Agriculture: Panacea for unemployment

Some decades ago, specifically before the discovery of oil in Nigeria, the coun try prided itself on being an agrarian nation. Then, agriculture was the main stay of the economy.

Apart from leading in the production of some cash crops for export, Nigeria was also reputed for the production of food crops in large quantities, such that many countries in the African sub-region, to a large extent, depended on the country for supply of crops. Each region was known for a particular farm produce. For instance, the West was known for cocoa production, the East for palm oil, while the North was known for groundnut.

In addition to individuals’ efforts in farming, the government also channelled its scarce resources to agriculture in order to, among other things, boost its productivity. There were farm settlements everywhere, and farmers’ cooperative societies were established, where loans could be sourced. Not stopping there, government went as far as institutionalising agricultural subsidy, wherein all agricultural inputs were substantially subsidised. Produce marketing board was also put in place to regulate all agricultural produce markets, with the sole aim of encouraging more people in the farm and ensuring their development and sustainability.