hunger, malnutrition, famine and starvation in developing economies are just as much
a function of political, macroeconomic, and institutional barriers as lack of technology.
Illustrations from the agrarian chaos in Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Chad and others are too
numerous to conclude otherwise. The aim of this paper is to determine and analyze economics
incentives and strategies, which could stimulate commercial agriculture in Nigeria. The analysis
is based on the premise that the form of production organization in Nigerian agriculture is the
major constraint to commercialization. The paper concludes that output price subsidy is the
over-riding factor in the commercialization of agriculture in Nigeria.
Adebola, H.E and Oguzor, N.S (2009). Gender, Development and the Society.Granada: Afro Euro
Centre for Development Studies.
Abalu, G.O.I. and B. D’silva (1980). “Nigeria’s Food situation: Problems and Prospects”. Food
Policy No.5 pp 49-60
Abalu, G.O.I., Famoriyo, A. and Y.A. Abdullahi (1981). “Production Problems in Nigeria
Agriculture” In: M.O.Ojo, C.C. Edordu and J.A. Akingbade (eds.) Agricultural credit and
Finance in Nigeria: Problems and Prospects. Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Lagos. Pp 64-
87
Hinderink, K.J. and J.J. Starkenburg (1987). Agricultural Commercialization and Government
Policy in Africa. KPI Ltd London.
Mabawonku, A.F. (1986). “Economics of Private Tractor Hiring Operations: Implications for
Improved Food Production” In: A.R. Adeleke and A.F.Mabawonku (eds.) Farm
management For Improving Food Production in Nigeria. Proceedings of the 1ST National
Conference of the Farm Management Association of Nigeria (FAMAN), August 6th –7th
.Oguzor, N.S (2009). Food Production in a Developing Economy. Granada-Spain: Guerrero Press
Olayide, S.O. and E.O. Heady (1982). Introduction to Agricultural Production Economics. Ibadan
University Press Ltd. Ibadan.
N/A
Copyright: © 2011 The Author(s)
Published by HRMARS (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode