INPUT REQUIREMENTS AND TECHNICAL KNOW-HOW: ISSUES IN AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAIN IN NIGERIA.

Agricultural development faces serious challenges in Nigeria. Discovery of petroleum in commercial quantity in the early 1970s appears to have retarded output growth in the sector because there was a shift from agriculture to oil and gas. Therefore, the country has gone through quite a variety of ordeal in food production since the oil boom era. Government has formulated policies and programmes to address the performance of agriculture. It appears many of these efforts have failed resulting in large scale food imports and consequent adverse balance of payments. With the aim to devise a path to output growth, steps to attain value chain are examined in this paper having reviewed previous studies. Descriptive method is employed to achieve the study's objectives. It is revealed, among others issues, that value chain is required in the agricultural sector. However, it necessitates transformation of farmers from peasantry to commercial farming which will require human capital development in agriculture. Some complementary factors like infrastructure and extension services are needed. Save farm land are to be guaranteed by the states and communities. It is suggested that government participation is needed significantly to attain value chain in agriculture in Nigeria because government appears to be the major resource owner since independence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]