Roles of Government in Agricultural Development

Roles of the government in agricultural development include:

1. Formulation of agricultural policies.
2. Provision of financial assistance.
3. Establishment of agricultural programmes.
4. Provision of extension services.
5. Provision of agricultural education.
6. Provision of farm inputs.
7. Provision of basic amenities.
8. Provision of storage and processing facilities.
9. Provision of effective transportation network.
10. Provision of pest and disease control services.

Let’s discuss some of these roles:

1. Formulation of Agricultural Policies:

Agricultural policy is the synthesis framework and action plan of the Nigerian government, designed to achieve overall agricultural growth and development.

Objectives of Agricultural Policies:

a. To increase the production of food in the country.

b. To increase the production and processing of export commodities, to improve government foreign exchange and revenue generation.

c. To improve self-sufficiency in basic community food production.

d. To improve the standard of living of Nigerian farmers.

e. To provide employment opportunities for the Nigerian youths with the aim of eradicating unemployment in the country.

2. Provision of Financial Assistant:

The federal government through its various agencies has helped in the provision of financial assistance to farmers in the form of loans, credit and subsidiesA subsidy is a benefit given by the government to groups or individuals, usually in the form of a cash payment or tax reduction. If something like food or petrol is... More. Agencies like the Nigerian Agricultural Cooperative And Rural Development Bank, the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund (ACGSF) and the National Directorate of Employment, were established to give loans to farmers.

The government also directed commercial banks to give loans to farmers in order to boost their production.

Agricultural Credit:

This is a refundable loan given to a farmer with the aim that the farmer will repay it after a specified period of time.

Agricultural Subsidies:

This is assistance given to farmers in cash or kind without the intention of paying back.

Examples of Agricultural Subsidies:

Reduction in the prices of inputs such as fertilizers, improved seeds and chemicals.

3. Establishment of Agricultural Programmes:

The government decided to establish agricultural programmes with the aim of boosting production of crops and livestock.

Examples of Government Agricultural Programmes:

i. Agricultural Loan scheme.
ii. River Basin Development Authorities (RBDA)
iii. National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS)
iv. Green Revolution.
v. Operation Feed the Nation (OFN)
vi. National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA)
vii. Agricultural Development Project (ADP)
viii. Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructures (DFRRI)
ix. National Accelerated Industrial Crop Production Programme (NAICPP)
x. National Accelerated Food Production Programme (NAFPP)
xi. Agro-service Centres.
xii. Farm Settlement Scheme.
xiv. Co-operative farming.

Major Objectives (Aims) of the Agricultural Programmes:

i. Agricultural Loan Scheme:

a. To improve funds for financing agricultural projects.
b. To provide soft loans to farmers.

ii. River Basin Development Authorities:

a. To provide irrigationIrrigation is the artificial application of water to the soil through various systems of tubes, pumps, and sprays. It helps grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation is usually used in... More facilities.
b. Helps to bring more land under cultivation.
c. To increase the total output per farmer with increased net revenue returns.
d. Construction of feeder roads to project sites for good transportation.
e. Construction of fish ponds to enhance the distribution of fingerlingsa young or small fish, especially a very small salmon or trout, less than a year old and about the size of a human finger. Catfish Fingerling. More to farmers.

iii. National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS):

To provide security against risks, uncertainties and hazards in agriculture for farmers.

iv. Green Revolution:

This was set up between 1978 and 1983:

a. To encourage large-scale farming.
b. To produce cash crops for export purposes.
c. To produce abundant food crops for local consumption.
d. To establish River Basin Authorities to boost the supply of water for irrigation purposes.

v. Operation Feed The Nation:

This was set up between 1976 and 1979:

a. To increase food production.
b. To provide food for all Nigerians.
c. To facilitate agricultural development in all parts of Nigeria.
d. To popularize agriculture.

vi. National Agricultural Land Development Agency:

To prepare and provide land for agriculture.

vii. Agricultural Development Project:

The programme started in 1975:

a. To boost agricultural production.
b. To construct rural infrastructures.
c. To increase the level of extension contact with farmers.
d. To bring agricultural services closer to the people in rural areas.
e. To help in replenishing degraded agricultural land.

viii. Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructures (DFRRI):

It was established in 1986:

a. To provide infrastructures that would facilitate food production.
b. To develop small-scale agro-based industries.
c. To provide electricity to the rural dwellers.
d. To provide rural infrastructures that would improve the quality of life for rural dwellers such as water and roads.

ix. National Accelerated Food Production Programme (NAFPP):

To educate farmers on methods of increasing productivity on their land.

x. National Accelerated Industrial Crop Production Programme (NAICPP):

To increase the production of industrial crops that would serve as raw materials for agro-based industries, such as oil palm, cashew, rubber and cocoa.

xi. Agro-service Centres:

a. To supply drugs and vaccines to farmers.
b. To provide farm inputs, like seeds and fertilizers at reduced rates.
c. To provide expert services to farmers.
d. To supply spare parts for agricultural machines and implements.

xii. Farm Settlement Scheme (FSS):

This was established in 1959:

a. To reduce unemployment.
b. To check the land tenureLand tenure means the act of acquiring land either by an individual, family, community or government, temporarily or permanently. It determines who can use land, for how long and under what... More system.
c. To encourage peasant farmers in the rural areas to increase their productivity, and improve their standard of living.
d. To induce rural development thereby halting the drift to urban areas.
e. To develop a modern farming system in order to encourage the youths and educated people into farming.

xiii. Co-operative Farming:

This is a kind of farming initiated by the government in which a group of farmers come together for farming purposes.

Roles of Co-operative Organization in Agricultural Production:

a. Employment opportunities.
b. Provision of farm inputs.
c. Provides processing facilities for their members.
d. Provides storage facilities.
e. Provision for a ready market for farm produce.
f. Large-scale production and expansion of member’s investment.
g. Create awareness among members on what, when and how to produce.
h. Aids members to collect capital and other financial needs.
i. Produce training facilities and opportunities for their members.