Infrastructure and Agricultural Growth in Nigeria

Abstract

The study considered infrastructure and agricultural growth in Nigeria using a time series data for over four decades and the Parsimonious Error Correction Model estimation technique. It was found that various performance indicators with respect to physical infrastructure used for the study have not been encouraging in Nigeria. The provision of infrastructure in Nigeria, particularly physical infrastructure is characterized by the predominance of public enterprises except for telecommunications sector in recent time. The empirical part of the study revealed different relative response rates of the different component of infrastructure used in the study to the growth of the agricultural sector in Nigeria. There was unidirectional causality between telecommunication facilities and agricultural production. The same result was found between labour and agricultural production. It was recommended that the sectoral specific effects of the various forms of infrastructure should be taken into consideration when designing policy for promoting agricultural growth in Nigeria.