Nigeria as a Very Late Follower in Agricultural Biotechnology

Abstract

Agriculture has been a major contributor to the Nigeria’s economy, accounting for about 40% of gross domestic product (GDP) and employing about 60% of the work force. However, since 1973 the economy has been highly dependent on the oil sector, which by 2006 accounted for 70–80% of government revenues, over 90% of export earnings, and 25% of GDP, (Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), 2007). Local agriculture employs more than 90% of the rural population with women playing a major role in the production, processing, and marketing of food crops. Arable land is estimated at more than 70 million ha, of which only 50% is under cultivation. Agricultural land covers a wide range of agro-ecological zones ranging from the semi-arid regions of the northern-most states, the derived savannah land of the middle belt and south-west, to the rainforest belt of south-south and south-east. The total area of inland water bodies is estimated at slightly above 12 million ha. Low-lying and seasonally flooded areas increasingly produce cereals such as rice. Forests and woodlands occupy 17 million ha, but primary forests and most of the wildlife are disappearing.