In my last blog post we discussed the
back ground and the rationale behind the economic diversification quest of
Nigeria as the result of the uncontrollable and incessant fall of the crude oil
at the international market, other reason include the fall in the value of Naira resulting from several factors ranging from high level of importation to
monoculture economy structure.
In this post we shall be focusing on
discussing reviewing important concepts, theoretical and empirical literatures
relating to the series of blog post that have been made and will be made
subsequently. We shall particularly be discussing Sustainable Economic Development, Sustainable Agriculture and Sustainable
Economic Development.
To have full comprehension of the
concept of sustainable economic development, it will be imperative to first define,
distinguish and understand what economic development is in relation to economic
growth because the two concepts are often erroneously used interchangeably.
Economic Growth can be defined as an
increase in the capacity of an economy to produce goods and services in
specified period of time. Economic growth can be measured in real terms as an
increase in the inflation-adjusted market value of the goods and services or in
nominal terms measured without including inflation.
Economic growth may occur in one or
few sectors of the economy; it entails an increase in the amount of goods and
services produced per head and/or per capita consumption of the citizens of a
country over a period of time. It is often measured per year; economic growth
tells little about how the economic returns to factors of production in the
form of wages, rent, profit and interest on capital are distributed among
individuals, households and firms in the society.
Development taken in isolation is
many sided process encompassing progressive changes in social, technological,
cultural, political, educational and economic advancement. Economic development
on the other hand is sustained, concerted actions of policy makers and
communities that promote the standard of living and economic well-being of a
specific area. Economic development involves development of human capital,
increasing the literacy ratio, improvement in infrastructural facilities,
improvement of health and safety and others areas that aims at increasing the
general welfare of the citizens. Summarily, Economic Development can be said to
be the quantitative and qualitative changes in the economy.
Distinguishing between the two
concepts, economic growth is a pre-requisite to economic development. Assuming
we have a household in an economy that ekes their livelihood from an integrated
agricultural farm, economic growth will bring business opportunities to the
country and the effects will spill over to this particular farm, the
agriculture sector and other sectors of the economy. The farmer will
consequently increase its profit which will in turn be used to pay for the
profit generated (cost of production), improve access to health care, clothing,
shelter, education, food and the general living standard of the family, if this
effect is replicated in every household overall economic development is said to
have been achieved.
Brundtland Commission, (1987) defined
sustainable development as the ability to make development sustainable—to
ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their own needs.
Sustainable economic development can
therefore be defined from the above insights as achieving and maintaining the
initially economically developed economy over a long period of time, without
possibility of future reversal. It is in other words, a practice of economic
structural change in which the utilization of resources, the trend of
investments, the direction of technological development, and established
changes are made unswerving with the present as well as future requirements in
mind.
The concept
of sustainable agriculture in relation to sustainable economic development as used in the research is a reaction to the deterioration
in the quality of the natural resource base associated with contemporary
agriculture. The concept of agriculture sustainability has prompted major
adjustments in conventional agriculture to make it more environmentally,
socially and economically viable.
The capability of existing resources and
technologies to satisfy the demands of the growing population for food and
other agricultural commodities remains uncertain. Agriculture has to meet the
above challenge, mainly by increasing production on land already in use and by
avoiding further encroachment on land that is only marginally suitable for cultivation.
In other to understand the concept of
sustainable agriculture, it will be important to have extensive understanding
of the concept of agriculture. This attempt is justified in view of its large
coverage, its varied application as a science, practice, business, and for
other purposes including legal matters, new technologies and specialized fields
are continuously added into its fold.
Several scholars have defined the
concept of agriculture from various perspectives. Agriculture according to Rimando,
(2004) is the systematic raising of useful plants and livestock under the
management of man. Agriculture was also defined as the deliberate effort to
modify a portion of Earth's surface through the cultivation of crops and the
raising of livestock for sustenance or economic gain (Rubenstein, 2003).
Labor
Code of the Philippines, (Undated) defined agriculture to including farming in
all branches and, among other things, includes the cultivation and tillage of
soil, dairying, the production, cultivation, growing and harvesting of any
agricultural and horticultural commodities, the raising of livestock or
poultry, and any practices performed by a farmer on a farm as an incident to or
in conjunction with such farming operations, but does not include the manufacturing
or processing of sugar, coconuts, abaca, tobacco, pineapple or other farm
products.
It can be seen from the above
definitions that agriculture as a concept is more complex than often assumed.
It encompasses system of assemblage of components, integrated by some forms of
interaction and interdependence, controlled within a prescribed boundary to
achieve a specified agricultural objective on behalf of the beneficiaries of
the system.
Sustainable agriculture therefore
means an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a
site-specific application that over the long term will satisfy human food and fiber
requirements, improve environmental quality and the natural resource base upon
which the agricultural economy hinges on, make the most efficient use of
non-renewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate,
natural biological cycles and controls, sustain the economic viability of farm
operations and, enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole.
The primary goals of sustainable
agriculture include, providing a more profitable farm income, promoting
environmental stewardship by protecting and improving soil quality, reducing
dependence on non-renewable resources such as fuel and synthetic fertilizers
and pesticides, and minimizing adverse impacts on safety, wildlife, water
quality and other environmental resource, and promoting stable, prosperous farm
families and communities.
Todaro and Smith (2003) looked at
Lewis theory of development, and reported that the underdeveloped economy
consisted of two sectors. These sectors are the traditional agricultural sector
characterized by zero marginal labour productivity and the modern industrial
sector. Rostow, (1960) in his historical approach to the process of economic
growth distinguishes five stages of economic growth to include: Traditional
society, Pre-conditions for take-off, Take–off, Drive to maturity and Age of
high mass-consumption.
From this historical approach it is
said that agriculture plays an important role in the first three stages.
Indeed, more often than not, as in the case with Nigeria, agricultural
activities are usually concentrated in the less-developed rural areas where
there is a critical need for rural transformation, redistribution, poverty
alleviation and socio-economic development.
Reynolds, (1975) opined that
agricultural development can promote economic development of the underdeveloped
countries in distinct ways: by witnessing the supply of food available for
domestic consumption and referring the labour needed for industrial
development, enlarging the site of the domestic market for the manufacturing
sector, increasing the supply of domestic savings, and providing the foreign
exchange earned by agricultural exports.
In their contributions, Omawalea and
Rogrigues, (1979) were of the views that most developing countries’ agriculture
sectors have been assigned an important role in national development. To them,
agriculture is seen in these countries as a means of reducing dependence on
certain import, containing food price increases, earning foreign exchange,
absorbing many new entrants to the labour market and increasing farm income at
times of severe unemployment and rural poverty.
Johnson, (1970) agreed with the above
views that the appraisal of the agriculture sector‘s contributions or role in
the national economy can be made using the primary criteria namely, the share
of agriculture in the Gross Domestic Product, the proportion of the population
engaged in agriculture, the proportion of the nation‘s responses devoted or
employed in agricultural production and finally, the contribution of the
agriculture sector to foreign trade.
We shall in my next blog post be discussing and relating the concept of Economic
Development, Measure of Economic Welfare (Mew) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
and finally, we shall be reviewing the performance of the Agriculture sector in
Nigeria with up to date statistics and economic indicators.
Cite
as follows: Dan-Abu Michael Ngbede, (2016). Appraisal
of the Role of Cattle, Poultry, Piggery and Fishery Sub-Sectors to Sustainable
Economic Development in Nigeria: 1982-2014. A research project submitted to
the department of Economics, University of Jos, Plateau state, Nigeria in
partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of Bachelor of Science (B.
Sc) in Economics.
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