TABLE OF CONTENT
Title page
Approval page
Dedication
Acknowledgment
Abstract
Table of content
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
1.2 Statement of problem
1.3 Objective of the study
1.4 Research question
1.5 Significance of the study
1.6 Scope and limitation of the study
1.7 Definition of terms
1.8 Organization of the study
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 theoretical review
2.2 Conceptual review
2.3 empirical review
CHAPETR THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 sources of data collection
3.3 Population of the study
3.4 Sampling and sampling distribution
3.5 Area of the study
3.5 Validation of research instrument
3.6 Method of data analysis
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
4.1 Introductions
4.2 Data analysis
CHAPTER FIVE
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Summary
5.3 Conclusion
5.4 Recommendation
Appendix
Abstract
Much changed in agriculture in this digital age regarding farming practices and concepts in agricultural research. The study focused on, what changed and what might happen as we increase our understanding of systems and their dynamics. We start with a brief review of the mechanistic approaches behind agricultural development which conceptualized change as a shift from one rather static state to another, as if ‘a war was to be won’. That approach eventually showed shortcomings, in terms of general applicability of new technologies as well as their socio-economic and biophysical trade-offs. Increasingly it thus became acknowledged that farming systems as combination of biophysical and social-ecological systems have their own dynamics: there is ‘a ghost in the machine’. We look at how farming systems, conceptualized as a sub-set of complex adaptive systems, co-evolve with their environment, a notion that we call ‘behaviours’. This dynamic conceptualisation helps to move towards adaptive approaches in agricultural development. The key point is that human agents can chose for ‘design’ in work for more sustainable farming, rather than taking perhaps easier ‘default’ options embedded in ‘locked-in’ regimes.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
Agriculture is the art and practice of our struggle with and/or against nature to make a living, consisting of food, fibres, social status, income and the like. In this process many kinds of farming systems emerged, disappeared and re-emerged, each with their own (de)merits. For example, Mesopotamian agriculture ‘boomed’ and ‘busted’, in part due to a combination of unsustainable farming, unfavourable climate and poor management choices. Western Europe in medieval times suffered from plague, affecting populations already weakened by yields that could not keep up with increasing population (Crotty 1980; Ponting 1991). A major transition to more modern forms of farming in Europe started between the two World Wars as organization and use of inputs as well as machinery un- derwent considerable change. And in the 1950s, the international community also faced a problem of what was perceived as a shortage of food production in the socalled 3rd world, mainly assuming that high enough yields would equate with ‘no hunger’. Combined with a curious mix of humanism, enlightenment thinking and ‘fear of communism’ this drove western powers to launch a ‘war on famine’ in the guise of the ‘Green Revolution’ (Stakman 1967; Thomson et al. 2007; Spiertz 2010). The same is professed to be behind current work on genetically modify organism (GMO) even if this latter drive may be fuelled by corporate interest as much as concerns about food supply for the poor. Be as it may, even today the calls for ‘more food’ persist, half a century after the Green Revolution (Griffon, 2006). It shows that mankind has so far failed to ‘control’ nature and design agri-food systems for ensuring continued and adequate food supply for all. To complicate things, hunger and plenty are not only a matter of food production and of maximum yields. Food distribution is perhaps a more crucial issue than production alone. Only 160 years ago the Irish potato famine showed how some starved in a sea of plenty; i.e. hungry peasants left for the United States from the same harbour where grain was shipped to Britain. This adds a socio-economic dimension to the biophysical aspects of complex system behaviour in farming and food production systems. The term entitlement refers to this difference between food availability and access to food, whether due to human (in)action and/or natural causes (Sen, 2003). Agriculture and food supply in ‘mechanistic thought’ prior and after WWII were conceived in the ‘war on famine’ paradigm. It thought of farming as a ‘machine’ that can be made to function better by changing nuts and bolts – i.e. chemicals, seeds, water, human skills – and by ensuring a stable context for these technologies. The importance of agriculture in Nigerian economy cannot be over-emphasized. Specifically, agriculture contributes more than 40% of the total annual GDP, employs about 68% of the labour force, accounts for over 70% of the non-oil exports, and provides over 80% of the food needs of the country. However, the small-scale farmers that dominate the sector are facing serious problems in getting good land due to progressive growth in population, land degradation, and inadequate planning in the use of available land. In spite of massive government investment in the sector and related programmes over the years, in the form of input subsidies, the River Basin Development Authorities, Agricultural Development Projects (ADPs), Green Revolution, Operation Feed the Nation, Directorate for Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI), among others, the sector‟s performance is still far below expectation (National Bureau of Statistics, 2011). The Nigerian small-scale farmers largely depend on traditional methods of farming. These farmers are facing various land use constraints, which is one of the major sources of declines in agricultural productivity. Even if rural households choose to stay on degraded land, its declining productivity will be unable to support growing rural populations, not to consider the nation as a whole. Thus, some households are forced to abandon existing agricultural areas in search of new forest land. Where land is scarce, continuous cropping on fragmented pieces of degraded farm plots persists with little or no soil conservation investments, and resource productivity eventually decreases (FAO, 1991; Walker, 2002). Agriculture in Nigeria involves four broad systems of land use, which are crop production, animal husbandry, fishery and forestry. Crop production involves three types of farming which could be rotational fallow, semipermanent or permanent cultivation and mixed farming. Permanent cultivation may be rain-fed system or irrigated. Rotational fallow type is only common in sparsely populated areas. Moreover, in Nigeria, much attention is focused on urban land use relative to that of the rural area. In essence, while the government regulates land use in urban areas, the rural areas are characterized by free holding through the predominant land tenure systems. The alarming rate at which prime and productive agricultural lands at the fringes of urban centers are being lost to physical development may have a very significant implication for the future food security in the country. Increased investment in agricultural lands and agricultural inputs is still a subject that requires better consideration to forestall future shortage in food security (Akinbola, 1993; FAO, 2000; Oyekale, 2007). In other words, farming systems and their context co-evolve. The notion of farming system as machines started to show cracks, for mechanistic thinker's manifestations of ‘a ghost in the machine’.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Low resource productivity of Nigerian agriculture is a reflection of its comparatively low input use (FAO, 2000). Reardon (1998) noted that low use of fertilizer across African countries is a major cause of concern, both from the food production and environmental perspectives. FAO (2008) submitted that shortage of good quality agricultural land for smallholder is a problem in many regions of the world. Payment of compensation in cash or in kind for the use of land no doubt affects land use intensity (Adegboye, 2016). According to Nwosu (2001), the government of Nigeria has been acquiring large tracts of land for agricultural and non-agricultural purposes. Global warning and climate change refer to an increase in average global temperature. Natural events and human activities are believed to contribute to an increase in average global temperature. This is caused primarily by increase in greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide which is problem to human existence. Nigeria is experiencing adverse climate conditions with negative impacts on welfare of millions of people. Persistent droughts and flooding off-season rains and dry spells have sent growing season out of orbit, on a country dependent on rain-fed agriculture. Alarm bells are ringing with lakes drying up and a reduction in river flow in the different parts of the country and even Abaji area council. The result is low water supplies for use in agriculture, hydro power generation and other users. The main suspect for all this havoc is climate change. According to Odey (2009), Nigeria loses about $750 million annually to the depletion of its 350,000 hectares of forest land by direct human activities and climate change. Also Odey (2009) equally reported that the Sahara Desert in Nigeria is moving southward at a rate of 600 meters annually. Odey (2009) further added that about 100,000 farming families move southwards as a result of the desertification which is the resultant effect of climate change in the country. Following these development in different parts of the country, there is no doubt that climate change and other economic factors is the greatest and biggest challenge facing famers in Abaji area council of Abuja. Its impact has spread beyond the environment, causing serious dislocation in world economic and social development. In Africa, Nigeria and Abaji area council in particular, climate change impact poses great danger on desertification, damage to infrastructure, sea-level rise and water salinity with serious implication. It is in view of the above that the researcher intend to investigate the dynamics of farming and its socio economic implication for Abaji area council
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The main objective of this study is to examine the dynamics of farming system and its socio economic implication for Abaji area council; but to aid the completion of the study, the researcher intends to achieve the following specific objectives;
- i) To examine the impact of agricultural dynamic and climate change on the socio economic development of Abaji area council
- ii) To examine the role of Agriculture in food security in Abaji area council
iii) To examine the effect of mechanized farming on the socio economic development of Abaji area council
- iv) To examine if there is any significant relationship between farming dynamics and socio economic development of Abaji area council
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTION
The following research questions were formulated by the researcher to aid the completion of the study;
- i) Does agricultural dynamic and climate change have any impact on the socio economic development of Abaji area council?
- ii) Does Agriculture play any role in food security in Abaji area council?
iii) Are they effect of mechanized farming on the socio economic development of Abaji area council?
- iv) Is there any significant relationship between farming dynamics and socio economic development of Abaji area council?
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
It is believed that at the completion of the study, the findings will be of great importance to the management of Abaji area council as the study seek to explore the benefit of farming to the socio economic development of the study area, the study will also be of importance to farmers in Abaji area council as the study seek to examine the constrain to effective agricultural productivity in Abaji area council. The study will also be of importance to researchers who intend to embark on a study in a similar topic as the study will serve as a pathfinder to further research. Finally, the study will be of great importance to students, teachers, lecturers, academia's and the general public as the study will contribute to the pool of existing literature on the subject matter and also contribute to knowledge.
1.6 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The scope of the study covers the dynamics of farming system and its socio economic implications for Abaji area council of FCT, but in the cause of the study, there are some factors that limited the scope of the study;
- a) AVAILABILITY OF RESEARCH MATERIAL: The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study
- b) TIME: The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.
- c) Finance: Limited Access to the required finance was a major constrain to the scope of the study as it become cumbersome to cover more grounds and to print more.
1.7 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS
Farming system
A farming system is defined as a population of individual farm systems that have broadly similar resource bases, enterprise patterns, household livelihoods and constraints, and for which similar development strategies and interventions would be appropriate
Dynamics
Dynamics is the branch of classical mechanics concerned with the study of forces and their effects on motion.
Socio economics
Socioeconomics is the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of their local or regional economy, or the global economy. Societies are divided into 3 groups: social, cultural and economic.
Agriculture
Agriculture is the process of producing food, feed, fiber and many other desired products by the cultivation of certain plants and the raising of domesticated animals
1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY
This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows
Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), historical background, statement of problem, objectives of the study, research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, definition of terms and historical background of the study. Chapter two highlights the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the review of related literature. Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding. Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study
