increase of roughly 470,000 metric tons
only, in over four decades. In fact,
Nigeria currently imports over 400,
000 metric tons of palm oil to meet
local demand.
In the area of groundnuts, from
production output between 1-2 million
metric tons as far back as 1971, in
2018, total production is estimated at
three million metric tons (an increase
of just one million metric tons in over
four decades).
Almost every other export crop in
Nigeria has followed the same
production pattern or worse.
It might be necessary to
contrast Nigeria‘s
performance with another.
Cote d‘Ivoire gained Independence in
1960, same as Nigeria. At
independence, that nation‘s cocoa
production was half that of Nigeria.
However, by 1971, Cote d‘Ivoire had
more than doubled its 1960 production
levels and by 1974, had surpassed
Nigeria in the production of cocoa and
it became the world‘s leading producer
of cocoa in 1977/78. It has since
maintained that position.
In 1960, Cote d‘Ivoire produced less
than 20,000 metric tons of palm oil (30
times less than Nigeria). As of today,
Cote d‘Ivoire is acknowledged as the
only country in West Africa with an
exportable surplus of palm oil.
These figures are merely to paint a
clear picture of the state of the
agriculture sector in Nigeria. Clearly,
whatever we‘ve been doing to ―grow‖
this sector (and other non-oil sectors)
in Nigeria has not worked.
The problem with
Nigeria‘s economy
The dominance of crude oil and
petroleum as the mainstay of the
country‘s economy has been discussed
and deliberated widely. In actual fact,
the decline of Nigeria‘s agricultural
sector can be traced directly back to
the discovery of crude oil and the
growth of the oil industry.
Before its independence, farming for
exports was the mainstay of colonial
Nigeria. After independence, the
government slowly began to prioritize
oil production and virtually abandoned
agriculture and other non-oil sectors. It
was not until the mid-seventies when
the negative consequences of its
policies began to set in, that the
government decided to take corrective
measures. ―Operation feed the nation‖
and later, ―the green revolution‖ all
proved futile as a means to boost
agricultural production. The people