DEPT: MARKETING
FACULTY: MANAGEMENT SCIENCES
COURSE TITLE: AGRICULTURAL
MARKETING
COURSE CODE: MKT 463
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Accessibility
of agriculture marketing in Nigeria………………….. 1
Major crops………………………………………………………… 2
The role of agric marketing in Nigeria…………………………….. 3
References…………………………………………………………. 12
ACCESSIBILITY OF AGRICULTURE MARKETING
IN NIGERIA
Agriculture in Nigeria is a
major branch of the Economy in Nigeria
providing employment for 70% of the population. The sector is being transformed
by commercialization at the Small Medium and Large Scale Enterprise Levels.
Major crops include;
Beans,
Seasame, cashew nuts, cassava, cocoa, beans, grandaunts, gum Arabic, kolanut,
maize (corn, Melon Millet, palm kernels, palm oil, plantains, rice, rubber,
sorghum, soya beans and yams.
In 1990, 81 million hectares out of
Nigeria’s total land area of about 91 million hectares were found to be
available, although only 42 percent of the cultivable area was farmed. Much of
this land was farmed under the bush follow system, whereby land is left idle
for a period of time to allow natural regeneration of soil fertility. 18
millions hectares were classified as permanent pasture, but had the potential
to support crops. Most of the 20 million hectares covered by forest and
wood-land are believed to have agriculture potential.
Agricultural holdings are small
scattered, and farming is carried out with smile tools. Large scale Agriculture
is not common agriculture Contributed 32% to GDP in 2001.
The country’s agricultural products
fall into main groups, food crops produced for home consumption and exports.
Prior to the Nigeria
civil war, the country was self-sufficient in food but increase steeply after
1973. Bread made from American wheat replaced domestic crops as the cheapest
staple food. The most important food crops are yams and manioc (cassava) in
south and sorghum and millet in the North.
Cocoa
is the leading non-oil foreign exchange earner but the dominance of small
(holders and lack of farm labour due to urbanization hold back production. In
1999, Nigeria
produced 145,000 tons of coca beans, but has the potential for over 300,000 per
year.
Rubber is the second-largest non-oil
foreign exchange earner.
THE ROLE OF AGRICULTURE MARKETING IN
NIGERIA
(The Case of Agriculture as the Only
Saviour to Nigeria’s Doing Economy)
According to the “Economist”, Nigeria displays (truly)
the characteristics of an economy – a modern sector heavily dependent on oil
earnings overlays a traditional agricultural and trading economy. During the
colonial era, cash crops were introduced, harbours, railways and roads were
developed, and a market for consumer goods began to emerge. At independence in
1960 agriculture accounted for well over half of our Gross Domestic product
(GDP), and was the main source of export earnings and public revenue, with the
agricultural marketing boards playing a leading role, but today, this leading
role in the economy has been taken over by the national oil company, the
Nigeria National petroleum company (NNPC).
According to the central Bank of
Nigeria’s data (2003), oil still accounts for our major revenue (Hearing
towards 80%) and almost 100% of our export earnings.
Although Agriculture (Particularly
forestry, livestock and fishing) is shown to serve as the major activity of the
majority of Nigeria,
it is clear that we indulge in agriculture purely as personal survival
strategies rather than as a calculated effort to warning the engine of our
countries economy.
This is really where our National
economic problem lies. 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-being the art, act 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
up keep of their teeming populations through the earning of remove 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.
While many nations in the world are
working hard and reaping their harvest in this direction, Nigeria happens
to belong among the free that have greatly retarded form their past glorious
heights in agriculture, down to a near zero scale of agricultural production.
Surely, this neglect is because of irresponsible and ill-purposeful leadership.
With an expensing landmass covering
923 – 771 km2, an estimated availed land of about 68 million hectare, abundance
of natural forest and rangeland covering 37 million hectares. Varieties of livestock and wide life, an agricultural friendly climate,
coastal and marine resources of over 960km shoreline, expansive rivers and
lakes covering 120,00 square kilometer and large consumer market as depicted by National
population of over 120 million in 1991 (now estimated to be about 200 million)
large regional and continental markets, as well as the ever increasing world
market exist for the reaping of the potentials that agriculture can offer any
potentials that will outpace oil and gas on the long run. That not wills tending the country has had a
history of Agricultural process in the past, so, If it could work then, it
surely will work better now, if judiciously and positively articulated. This is
only possible if our oil-misdirected governments can start looking inwardly for
other sources of revenue other than oil with an honest bid to boost
agricultural production.
The importance of Agriculture cannot
generally be over-emphasized in Africa or
particularly in Nigeria
with poverty having finally taken resident permit in Nigeria in although we were warned
against it by Professor Pat Ulomi in 2003, we cannot get out of it today by
just relying on oil and gas. We cannot pretend to neglect the importance of
agriculture in the economic forward-wheeling of our nation. Would Bank (2003)
data show that more than &0% of Nigeria line below poverty line
(which is les than a dollar per day) implying that there has been an astronomical
growth in the levels of poverty of Nigeria form independence to toady.
This is something we all should be ashamed of, yet is a situation that can be
remedied.
Nigeria is blessed with a wide variety
of agricultural potentials, ranging form varieties of crops to varieties of
animals and plants and natural agricultural- supportive factors like forest,
waters, sands and most of all human resources that are being under-used (or not
even used as at now).
We have it all, yet we lack it all and
that is why we are hungry in the face of plenty to eat. How can our modern grow
well if we cannot castrate and manufacture our own foods. How do we in tend to
carter for the ever growing Nigeria
population if we cannot confidently feed them to face life’s ever trying
activities?
For instance, it is will known that
the level of animal protein consumption per individual in Nigeria is very
low-the reasons being that not much of attention has been placed in this area.
With the increasing awareness of Nigerians on the need to take of least one egg
per day (with population projected to be gearing towards 200 million) our
animal protein in take per head is grossly low. But how many Nigerians can
afford to put an egg, (which is truly viewed as a luxury good) on their tables without necessarily check if
this way; an egg will cost an average Nigeria about N20 (about 16% of a 81) to
buy considering that an egg cannot be considered to be a main food an average
Nigeria (who practically lives under N130 or &1 per day) therefore cannot
soccour, taste and flavour (but surely less nutritive value). That our masses
therefore cannot afford eggs local is part of why we should ashamed of our
oil-bugged economy.
Our liability to have good meal is
what increases the size for buying embalmed chicken imported from other parts
of the world banks to (Dr. Dorah Akunyere’s War) for our meals, thereby
poisoning our system and our mentalities.
However, while the present government
widely and rationally banned the importation of these chicken corpses, nothing
has been truly put in place to practically encourage poultry and other kinds of
farming in this country. At limes, one wonders if President Olusengu. O. thinks
the more than 3,000,000 eggs/day production output from his Otta farm will
service the online Nigeria.
Efforts to encourage the Nigeria.
Effort to encourage the Nigeria
with finance and other agricultures incentives have only given individuals and
corporate bodies with political loyalty to the reigning government access to exploitation
the ordinary farmers. Such incentives usually get to for farmers who use the
fund for something else other than for agricultural purposes. Since transparency
is lacking in the system, real farms hardly get the incentives but false farmers
do no and at the end of the day the economy losses the impact that such
incentives were made create.
This happens because ours is a nation
that ignores such primary issues as agriculture which should be a heavy serious
tool needed to over turn the sufferings of our masses by providing food,
shelter, employment decorum, revenue etc as well as to propel the general
growth and development of the nation to a sustainable level. The truth is that
the agricultural sector of this nation is still being given ill-attention.
Something needs to be done. It needs to be resuscitated because Agriculture is
truly the hen-that-lags-the-golden-egg of any economy.
The present Government came with a lot
of promises to revitalize the agricultural sector of our economy which had once
fed this nation and nations far and wide with her. Cocoa, groundnut, palm oil (not crude oil)
rubber hides and skins etc. Amos six (6) years now, one cannot confidently
claim that mush of these promises are being kept in the agricultural sector,
even in the face of some new “wonderful” polices. The economy of Nigeria for now
is more of a literature of controversy than a statistically reliable one. Gross
Domestic Product’s (GDP) data usually released by the present government have
been superfluous but when interpreted
or translated into the livelihood of the Ordinary Nigeria, it at best appears
to be more of nonsensical economic expression that protect the image of the
country in the international scene. That a true growth in the economic. Nigeria
with GDP growth of 7.1% (2004 estimate) and Agriculture providing 70% of labour
force (1999 estimate) economist how been warning over the truism of these
estimates and many have even accused the Government of fingering with figures
to boost its face.
However, whatever the outcome, what is on ground and
well known to all is that Agriculture has not been made apriority in Nigeria by
the government and the Nigeria poverty needs urgent attention the largely
subsistence. Agricultural sector has failed to keep up with rapid population
growth thereby forcing our Africa’s most
populous country (a country once a large net exporter of food to importation of
food).
The Government has lacked the will of discipline to
either implement a social-oriented reform or even the much-talked about market
oriented reforms urged by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) such as lo
modernize the banking system (thanks to the Professor Charles (Soludo agenda)
to curb inflation by blocking excessive wage demands, and to resolve regional
disputes over the distribution of earnings from the oil industry. To achieve a
stable food-economy. Agriculture must be given its rightful place in the
national development effort. This important due to the menace and distraction
being caused by our more than 4 trillion Cu m card 27 billion bbl gas and oil
reserves respectively.
Too worrying to our Nation today is even the generally
dwindling calls for the immediate revitalization of the agricultural sector. It
is a situation where many pro-agricultural sector. It is like situation where
many pro-agricultural voices are being out because of frustrations form the
government by not giving enough heed to their calls in the past and present.
Agriculture as the Engine House of world economics
needs to be overhead and serviced in order that the tears of the Nigeria masses
may dry up. This can only be possible when the government starts investing
substantial capital into the sector. Also the banks insurance companies,
co-operatives and individual, groups and co-operate investors should be
encouraged to invest in this sector. In fact the Nigeria Banks particularly
cannot be allowed to define their over- organized and over- advertised ‘Universal
Banking system” without relation to Agriculture.
Insurance firms truly have to start pricing interest
in the areas of Agriculture to give it some safety and confidence. The farmers
have to start having long-standing visions that can excel in growth terms to a
sustainable private and public economy. Our legislators need to start thinking
pro-activity on ways to enact economic laws that encourage and boost
agricultural production, as well as laws that create enabling environment for
its sustainability and safe practice. The polities of oil and profligacy and
the unwarranted I know it all mentality in governance cannot lead us to
economic glory for now.
Not turning to Agriculture will imply our continuous
dependency on crude oil and unnecessary reliance on importation of goods that
could have otherwise been manufactured at Kaduna,
Aba, Nnewi, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Kano and Onitsha.
REFERENCES
Olumola, Ade S. (2007) Strategies for managing the
opportunities and challenges of the cawen Agricultural commodity Booms in SSA”
in seminar papers on managing commodity booms in sub-Saharan Africa.
A publication of AERC senior policy seminar ix. African Economic Research
consortium (AERC), Nairobi,
Kenya.