The peasant nature of Nigeria’s agricultural production system has been identified as a major constraint to agricultural growth and development in the country.
This point was captured in a recent contribution by the South West Zonal Manager of Nigeria’s Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Mr. Olusegun Asiwaju at an event organized by the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA).  The occasion which was convened under the theme: “National Dialogue on Agriculture Value Chain: Enhancing Agricultural Export Through Adequate Financing”, sought to reiterate the critical role of financing in the evolution of a viable agro-economy for the nation.
In Asiwaju’s words, ”with low productivity and poor access to funding, there will ultimately be a poor response to technology adoption strategies, and poor returns on investment”. He highlighted agricultural commercialization and investment as the key strategies for promoting sustainable growth and development, accelerated modernization and ultimately poverty reduction in any country.
According to him, in order to attract investment in agriculture, the need to identify those constraints inhibiting the performance of the sector with a view to removing them, thereby creating a conducive investment climate in the sector cannot be overemphasized.
In relation to agriculture’s importance as a sector with multiple bottom lines, he noted that Nigeria has profound competitive advantage as agriculture provides a pivot on which other non-oil export segments can depend, hence the policy thrusts of the Government and other stakeholders must make the agricultural sector a focal point of attention.
In response to questions posed by the audience, Asiwaju underscored that the economic growth achieved through agricultural development is about three times more effective in reducing poverty than that achieved through other means.