Impact of Agricultural Input Supply on Agricultural Growth in Nigeria

Improving the production capacity of agriculture in Nigeria through agricultural input supply is an important policy goal in a country where agriculture represents an important sector in the economy. The agricultural sector provides livelihood to a significant portion of Nigerian population, especially in rural areas, where poverty is more pronounced. Thus, a growing agricultural sector contributes to both overall growth and poverty alleviation. The study specifically examined the effects of agricultural input supply on agricultural growth in Nigeria from 1990 to 2017. The objective of this study is to examine agricultural input supply in Nigeria and its implications on the growth of agricultural growth in Nigeria. The study used time series data covering 1986-2016 obtained from FAOSTAT, World Development Indicator and Central Bank of Nigeria data base. This study utilized Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach to investigate the variables. The finding of the study shows that there is co-integration between the variables. The result of the study shows that gross capital formation and Fertilizer supply to agriculture were significant in influencing agricultural growth in Nigeria with coefficient values of (-0.002468), and (0.001506), with P- values of (0.0222) and (0.0171) respectively. Given the robust nature of the result, it is evident that agricultural input supply contributes in great measure to agricultural growth in Nigeria. The study then conclude that agricultural input is essential for the growth of agricultural sector in Nigeria and recommend that given the lean resources available to government, attention should be given to the inputs that contributes significantly to the growth of the sector.