Impact of Government Agricultural Expenditure on the Growth of the Nigerian Economy
I. M. Shuaib *
Department of Business Administration and Management, School of Business Studies, Auchi Polytechnic, Auchi, Nigeria.
F. E. Igbinosun
Department of Accountancy, Auchi Polytechnic, Auchi, Nigeria.
A. E. Ahmed
Department of Political Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This study examined the impact of government agricultural expenditure on the growth of the Nigerian economy from 1960 to 2012. The study employed secondary data and sourced from National Bureau of Statistics, and Financial Review of Central Bank of Nigeria. The study employed E-view 7.2 statistical output as a window in exploring the possible links between government agricultural expenditure and economic growth. The results revealed that government agricultural expenditure has a direct relationship with economic growth which statistically significant at 5% level. From the results of the findings of the paper, the paper however recommended that government should ensure that credit is made available to farmers with relatively low interest rate, intensify effort on how to control inflation rate, increase the budgetary allocation to agricultural sector to 25% as recommended by agricultural development capital budget , Nigerian economy is to be diversified in order not to make crude oil as the mainstay of Nigerian economy rather agricultural(agrarian) sector because it helps in terms of food supply, employment generations, poverty reduction etc., hence economic growth.
Keywords: Agricultural expenditure, credit facilities, growth.