State and the Politics of Poverty: A Theoretical Analysis of Agricultural Policy in Nigeria.

Abstract

The colonial and post-colonial Nigerian State inherited agricultural policy antithetical to its development and the realization of domestic objectives. This paper establishes a theoretical nexus between a neo-colonial state, poverty, agricultural practices and policies. It examines the agricultural policies of the Nigerian state , the character of the neocolonial politics in Nigeria and concludes that decline in food production, increased hunger and the retrogressing agricultural practices in Nigeria, have been enabled by bad public policy and a lame state that has been incapable of negotiating alternative development agenda. This work articulates these problems within the political economy context.