Nigeria’s Food Security Programs: Implications for MDG’s Goal of Extreme Hunger Eradication.
Andohol Jerome

Abstract
The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of reduction of extreme hunger is an articulated drive whose commitment by world leaders is to be actualized by 2015. The question however is, to what extent have Nigeria agricultural policies overtime with the existing realities been able to address the food question in the country, as well as using it as a development strategy towards the attainment of Millennium Development Goal of eradicating extreme hunger in 2015. In articulating an answer to this question, the work was situated within the Malthusian theoretical framework. Data was obtained from statistical bulletin of CBN and Bureau for Statistics covering variables such as staple food production, population growth rates, inflationary rate, and Minimum rediscount rate, values of the agricultural guarantee loans, food import bill, total import bill and Real GDP computed at 1990 factor prices. These variables were readjusted to their growth rates via the Ln-log regression approach. The study found out amongst others that constraints militating against agricultural productivity in Nigeria are structured along sector wide constraints and commodity specific constraints. That in Nigeria staple food production is experiencing a downward trend, with Adhoc agricultural polices counteracted by government monetary and fiscal policies. The study recommends that improvements are required in these diverse and complex factors leading to food crisis, and that government should always be mindful in its monetary and fiscal actions, which are counteractive to agricultural strategies put in place. It is imperative to conclude that Nigeria and other developing countries should see Agriculture as the gateway to several desired ends which includes poverty reduction, rural transformation, employment, food security and improved national health profile of the citizenry.

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