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Friday, 4 July 2014
Green revolution programme was too theoretical and suffered setback due
Green
revolution programme was too theoretical and suffered setback due to problems
bordering on finance, input supplies, distribution and inadequate credit to
farmers.
Although there
were initial vigorous pest control programme in the northern areas involving
the use helicopters and ground spraying equipment, mechanized farming through
the green revolution failed as few of requisite equipment were supplied by
government. There was also general lack of basic infrastructural facilities in
the rural areas.
REFERENCES
Akinnnagbe
Oluwole M. (2007) unpublished strategies for enhancing women’s participation in
sustainable agricultural Development in Nigeria a review. Seminar presented to
the department of Agricultural Extnesion University of Nigeria Nsukka.
Centre for
Agricultural and Rural cooperation (CTA) (2004) Gender and agriculture on the
information Society. A special Report of a CTA meeting Wageningen, the
Netherland 11-13 September.
Crowder L.V.
(1996) enthronement of women in agricultural studies at intermediate and higher
levels of education. Rome: food & agriculture organization
Egbule
Patrick E (2004) Fundamental and Practice of Agricultural Education Tojan Publishers limited Owerri.
Karl Marilee
(1997) higher agricultural education and opportunities in moral development for
women FAO. Rome Retrieved from http://wwwfao.org docrep N6038E.
Long , E.O.
Omole, D.O, Adewumi I.K, Ogbiye A.S.I (2010) water resources use, abuse and regulation in Nigeria in
Journal of sustainable development in
African (Volume 12 wo2 2010)
Munyua Hilda
(1999)Application of ICTs in Africa’s
agricultural sector: a gender perspective in Eva m. Ralhgeber and Edith
Ofwona Adora (eds) Gender and the information Revolution in Africa Ottawa,
Canada: International Development
Research Center (CCDC) Retrieved
from
http://wwidre.ca/acb/showdet./cfm?DiD=6& product ID = 547 &
CATIDONS.
Nicholas L.
(2002) Participatory program and planning. Cited in 57 related articles. 4 Dec
2001 Cited in 57
Operation
“Live and own a farm” (LOAF) 2004 A three year programme document (April 2004, May
2007) for enhancing Agricultural
production in Delta State. Published by ministry of Agriculture and Natural
Resources Asba, Delta State.
Santra S.K.
and Kundu Rubi (2001) women’s employment for sustainable agricultural development.
Manage extension research review July-dec page 131-145.
Operation Feed the Nation (OFN)
The
objectives of the scheme as state by the head of state at the launching
include:
1.
To mobilize the nation towards self
sufficiency and self reliance in food
2.
To encourage the section of the population
which relies on buying food to grow its own food.
3.
To create a general pride in agriculture
through the realization that a nation
which cannot feed itself cannot be proud
4.
To encourage balanced nutrition and thereby
produce a healthy nation.
The
areas of focus under the program include; fertilizer procurement and
distribution, pest control, use of improved seed grains, tubers and vegetables,
livestock feed, poultry, fisheries, guaranteed minimum price for crop and
equipment.
OFN
lasted till the civilian government of Alhaji Shehu Shagari in 1979. Although
the Operation Feed the Nation succeeded to some extent in arousing national
concern for the growing decline in food producing, it failed to encourage
increased agricultural productivity on a more sustainable basis.
Green Revolution
As
a follow up to the operation feed the Nation Scheme, the green revolution
program was launched by the Shagari –led civilian administration in April 1980
with the following objectives.
1.
To increase the production of food and other
raw materials to meet the needs of growing population and rising goal of attaining
self-sufficiency in basic food staples in about five years.
2.
To increase the production of livestock and
fish to meet domestic demand and create surplus for export.
3.
To increase the production and processing of
export crops with a view to expanding and diversifying the country’s foreign
exchange earnings with the aim of restoring our crop export capability in about
seven years.
Under
the green revolution program serious efforts were made to correct some of the
lapses in the OFN programe such as in the supply of fertilizer to farmers at
the right time and in the provision of storage facilities. More importantly, there
was a more sustained and co-ordinate campaign aimed at mobilizing the vast majority
of Nigerians towards cultivating every available piece of land, grow vegetables
and establish poultry units at their backyards. Schools at all levels were also
encouraged to establish viable farms and produce food for schools’ consumption
and for sale.
Green
revolution programme was too theoretical and suffered setback due to problems
bordering on finance, input supplies, distribution and inadequate credit to
farmers.
Although there
were initial vigorous pest control programme in the northern areas involving
the use helicopters and ground spraying equipment, mechanized farming through
the green revolution failed as few of requisite equipment were supplied by
government. There was also general lack of basic infrastructural facilities in
the rural areas. Community driven participatory approach
Individual farmers and farmers’ organizations
will be adequately empowered to play leading role in collaborative project identification, design,
implementation, monitoring and evaluating such farmers’ organizations will include co-operative societies, farmers association,
fadama users association,
commodity-based associations and other self-help groups. This implies a shift
form the usual top-bottom approach to a democratic bottom-up approach that is
in variable demand-driven.
Agricultural Programs And Development
Policies In Nigeria
River
Basin development authorities was established under decades 25 of 15th
June, 1976. The river basin development authorities and the Niger Delta Basin
Development authorities Decree no 37 of 3rd August, 1976 has also
promulgate. These decrees created in eleven River Basis Development Authorities
throughout the country.
These are:
1.
Sokoto – River Basin authority sokoto
2.
Lake
Benue Basin Maiduguri
3.
Upper Benue Basin Yola
4.
Lower Benue Basin Markurdi
5.
Cross River Basin Calabar
6.
Anambra –Imo Basin, Owerri
7.
Niger Basin
Ilori
8.
Niger Delta Basin port Harcourt
9.
Benin – Oweria Basin, Benin city
10.
Oshun – Ogun Basin Abeokuta
11.
Hadejia – Jema Basin kano (Longe et al, 2010)
These
Basin were created by the federal Government of Nigeria to harass the country’s
water resources and optimize Nigeria’s agricultural resources for food self
sufficiency. The main objectives of the establishment of these basins is to
provide water supply, improvement of navigation, hydro-electric power
generation, recreation facilities and fisheries projects. The basins are also
to engender big plantation farming and encourage the establishment of
industrial complexes that could bring the private and public sectors in joint
business partnership. The river basins authorizes were also expected to bridge the
gap between the rural and urban centres by taking development to the grass
roots and discourage migration from the rural
areas to the urban centers. These objectives were to be achieved through
surface impoundment of water by constructing small, medium and large dams which
would enable an all-year round farming activities in the county.
While
appraising the RBDAs in 1981 professor J.B.E. Awachie of University of Nigeria
Nsukka and former chairman, National Advisory Committee on Fisheries Research
said that policy was to use the basin as
development modules to bridge the widening gap between rural and urban areas and stem the drift of rural
people to overcrowded cities.
However,
these objectives are yet to be followed 38 years after. Some of the achievement
of the authorities could easily be noticed in the area of land preparation and
infrastructural development.
A
number of factors militated against the successful running of the RBDAs. One of
these factors was the development from above syndrome where by developmental
plans were imposed on the people by governments.
Includes
policy discontinuity, inadequate funding due to government dwindling revenue
and lack of understanding and focus on its core mandate. Also the objectives of the programme were
rather all embarking and too large in scope to be efficiently implemented.
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