The findings revealed that the study area experienced a significant reduction in agricultural land and this leads to continued disappearance of farmlands. It leads to loss of livelihood, reduction in food supply and increase in poverty. These changes are attributed to urban expansion, population growth, socio economic factors, environmental variables and natural factors. Harris, (2013) evaluated that the current land use patterns and urban and agricultural land use change from 1989 to 2012 in Shippensburg. The paper clearly showed that agricultural land was being converted to urban land at high rates from 1989 to 2011.
As the areas for agricultural purposes continue to decrease, farmers would need to use the same land repeatedly through intensive cultivation. Upon using this, the farmers must make use of the mechanized farming and make a sudden shift from their traditional farming system (Karim, 2013). Karim highlighted that: “With the increase of population, people put continuous pressure on land, without allowing them any time off. The resulting consequence is the deterioration of the soil which keeps the land fully dependent on chemical fertilizer and uncontrolled irrigation. Therefore, peasants moving towards mechanized farming no longer depend on seasonal rain and also at the same time, are totally dislodged from indigenous farming mechanisms.
Unfortunately this result has not reflected on the standard of living of its people, neither an improvement of infrastructure and other problems like economic inequality has been solved. Also, the level of unemployment in Nigeria is high. The development of the non-oil sectors, such as manufacturing and agriculture, may help to improve Nigeria’s dependence on the oil industry. Nigeria’s economic trends From time to time Nigeria faces many challenges, and it continues to grow, even if slowly. It might have surpassed South Africa as the largest economy but this is yet to reflect on its economic standing.
Many of the scientists agree with that the period of agricultural revolution has been occurring during 18th and early 19th centuries in Europe as a result of technological improvement and increased crop productivity. During the industrial revolution much more land had been taken under the plough to produce a greater agricultural production such as wheat and livestock forcing the ability of soils by means of several mechanization tools. Total land area of the world is about 13.5 billion hectares and only 22% (3.03 billion hectares) of that is actually cultivable and about 66% (2 billion hectares) is degraded. The soil loss was expected to go up to 10 million hectares annually by 2000 A.D. (Yadav, 1996). In India alone, almost 57% of total land area (about 188 million hectares) is degraded (Sehgal and Abroll, 1994).
Under this system, there is involvement of traditional methods in all aspects of cattle production including health (Abubakar and Garba, 2004) Among all livestock that make up the farm animals in Nigeria, ruminants, comprising sheep, goats, and cattle constitute the farm animals largely reared by farmers in the county’s agricultural system. Nigeria has a population of about
However, urbanizing rural areas does not necessarily mean that the agricultural aspect has to be eradicated. The places can be developed in a way that, it could further be improved through building better facilities and factories to handle everyday procedures more efficiently. A study entitled “Urbanization and the Viability of Local Agricultural Economics” shows that urbanization has beneficial factors in relation to agricultural economics. With urbanization, not only does the net income of farmers increase, it also provides farmers with opportunities like producing high-value crops and off-farm employment. In the study, there have also been different calculations and formulae to conclude that farmers do gain more from the urbanization of their agricultural lifestyle.
A large part of the production is self-consumed. Agricultural industry was accorded scanty attention after the discovery of oil in commercial quantity in Nigeria. This has created a gap between the demand and supply of domestic food requirements. Consequently, the country has found it increasingly difficult to feed her teeming population and supply the local
REDEVELOPING AGRICULTURE THROUGH TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS ABSTRACT Agriculture in Nigeria taken a downward toll over the years. This is because the nation has paid more attention to other sectors in the economy, which inturn has promoted the loss of interest on the art of farming among youths, or even them taking agriculture as a career. In a time when the nation focuses on the oil sector, there is need for an alternative revenue generating sector to be fully enhanced to its full capacity in order to diversify the economy. Most rural residents depend directly or in some way from agriculture to survive. Even Women also participate in food production, in food processing and in the commercialization of food.
1997).It has emerged as one of the fastest growing agricultural sub-sector and has moved from a ceremonial to a staple food in many Nigerian homes within the last two decades, such that some families cannot do without rice in a day. Nwachukwu (2008) reported that as a staple food in Nigeria, rice accounts for 40 percent of the diet of the country’s population but production has been growing at a slow rate relative to consumption within the last years. Nigeria ranked second largest importer of rice in the world after Indonesia. If the present import scenario persists, huge import bill would be expended on rice. The future may even be gloomier, considering the rice prices in the world market which have risen by as much as 40 percent are predicted to rise further.
Also, Successive Nigerian governments operate an urban-bias developmental policy in which basic amenities and infrastructure are located in the urban centers. As a result, young rural dwellers are pulled thus; push the facilities in the urban areas beyond the breaking points. It is important to note that economic factors provide sufficient conditions and reasons for rural-urban migration, which eventually lead to integration. In contemporary Nigeria, it is an obvious fact that the primary and secondary school leavers and even university graduates find it difficult to secure job in the labor market especially those who study in the rural