AN ASSESSMENT OF THE RESPONSE OF AGRICULTURE TO GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES IN NIGERIA (1981-2019)

Over the years, the federal government introduced a number of policies and programmes aimed at increasing production and productivity as well as making Nigeria self-sufficient in food production. This study was aimed at establishing whether or not the series of agricultural policies formulated and implemented since 1981 in Nigeria has significantly improved the performance of the Nigerian agricultural sector. To achieve the objectives of this study, policies and programmes implemented from 1981 to 2019 were categorised into 4 based on the period of formulation and implementation: 1981-1986 period, 1987-1998 period, 1999-2015 period and the period 2015 – 2019. Time series data on the GDP of the agriculture sector in Nigeria for the period 1981-2019 were collected and used as proxies for the performance of the Nigerian agriculture sector. Dummy variables representing each of the four aforementioned periods were defined and used as independent variables. Multiple regression was used to analysed the collected data. Findings of the study revealed that only the series of agricultural policies and programmes implemented in the last 2 of the 4 periods had significant and positive effect on the performance of the Nigerian agricultural sector. It is recommended that further studies into the response of Nigerian Agriculture to the policies formulated and implemented in the period 1981-1998 should be undertaken by agricultural economists to shed more light. Key words: agriculture, policy, programmes, performance, production, productivity, Nigeria