Top 10 Problems Of Agriculture In Nigeria

According to sources,the Nigerian Agricultural Sector In Nigeria is the highest employer of
labor in Nigeria,mainly because in other to be able to practice Agriculture a lot of infrastructure won't be needed.

That not withstanding,the Agricultural sector in Nigeria hasn't thrived over the years,listed 

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below are some of the top 10 problems that the Agricultural sector is facing in Nigeria.

Top 10 Problems Of Agriculture In Nigeria

1. Quest For Oil

Nigeria's Agricultural sector was doing well,in fact some major cash crops like Cocoa was exported out the country which in turn generated revenue for the country. 

However the Agricultural sector was then neglected when oil was discovered,which eventually set back the industry.

This slowed down the development of the Agricultural sector,the federal government has 

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continued to invest more in the oil and gas sector with little or no attention given to the Agricultural sector.

2. Decayed Infrastructure

There is not enough infrastructure put on ground by the Federal Government to assist farmers and the Agricultural sector.

Most often tons of farm produce perish because of poor storage facilities accompanied by bad roads mostly in the rural areas.

3. Rural - Urban Migration

Majority of the hectares of lands used for farming and Agriculture is located in villages and rural areas.

One of the problems of Agriculture is that majority of people who were farmers are now neglecting Agriculture and migrating to cities in search of blue collar jobs and better amenities.

This trend has continued to be a major problem of Agriculture in Nigeria.

4. Low Yields

There are periods within a year where there seems to be a scarcity of a particular crop because it's not available,this is because majority of farmers practice subsistence farming which is basically the act of farming for oneself and his/her family.

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Large scale farming is not readily encouraged by the Government and this in turn yields to low output and scarcity of food crops.

5. Stale Research Facilities

Agricultural facilities that receive funds from the government are not living up to the expectations as researches meant to be carried out in other to assist the Agric sector is not carried out.

Check Out: History Of Agriculture In Nigeria

6. Lack Of Mechanization

In developed countries of the world,Agriculture is highly mechanized,from planting to harvesting and packaging then distribution. 

In third world countries like Nigeria,farmers still make use of crude instruments like hoe,shovel,cutlass etc.

This is one of the major problem of Agriculture in Nigeria

7. Poor Maintenance

There are cases where the federal government will buy tractors and some heavy machinery for Agriculture,but due to poor maintenance,most of the machines will break down and become unusable.

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Most often the mechanics do not even have enough knowledge to be able to fix the complex machines.

8. Government Policies

There are a lot of government policies that do not support the Agricultural industry in Nigeria. Most often the government will initiate a policy but will not follow up the policy to the end.

9. Soil Infertility

Another problem faced by Agriculture in Nigeria is the quality of the soil. Most of the farmable land in Nigeria contains soil that is not rich in minerals.

See Also: Top 10 Importance Of Agriculture

The government also hasn't implemented policies that will subsidize fertilizers for farmers and also teach them some basic modern farming techniques.

10. Importation

The Nigerian Agricultural sector has the capacity to be able to feed the nation,but the sector lacks proper investments and working policies which has resulted to the importation of food by the government.

Importation of food from foreign countries however causes problems for the Agricultural sector as farmers will be forced to reduce the price of their farm produce,this will discourage farmers from farming as there won't be enough profit made.