DOI: 10.36347/sjebm.2015.v02i01.013

Pages: 80-90

It is no more a gain saying that „there cannot be any meaningful agricultural growth and development in any country without linking it to the roles and activities of the political rulers and leadership paddling the wheel of the economy. Governance has been described as the exercise of political power in the management of human affairs, and the material resources at federal, state and local government level. Thus, economic foundation of a country largely determines by its political structure. However, with the hugely endowed human and material resources of the Nigerian state, all these have not been harnessed to improve the material well being of her citizenry mainly due to stagnation or decline in the attention given to agricultural sector by the administration (government) in power as a result of oil boom of 1970s. It is thus pertinent to analytically examine the agricultural development and political economy of Nigeria with a view to providing recommendation(s) that will aid the policy making process of the policy makers in Nigeria and indeed the sub-Saharan Africa. This study reviews the concept of political economy, governance, forms of governance and economic policy, theoretical foundation of government policies, a number of policy measures and programmes aimed at revamping agriculture The study therefore concluded that though, there have been a number of institutional framework that have been put in place by past and present government in Nigeria, but the problem of political instability, lack of continuity in government policies and programmes, non-implementation of programmes, improper planning, corruption, non adherence to corporate governance, lack of transparency have been the bane of agricultural development and political economy in Nigeria.