SIGNIFICANCE OF AGRICULTURE IN NIGERIA
Let’s start with defining poverty because the definition of poverty itself gives away the significance and the purpose of innovation. Poverty is defined as “the state of being extremely poor”. Nigeria has the highest rate of extreme poverty globally. Due to this global issue, the group decided to focus on this country and expand on this goal since poverty is interconnected with other United States sustainability goals such as: Gender Inequality, Quality Education, Zero Hunger, Decent Work, and Economic Growth, and Sustainable Cities and Communities.
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As per Plajide and colleagues, agriculture has been a sector that has been helping the country eradicate poverty which contributes towards economic growth during the past decades. This will help with the United Nations Goal of Decent Work and Economic Growth. Additionally, farmers in Nigeria operate at a small level, and the technology will help them go on a bigger level with extensive resources. In Nigeria, women make up 60-80% of the labor force, but their contribution to agriculture is not noticed when it should be. The technology will help in making sure that every single laborer is taken into account thus addressing gender inequality. Moreover, Agriculture remains the cornerstone of the Nigerian economy, employing 36.5 percent of the entire labor force, thus being a meaningful source of livelihood for the majority of the population.
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Despite an economic contraction in recent years, the value-added of the agricultural sector remains relatively high with 21 percent of GDP. Therefore, technology will help improve their quality of life as well as efficiency whilst performing their job. On top of that, only 16 percent of all small family farms have access to motorized equipment. Furthermore, only 6 percent of households benefit from agricultural extension services in the form of knowledge and information transfer. Making technology more accessible will help ease job performance for many families in Nigeria. Thus supporting Sustainable Cities and Communities of the United Nation Model. As a matter of fact, when the economic growth will increase and poverty will decrease, education will increase since there will be resources available due to the economic growth in the population. Thus, this will address the quality education goal. Not only through education, but with economic growth and sustainable cities and communities, there will be an increase in people having access to money and resources to feed their families, thus addressing the Zero Hunger goal.
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Not only for the agricultural aspect, there are several elements that affect poverty in Nigeria although they have natural resources such as diamond and oil. Especially, Boko Haram role leads to the limitation of food, health care and limited education. The shortage of healthcare facilities without vaccinations accelerates the disease outbreak in poverty, and children are easily exposed to bombs rather than being educated. Also, the conflicts from Boko Haram role cause huge damage to farmings restricting their access to foods.
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References:​
How conflict in Nigeria affects poverty. (2019, January 10). The Borgen Project. Retrieved from
https://borgenproject.org/how-conflict-in-nigeria-affects-poverty/
National Survey and Segmentation of Smallholder Households in Nigeria. Washington, DC.
FAO. 2016. Review of the Livestock/Meat and Milk Value Chains and Policy influencing them in Nigeria. Rome.
Ogunlela, Y. I., & Mukhtar, A. A. (2009). Gender issues in agriculture and rural development in
Nigeria: The role of women. Humanity & social sciences Journal, 4(1), 19-30.
Olajide, O. T., Akinlabi, B. H., & Tijani, A. A. (2012). Agriculture resources and economic
growth in Nigeria. European scientific journal, 8(22).