What are the major problems confronting agriculture?
The sector has been left largely in the hands of small, poor farmers who are stuck with their old ways and get very little from governments by way of assistance. The fact that Nigeria recorded zero rate of growth in agriculture between 1970 and 1990 is very painful. The tragic disappearance of the cocoa plantations in the South-West, the rubber plantations in the Mid-West and the groundnut pyramids in Kano before the 80s confirmed the neglect. The palm-oil industry which Nigeria led before independence but which Malaysia took over after learning the process from US remains our national shame to date Factors responsible for the failure of the agricultural sector to produce enough food for the people are multifarious. They include gross neglect, inadequate funding, poor extension services and lack of loans to produce more than enough. Another factor is that governments have inevitably demonstrated ambivalence towards research institutes and their students In Nigeria, studies have shown t
