Article: Agriculture Ladder To The Economy

From the nation's earliest days, farming has held a crucial place in the Nigerian economy and culture. Farmers play an important role in any society, of course, since they feed people. Early in the nation's life, farmers were seen as exemplifying economic virtues such as hard work, initiative, and self-sufficiency.

Nigeria's economy has a modern segment dependent on oil earnings, overlaid by a traditional agricultural and trading economy. The wealth from oil has not fed through to the wider population. Economic growth since the early 1970s has been erratic, driven primarily by the fluctuations of the global oil market.
The oil sector is now of overwhelming importance: it provides a fifth of GDP, most of foreign exchange earnings, and more than half of government revenues. Agriculture has not kept up with rapid population growth, and Nigeria, once a large net exporter, now imports food.

The country's sojourn through "claims and realities" on ground has made almost every Nigerian to adopt the "Seeing is believing" attitude and at worst, not believing anything at all. The campaign for the diversification of the nation's economy through agriculture has been ongoing, with great momentum. Still, there seem to be razzmatazz and intrigues playing.

We are talking about the claims of Nigeria's increased potentials in agriculture, the proposed value chain development, ensuing job creation and rising level of funding by banks. We are still Nigerians, so let us ask: "Are they really so?"

The gospel of economic salvation cannot be preached without due regard to agricultural development. Agriculture is the major and most certain path to economic growth and sustainability. It encompasses all aspect of human activities a cultural necessity and science of production of goods through cultivation of land and management of plants and animals which creates an activity web-chain that satisfies social and economic needs.

Agriculture is the mainstay of mankind; therefore wise nations all over the globe give it a priority by developing and exploiting this sector for the upkeep of their teeming populations through the earning of revenue for development purposes; as well as employment for the stemming down crimes, corruption and other forms of indiscipline which work against all factors of life, living and most of all economic production.
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