Agricultural Production and Rural Welfare in Nigeria

One of the greatest challenges of sustainable agricultural development is the inability of a country to meet its domestic food needs and provide surplus for export and future shocks, especially for a developing country like Nigeria. Agricultural production is thus essential for meeting domestic food demand, and generating broad-based growth necessary for rural development. Nigeria's economy is agriculture-based, and agricultural production has the potential impact of improving rural welfare. This book presents an analysis of the concept, policy and impact of agricultural production in Nigeria. Data on agricultural inputs and production, real agricultural gross domestic product, foreign private investments in agriculture, agricultural budgets as well as infrastructural and industrial development indices were analysed against extant policy regimes.The book reveals that increase in agricultural production led to significant improvement in rural welfare in Nigeria. It further stresses the importance of the expansion of land area under irrigation in order to sustain agricultural production and boost rural welfare in Nigeria.