CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Ogbalubi & Wokocha, (2013) Stated that globally, sustainable economic development is
generally accompanied by agricultural sector development. Hence, agriculture plays a
vital role in the development process of any country. It is an important sector that
stimulates the development and industrialization of many countries and equally plays a
big role in job creation. Therefore, the development of the agricultural sector is crucial
for the attainment of food security, income and employment generation, and for
stimulating industrialization, and indeed the overall development of a country. The
technological progress made by the advanced countries of the world had its beginnings
in agriculture. Ogbanga, (2018). Opined that indeed, the role of agriculture in the
development of a country can hardly be overemphasized. In Nigeria before
independence and even up to the first post-independent decade, the agricultural sector
was the highest contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and also the
highest employer of labour. However, since the 1970s, the contribution of the
agricultural sector to the economy has declined due to the oil syndrome which resulted
in the neglect of the once vibrant agricultural sector (Anyanwu, et al, 1997). Hence, the
agricultural sector that was once the mainstay of the economy and the largest employer
of labour is no longer what it used to be (Olukemi, 2018).
Unemployment is one of the serious macroeconomic problems troubling Nigeria today.
It is also true that the agricultural sector in Nigeria is endowed with the potentials to
create jobs and reduce unemployment in the country. But despite this huge job creation
potential of the sector, the country is still experiencing high and rising levels of
unemployment. The reason is that the potential of the agricultural sector has not been
adequately harnessed due to several factors acting as impediments. Some of these factors
include lack of credit facilities, lack of modern storage facilities, rural-urban migration
of our able-bodied youths, etc. The argument, therefore, is that, if these problems are
resolved to a reasonable extent, the capacity of the sector to create jobs will improve.
This can be achieved by formulating and implementing sound policies and programmes.

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But such policies and programmes need to be based on empirical evidence. This study,
therefore, is an attempt to provide empirical evidence on the relationship between
agricultural sector performance and unemployment in Nigeria.

Notwithstanding, the enviable position of the oil sector in the Nigerian economy over
the past three decades, the agricultural sector has remained the largest and arguably the
most important sector of the economy. Agriculture contributes to the gross force in
Nigeria (Aigbokhan, 2001). It is estimated to be the largest contributor to the non-oil
foreign exchange. A strong agricultural sector is essential to economy development both
in its own rights and to stimulate and support the growth of industries. Economy growth
has gone hand in hand with agricultural progress stagflation in agriculture is the
principal explanation for poor economy performance, while rising agricultural activities
has seen the most concomitant of successful industrialization (Ukeje, 1999). The labour-
intensive character of the sector reduces its contribution to the GDP. Nevertheless,
agricultural exports are a major earner of foreign exchange in Nigeria, in the non-oil
sector.
Like in most developing countries, agriculture remains the backbone of the Nigeria
economy. Typically, it is the largest source of employment often two-third or more of
the population is dependent on this livelihood on farming. Its is a well-known fact that
Nigeria’s comparative advantage in the production of certain food and other agricultural
commodities that can earn foreign exchange for imports of other food.it has been
recognised that sustained agricultural development requires striking an appropriate
balance between investments that are directly productive in agriculture and investment
in infrastructure. Poor infrastructural services in developing countries will lead to low
productivity. Much of the high productivity of agriculture in the developed countries is
as a result of massive form of investment over many years in physical and institutional
infrastructure (Manyong et al, 2003).
Conversely, the low productivity of agriculture in many developing countries reflects
among other things, limited investment in rural roads and electricity. This streams from
the concentration of public investments in urban areas, where the unit cost of providing
services is typically less and logistic are problems fewer.

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1.2 Statement of the Problem
Despite the importance of agriculture in Nigeria economy the sector contribution to
employment generation seems unclear in Abobo, Okehi Local Government Area. Many
agriculture sub sectors face challenges such as inadequate funding, poor management
and lack of government support, which hinder their effectiveness.
This study seeks to evaluate the analysis of agricultural sector contribution too
employment generation in Abobo, Okehi LGA and identifying the challenges
confronting them.

1.3 PURPOSE OF TH E STUDY

i. To identify the major agricultural activities contributing to employment in
Abobo Okehi LGA
ii. To analyze the contribution of agriculture to employment generation in Abobo
Okehi LGA
iii. To identify the challenges confronted by farmers and agricultural workers in
Abobo, Okehi LGA
iv. Recommend policies and strategies to enhance employment generation through
agriculture.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTION
i. What are the dominant agricultural activities in Abobo Okehi LGA?
ii. What are the contribution of agriculture in Abobo to employment generation in
Nigeria?
iii. What are the challenges confronted by farmers and agricultural workers in
Abobo, Okehi local government area of kogi state?
iv. What measures can be taken to improve employment generation in agriculture?

1.5 Significance of the Study

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The significance of this study depends on the fact that with improved agricultural sector,
Nigeria stands to gain in its effects towards development. It is advantageous to both the
government and citizens. Consequently that its serves as a guide for future governmental
policy on agriculture and when this is well implemented, we will notice that the welfare
and standards of living of the citizens would be significantly improved.
The study is significant for policy makers, extension workers, farmers, and researchers.
Also it provides insights into how agriculture can reduce unemployment and offer
solution to improve employment generation in Nigeria
1.6 Scope of the Study
The research focuses on the contribution of agricultural sectors employment generation
in Abobo, Okehi LGA examining farming, agro-processing and agribusiness activities
1.7 Definitional Operation Terms
Agriculture: the practice of cultivating of crops, raising livestock and other farming-
related activities for food production and economic gain
Employment Generation: the creation of job opportunities for individuals within a
particular sector or economy
Agribusiness: business activities related to agricultural production, including farming,
processing and distribution of agricultural products
Agro-processing: the transformation of raw agricultural products into finished or semi-
finished goods, such as cassava into flour or palm fruits into palm oil
Government support: policies, subsidies, loans and other assistance provided by
government to enhance agricultural activities and employment

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 CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Conceptual Framework
2.1.1 Concept of Agriculture
According to Korgbeelo (2008) “Agriculture can be defined as the art and science of
cultivating the soil, growing crops and raising livestock for food and other human needs
or economic gains”. “Agriculture is a way of life that involves production of animals,
fishes, crops, forest resources for the consumption of man and supplying the agro-allied
product required by our sub sectors. It is seen as the inherited and dominant occupation
employing about 70% of Nigerians. Though, subsistence agriculture is practiced in this
part of the world, it will not be an overstatement to say that it is the life-wire of the
economies of developing countries. The sector has the following as its component:
Harris (2007), proposes that agriculture is a form of land use and economy that resulted
from the combination of cultivation (a bundle of human actions focused on preparing soil
and planting, tending, and harvesting plants) and domestication (a bundle of genetic and
morphological, changes that have increased the ability of plants to adapt to cultivation).
Cultivation and domestication are related as cause and effect, a change in human strategy
with consequences in genetic adaptations of another organism, which increased the
interdependencies of both.
2.1.2 Agricultural Sub-Sectors
2.1.2.1 Pastoralism
The full incorporation of domestic herd animals into systems of mixed farming requires
permanent facilities such as barns, sheds, stalls, fenced fields, and other enclosures for
confining the animals and controlling their movements. This contrasts with pastoral
systems that are characterized by more mobile methods of management. The term
pastoralism derives from the Latin pastor, meaning a herdsman or shepherd, and it
applies to mobile systems in which the herd animals, principally sheep, goats, cattle,
horses, donkeys, camels, llamas, alpacas, and reindeer, are raised to provide food and
other products and as pack and riding animals. The essence of pastoralism is that people
move with their animals. The above definition state by (Ngold 2008). The spatial and
temporal scales of their movements range from short daily movements of flocks and

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herds to and from pastures near their owners’ settlements (diurnal grazing) to longer
seasonal movements by part of the local community with their animals to higher and/or
more distant pastures (transhumance), to the most fully mobile system in which families
migrate from pasture to pasture with their herds throughout the year and from year to
year (nomadic pastoralism). Nomadic pastoralists own and largely depend on their
animals, although they have historically obtained some of their food and other supplies
by trading with or raiding settled agricultural communities. Most nomadic pastoralists
depend to some degree on crop products for their food and often also for supplementary
fodder for their animals.
The pastoralists’ herds consisted mainly of sheep and goats, with the roles of horses and
camels varying from region to region, and in the high latitudes of Eurasia a variant form
of reindeer pastoralism became established
2.1.2.2 Horticulture
According to Coomes (2004) Horticulture has two contrasted connotations in the
literature on traditional agricultural systems and the origins of agriculture. The first
relates directly to the origin of the word from the Latin hortus, meaning garden, and in
this literal sense it refers to the cultivation of plots of land adjacent or quite close to the
houses of the cultivators. Such gardens are normally smaller than fields, which are
usually located farther from their associated settlements. A greater variety of plants,
especially perennial shrubs and trees, tend to be cultivated in gardens than in fields,
which are commonly devoted to one or only a few types of crop. Also, whereas most
fields are cultivated in seasonal cycles, gardens are usually tended continuously,
especially in the tropics where long growing periods favor year-round production.
Another distinctive feature of house gardens is the presence in them of many adventitious
wild and weedy plants. They add to the floristic and structural diversity of the plant
community and enhance its ability to provide a great variety of edible, medicinal, and
other products such as flowers, fibers, dyes, containers, and construction materials. (Ban
2014) opined that the contrasts in size and floristic diversity between gardens and fields
are widely recognized in the literature on early agriculture, for example, in the terms
“fixed-plot horticulture” and shifting or “swidden” cultivation and the German gartenbau
and ackerbau. Small, continuously tended plots close to dwellings have been proposed as

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probable arenas of early plant domestication, but very little archaeobotanical research on
past garden cultivation has as yet been undertaken. Secondly, the terms horticulture and
gardening have been used to denote agricultural systems that combine field cultivation of
annual root and/or seed crops with growing mainly perennial tree, shrub, and herbaceous
plants in gardens – a mixed cropping system that, when trees are a major component, is
sometimes alternatively described as agroforestry. This connotation of horticulture has
been used particularly in descriptions of traditional, and by implication early, systems of
cultivation in Melanesia and the Pacific Islands, but this usage tends to obscure the useful
distinction between field and garden cultivation.
2.1.2.3 Arboriculture
The term arboriculture, from arbor the Latin for tree, is used to specify agricultural
systems focused exclusively or largely on the cultivation of trees and shrubs for the
production of fruits and seeds and, in some species, also for ancillary products such as
wood for construction and leaves for thatch, fiber, etc. Latinis (2000). Stated that the
term, which is sometimes equated with agroforestry, refers mainly to the specialized
cultivation of fruit- and nut-bearing trees and shrubs in single- or mixed-species orchards
and plantations. It can refer also to plantations of trees for timber production, although
this process is more usually described as forestry. Forestry this concerns the preservation
and maintenance of economic treesor plants. It also involves the extraction of various
form of resources associated with forest. Tersoo definition in (2019) Stated that, we
derived a lot from such plants preserved and they include timber for plywood, furniture
building of houses, boat manufacture of papers, electric pole etc. Other resources like
wild life, roots and herbs.
Arboriculture differs from horticulture in that the plants are grown in less floristically
diverse communities on larger landholdings. Traditional systems of arboriculture include
oil-palm plantations in tropical West Africa and olive, almond, and walnut orchards in
the circus Mediterranean region. Arboriculture has attracted much less attention in the
literature on the beginnings and early development of agriculture than the cultivation of
cereal, pulse, and root crops, and fruit- and nut-bearing trees are likely to have been a
much more important source of food among many hunter-gatherer groups than among
early farmers tends to be difficult to differentiate specialized arboriculture from more

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floristically mixed traditional systems of horticulture, and it is seldom possible to do so
on the basis of botanical data alone.

2.1.2.4 Vegeculture
According to Hather (2004) The, word vegeculture is used to describe agricultural
systems that produce mainly root and tuber crops with underground storage organs
consisting of starch-rich roots, root and stem tubers, corms, and rhizomes. The crops are
reproduced asexually by planting pieces of a parent plant such as parts of tubers, stem
cuttings, or sprouts, rather than being grown from seed. Vegetative reproduction made
possible the domestication of tuberous plants by replicating the characteristics of parent
clones and then selecting and multiplying useful phenotypic variations that arose in
planted stock, such as unusually large or smooth-skinned tubers. Fullager et al. 2006
stated that the process did not involve directional genotypic change from wild progenitor
to domesticate as occurred in seed-crop domestication. Root and tuber domestication has
taken place within the limits of phenotypic variation determined by an unaltered
genotype, but morphological changes under domestication have nevertheless been
substantial, for example, decreased flowering and in tubers changes towards greater size
and starch content and reduction in bitterness and in the numbers and length of thorns.
Although root and tuber and seed crops are often cultivated together, vegeculture is the
traditional mode of agricultural production in many parts of the humid and seasonally dry
tropics.
2.1.3 Concept of Agricultural Productivity
The concept of agricultural productivity refers to the ratio of agricultural outputs to inputs
as against individual products which are usually measured by weight and is simply
referred to as crop yield (Ogebe et al, 2020). The measurement of overall agricultural
output can sometime be difficult as a result of varying products. Also, agricultural
productivity can be defined as a measure of efficiency in an agricultural production
system which employs land, labour, capital and other related resources (Olufemi, 2019).
Agricultural productivity is influenced by a host of factors which include population
pressure on agriculture, the role of non-farm services, rural environment, and pattern of

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land tenure as well as size of land holdings. Agricultural productivity will involve
massive transformation of the sector for increase productivity through changes in a
country’s farming practices. It engenders the overhauling of a country’s rural economy
(Osabohien et al, 2019). For instance, land ownership or tenure may be reformed to
enable an allinclusive agricultural transformation as a way of influencing farmers’
investment and productivity.

2.1.4 Concept of Economic Growth

Economic growth encompasses a process that permits increases over time in a nation’s
wealth. Although, the term is often used in discussions of short-term economic
performance, in the context of economic theory it generally refers to an increase in
wealth over an extended period. In the 1950s, Solow (1956) and Swan (1956) were the
brain behind the emergence of the main model used in growth economics which assumes
diminishing returns to labour and capital. The Solow–Swan model also referred to as
exogenous growth model is an economic model that tries to explain long-run economic
growth by looking at growth rate of the population, capital accumulation as well as
technological progress which largely account for increases in productivity. Economic
growth therefore is the increase in the value of goods and services produced by the
economy thereby creating more profit for businesses prompting a rise in stock prices. In
the process, firms have more capital for investment purposes, more jobs are created and
more employees are hired leading to a rise in incomes (Osabohien et al, 2020). The job
opportunities created lead to stronger demand for labour which is a very critical condition
for increasing employment necessary in delivering higher growth. Basically, there are
four main factors of economic growth which include land, labour, capital, and enterprise.
Economic growth can also be viewed from the perspective of economic transformation
which connotes a move away from low-productivity to high-productivity growth
(Oguwuike, 2018). A policy aimed at promoting economic transformation amidst shocks
is one strategy for developing economies to build resilience to further shocks. For
resource dependent economies, this is mostly noticeable in that they are more exposed to
shocks. Several of the developing economies struggle to survive the fallout occasioned by
a number of economic shocks most especially the continue fall of the commodity prices.

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According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, transformation is a total change in
the structure of something especially for the better. To achieve this, a total revolution is
inevitable thereby resulting in a better results.

Likewise, economic growth can also be referred to as a sustained increase in per capita
income. This increase in income may emanate from very few sectors of the economy like
crude oil as in the case of Nigeria. As for economic development, it involves economic
growth plus qualitative changes in all or majority of sectors in the economy (Ezeonwuka,
2014). In the latter case, there should be advances in economic goods, institutions,
incentives, wants, productivity and knowledge. There can be economic growth without
economic development as absence or near absence of technological and structural
changes may permit the presence of inequalities, poverty and unemployment. On the
other hand, there can be no economic development without economic growth as is the
case in western economies. Thus, an economy may grow, develop, retard, shrink or fail
(Ezeonwuka, 2014).

2.1.5 Agriculture as Landscapes of Food Production

The beginnings of food production represent a strategic shift in human behavior, towards
the manipulation of the soil environment and through an influence on the composition of
plant populations grown in that soil, via preferential seeding and tending of one or a few
species. While cultivation may involve a range of practices, and these will tend to select
for morphological domestication, at least in seed crops, we can define agriculture in
relation to the scale of cultivation, its prominence in local landscapes and in contributing
a major component of human diet. In this sense, agriculture is the form of land use that
represents a change in the landscape, as people regularly cultivate, raise, and focus more
attention on domestic plants and/or animals. Agriculture creates fields for larger-scale
production of crops and livestock. While small-scale cultivation may involve a few
plants, agriculture involves the creation of substantial fields of sown vegetation on such a
scale that it should, in principle, be recognizable in regional Paleolithic vegetation
datasets, recoverable from Paleolithic, and a prominent part of the inferred source of
archaeological plant remains. How one distinguishes agriculture from small scale

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cultivation varies according to the parameters of particular geographical and cultural
contexts.
Butzer (2006) Opined that Irrigation systems are one notable and widespread way in
which distinctive landscapes of agriculture have been created. Control of water can be
focused either on its removal (drainage) or by adding water to otherwise locally dry areas
to allow cultivation where rainfall is insufficient to enhance productivity. In riverine
agriculture, such as that associated with ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt this took the
form of canals and basins that helped to conserve floodwater and distribute it more
evenly and widely. In some mountain environments, such as the Andes, canal systems,
often closely associated with cultivated terraces, were also developed to bring steep
slopes into agricultural production
Some irrigation systems incorporated manual water-lifting devices, such as the shaduf
which was widespread in Egypt and Southwest Asia by c. 1,500 BCE and allowed
buckets of water to be raised above the level of canals and fed onto the fields. By the
Classical era, cattle-driven water wheels (saqia) made lifting water more efficient and
increased the extent of arable lands in river valleys. In regions that relied on rainfall for
cultivation, deep wells to tap into groundwater, and surface reservoirs (tanks), were
developed to store water. In some of the driest margins of cultivation around the Iranian
plateau, in Central Asia, Arabia, and the Sahara, systems of underground tunnels or
galleries (qanats, karez, foggara) began to be built several thousand years ago to collect
subsurface water from piedmont slopes and direct it out to fields and palm groves in the
adjacent plains. (Magee 2005).

2.1.6 Agriculture and Economic Development

Timer, (2002) Propose that the contribution of agriculture to economic development lies
in Providing more food to the rapidly expanding population Increasing the demand for
industrial product, and thus necessitating the expansion of secondary and tertiary sectors.
It can release workers needed for the production of non-agricultural goods and services. It
can provide a source of capital that can be invested in improved productive facilities in
the rest of the economy

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A progressive urban industrial economy contributes, in turn, to the rapid development of
agriculture by expanding the market for agricultural products; by supplying the farm
machinery, chemical fertilizers and so on, that raise the level of agricultural technology;
by expanding productive employment opportunities for workers released from agriculture
by technological change; and by making possible improvements in the quality of rural
life by raising standards of consumption both in urban and rural areas (Binswanger,
2020).
A rise in rural purchasing power, as a result of the increased agricultural surplus, is a
great stimulus to industrial development. The market for manufactured goods is very
small in an underdeveloped country where the peasant farm labourers and their
families, comprising typically two goods in addition to whatever they need. There is
lack of real purchasing power thus reflecting the low productivity in agriculture. The
basic problem thus is low investment return caused by small size of the market.
Increased rural purchasing power caused by expansion of agricultural output and
productivity will tend to raise the demand for manufactured goods and extend the
size of the market. This will lead to the expansion of the industrial sector (Lewis,
2014). Moreover, the demand for such inputs as fertilizers, tractors, better tools,
implements, irrigational facilities in the agricultural sectors will all lead to the
greater expansions of the agricultural sector. Besides, the means of transport and
communications will expand to urban areas and manufactured goods to the rural
areas. The long run effects of the expansion of the secondary and tertiary sectors will
be towards higher profits in them whether they are operated in the private or the
public sector. These profits will tend to increase the rate of capital formation through
their re-investment. That is what Kuznets calls the “market contributions” of
agriculture when it trades with other sectors of the economy.
Development economists in general and agricultural economists in particular, have
focused on how agriculture can best contribute to overall economic growth and
modernization. Fel and Rani, (2014) Highlighted agriculture because of its
abundance of resources and its ability to transfer surpluses to the more important
industrial sector.

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Alston et al (2006) Opined that Rapid agricultural productivity growth is a
prerequisite for the market mediated linkages to be mutually beneficial. Productivity
growth that resulted from agriculture has had enormous impacts on food supplies and
food prices and consequent beneficial impacts on food security and poverty
reduction. Binswanger (2020). Posit that because a relatively high proportion of any
income gain made by the poor is spent on food, the income effect of research
induced supply shift can have major multinational implications, particularly if those
shift results from technologies aimed at the poorest producers. Agricultural
productivity growth also triggers the generation of non-market mediated linkages
between the agricultural sector and the rest of the economy. These includes the
indirect contribution of a vibrant agricultural sector to food security and poverty
alleviation, safely net and buffer role; and the supply of environmental services.
FAO, (2004). While agricultures direct private contributions to form households are
tangible, easy indirect benefits tend to be over looked in assessing rate of returns.
Ignoring the whole range of economic and social contributions of agriculture
underestimates the returns to investments in the sector. Valdes and Foster, (2005)
Stated that some empirical evidence exists on the positive relationship between
agricultural growth and the transformation of agriculture from its traditional
subsistence roots induced by technical change, to a modernizing agricultural sector is
a phenomenon observed across the developing world. It is clear that agricultural
growth has played a historically important role in the process of economic
development. Evidence from industrialized countries that are rapidly developing
today indicates that agriculture was the engine that contributed to growth in the non-
agricultural sectors and to overall economic wellbeing. Economic growth originating
in agriculture can have a particular strong impact in reducing poverty and hunger.
Increasing employment and income in agriculture stimulates demand for non-
agricultural goods and services, thereby providing a boost to non-farm rural income
earners as well.
In the early stages of development, capital can be provided by increasing the
marketable surplus from the rural sector without reducing consumption levels from
population. According to Johnson and Mellor (2011) “an increase in agricultural

13
productivity implies some combination of capital formation when it is reduced on the
farm and employed in construction works”. But the possibility of utilizing unskilled
surplus form labour on capital project requiring skilled labour is limited. The second
possibility of increasing capital formation through reduced agricultural prices is also
not feasible in the early stages of development when the rise in price is not feasible.
Reduction in agricultural prices is not feasible. Reduction in agricultural prices is
possible in the long run but democratic countries may not be able to follow this
reasoning for political reasons. A more practicable solution is to stabilize the prices
in farm products. The third possibility of increasing farm receipts is perhaps the best
way for capital formation. This can be done by mobilizing increased farm incomes
through agricultural income tax, land registration charges, school fees, for providing
agricultural technical services and other types of fees that cover all or part of the
farm population. But “political and institutional problems makes it difficult to
translate the increased potential for saving and capital accumulation, made possible
by increased agricultural productivity, into an actual increase in investment in
underdeveloped countries. According to Wald, (2005) Special assessments have had
their widest application in view of the fact that they are specially designed for
financing such developed projects as irrigation works, flood control system and
certain classes of roads, all of which are extremely important for underdeveloped
countries like India that “the penalties of too light taxation on agriculture are a
stagnating farm sector, a financially starved public sector and a retarded rate of
economic growth in the country as a whole; (Wald, 2005). Thus countries were
agriculture dominates, the taxation of agriculture in one form or another is essential
for mobilizing agricultural surplus in order to accelerate economic development.
Kuznets calls it the “factor of contribution” when there is a transfer of resources to
the other sectors, these resources to the other sectors, these resources being
productive factors. Agriculture also expands and diversifies employment
opportunities in rural areas. As agricultures productivity and farm income increases,
non-farm rural employment expands and diversifies. Landless and marginal farmers
are primarily engaged in non-agricultural pursuits which includes the manufacturers
of textile, furniture, tools, handicraft, leather and metal processing, marketing,

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transport, repair work, construction of houses and other buildings, education,
medicine and other services, as these activities satisfy local demand.
Increase in rural incomes as a result of the agricultural surplus tends to improve rural
welfare. Peasant starts consuming more food especially of a higher nutritional value
in the form of superior quality cereals, eggs, ghee, milk, fruits etc. They build better
houses fitted with modern amenities like electricity, furniture, radio, fan etc. provide
themselves with bicycles, motorcycles, watches, readymade garments, shoe etc. they
also receive direct satisfaction from such services such as schools, health centres,
irrigation, banking, transport and communication facilities. Thus increased
agricultural surplus has the effect of raising the standards of living of the mass of
rural people.
2.1.7 CONCEPT OF EMPLOYMENT
Employment is a state in which an individual is gainfully employed. That is, when
an individual works to earn a living from the income that accrues from the work, the
individual can be said to be employed. Likewise, a better understanding of
employment can be derived from the word unemployment and according to Ohale
& Onyema (2010) “unemployment is a term referring to individuals who are
employable (i.e, able to work) and seeking a job at the prevailing wage rate, but are
unable to find a job”. “Unemployment also includes people who are waiting to
return to a job after being discharged. However, it does not include individuals who
have stopped looking for a job in the past four weeks due to various reasons such as
leaving work to pursue higher education, retirement, disability, and personal issues.
Even people who are not actively seeking a job anywhere but want to find one are
not considered unemployed” It can concluded that employment is a situation where
a job seeker has found a viable job to do to earn a living.

2.1.8 Employment Opportunities in Agriculture

i. Food Scientist: Food scientists and technologists use chemistry, biology and
other sciences to study the basic elements of food. They analyse the nutritional
count of food, discover new food sources and research ways to make processed
food safe and healthy.

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 ii. Agricultural Journalist: An agricultural journalist covers all the events articles
of interest and stories which are relevant to farmers and others in their area.
They gather news by observing, interviewing and researching relevant
topics/events.
iii. Wildlife Specialist: A wildlife forensics specialist is a scientist who uses
chemical techniques to investigate wildlife crimes. These scientists analyse
animals, animal parts and products and other evidence collected by wildlife
inspectors and other officials.
iv. Veterinarian: A veterinarian or a vet, is someone who gives animals, veterinary
medicine or medical treatment. They are doctors for animals.
v. Agri-business Management: The management field of the agricultural industry
is agri-business.
vi. According to the 2015 Agri-business Job Report, there were 26 per cent more
application posted on Agcareer.com than 2014 and job listings were up from
the previous year as well; with nearly, 800 new listings a month.
vii. Food Packers and Packagers: For agricultural products to reach their ultimate
destination, they must definitely package safely and appropriately beforehand
for shipment. Here is the major task for the food packers and packagers do.
viii. Book Keeping, Accounting and Auditing Clerks: Just as every industry needs
more people to count money and keep track of expenses, so also the
Agricultural industry as being part of the most important industries.
ix. Agricultural and Natural Resources Communications: Combining an interest in
Agriculture and that of communication, here is a field that provides for that.
Agricultural communications professionals work in print and broadcast
journalism, on the staffs of magazines and newspapers, as press spokespeople
and marketing executives.
x. Agricultural Equipment Operators: The job outlook for agricultural equipment
operators have been continuously good for the past 10 years, according to the
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, with job growth of 5 to 9 per cent in the next
10years. These highly skilled agricultural workers driver, operate and maintain

16
 the equipment used to plant and harvest crops; such as tractors, bladders,
harvesters, shredders and lot more.
xi. Farm Workers and Laborers: According to the Bureau of labour statistics, over
850, 000 people were employed as agricultural workers and a variety of roles.
Agricultural workers and labourers are employed in greenhouses and plant
nurseries as well as on farms and ranches. They also do routine animals care
task on ranches and dairy farms keep written records on animals, assist at birth
and keep animal housing areas clean.

2.2 Theoretical Review of Literature

2.2.1 The Conservation Model
The conservation model of agricultural development evolved from the advances in
crop and livestock husbandry associated with the English agricultural revolution
and the concepts of soil exhaustion suggested by the early German chemists and
soil scientists. The conservation model emphasized the evolution of a sequence of
increasingly complex land and labour-intensive cropping system, the production
and use of organic manures and labour-intensive capital formation in the form of
physical facilities to more effectively use land and water resources. This model
was the only approaches to intensification of agricultural production that was
available to most of the world’s farmers.
Agricultural development within the ambit of the conservation model, clearly was
capable in many areas of the world of sustaining rate of growth in agricultural
production around 1.0% per year over relatively long periods of time. This rate is
not compatible with modern rates of growth in the demand for agricultural output
which typically fall between 3-5% in the developing countries.

2.2.2 François Quesnay Theory

This theory was propounded by François Quesnay in 1694-1774. François
Quesnay was the leading figure of the Physiocrats. The physiocrats laid more

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 emphasis on agriculture in the development of an economy. In their views, the
source of national wealth is essentially agriculture. The agricultural sector to the
physiocrats is the only genuinely productive sector of the economy and generator
of surplus upon which all depends. Todaro and Smith (2003), while looking at the
Lewis theory of Cynthia C. & F. Okonkwo development, assumed that
underdeveloped economies consist of two sectors. These sectors consist of
traditional agricultural sector and the modern industrial sector. Agricultural
development was seen as necessary for successful economic transformation. The
Physiocracy is based on one core proposition; the agricultural sector is the only
sector capable of generating a net surplus, which is paid as a rent or revenue to the
landlords, while the industrial sector remains sterile because it cannot produce
profits. Quesnay thought that the industrial sector would always have a rate of
return of zero, the manufacturing sector would not produce surplus over cost. The
reason was that competition among entrepreneurs would prevent them from
generating a surplus over cost. An increase in industrial efficiency would just
cheapen products and not produce a surplus for the producers. On the other hand,
an increase in agricultural efficiency would increase the surplus of the economy.
2.3 Empirical Literatures
Korgbeelo (2018) in his study on “Agricultural sector performance and job creation
in Nigeria examined the impact of crop production output, livestock output, fishery
output and forestry output on the unemployment rate in Nigeria. Annual time-series
data from 1981 to 2019 were used for the study. The data were obtained from
secondary sources. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach was used
in estimating the data. The findings indicated that crop production output
significantly reduces unemployment in Nigeria while livestock and fishery outputs
have weak reducing effect on unemployment in Nigeria. Also, forestry output
insignificantly stimulates unemployment in Nigeria. Among other things, it is
recommended that government should support farmers with subsidized inputs and
improved varieties of crops”.
The study of Obakiri, Ekine, Chukwuigwe, Okidim and Iroegbu (2014) on Review
of Agricultural Development and Employment Generation in Nigeria: Issues,

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Challenges and the way Forward is a theoretical paper aimed at looking at issues,
challenges and the way forward concerning agricultural development and
employment generation in Nigeria. It is in the light of the above this study is carried
out to access the level of development in the agricultural sector and unraveling the
potentials and capacity of the Nigeria agricultural sector if properly developed in
generating jobs for the millions of people (Nigerians) without jobs. The study found
that poor agricultural funding, poor and lack of farm inputs, inconsistent and no
sustained policy and programmes for the sector, lukewarm and lackadaisical attitude
of political leaders and neglect of agricultural research institutes are seen as some
major issues hampering the development of the agricultural sector in Nigeria.
Therefore, it is suggest that the only way forward for Nigeria agricultural sector to
drive industrialization, guarantee food security and employment generation is by
total and massive investment in the sector, budgetary allocation to the sector should
be increased by 10% to meet 2003 African Union Summit in Maputo and the right
policy and programmes put in place, sustained and managed by patriotic states men
and women for the benefit of all.
Ogbalubi and Wokocha (2011) examines “Agricultural Development and
employment generation with particular reference to Nigeria. The paper
acknowledged the important role agriculture plays in developing countries such as
Nigeria not only in employment generation but also for overall economic growth. It
showcases the agriculture sector as the most critical and basic sector that has
significant potentials for the transformation of the Nigerian economy. It provides
the overview of agricultural development in Nigeria and also provides a framework
for understanding the agricultural sector in relation to the strategies employed by
government to develop the sector. The paper further acknowledged that although
most public policies in Nigeria have been tailored towards food security, supply of
agricultural raw materials needed by the manufacturing sector to provide adequate
employment and income. However, the potential of the sector is yet to be
maximized. In assessing the growth of agricultural sector in Nigeria and impact in
employment, data were obtained from Central bank of Nigeria and Federal Office of
Statistics. This paper also identifies some major factors constraining the

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development of agricultural sector in Nigeria such as neglect of agriculture arising
from the discovery of oil, inadequate infrastructural facilities, inadequate extension
services, shortage of labour to rural- urban migration, decline quality of land
because of oil activities in the Niger Delta Region, Policy inconsistency etc. The
paper recommends the provision of credit facilities to farmers, extension services,
price stabilization and making agriculture a priority e.tc to ensure that the sector
takes its rightful place in our economy”.
Terso (2012) examines “the role of agribusiness in all its tri-aggregates to the socio-
economic development of the rural sector in Nigeria. It acknowledges the
importance of agriculture as it employs a majority of the rural population in a
predominantly agrarian society like Nigeria. It draws majorly from documentary
evidence on agribusiness and agro-industrial linkage and reveals that, the farm, off
farm and processing components of agribusiness are capable of generating jobs,
provision of income, poverty reduction and infrastructural growth. The paper
however identifies poor policy articulations, shortage of working capital, poor
infrastructure lack of ideology etc. as major obstacles to effective agribusiness. The
paper recommends a robust political will, a sound ideological frame, adequate funds
among other measures to develop a strong interface between agricultural policies
and politics in achieving a sustainable agribusiness as a veritable tool for rural
development in Nigeria”.

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