An Overview of Some Agricultural Policies and Programs and their Impacts in Sokoto State 1984 to 2025.From Historical Perspective

Since independence, with population increase coupled with food demand various development planning approach and policies and programs to agricultural development have carried out as a deliberate strategy for agricultural production/development sectors of the economy to achieve growth and development of agriculture for the wellbeing of the citizenry. In other words, agriculture has been the backbone of the economy in Nigeria providing employment and a source of livelihood for the increasing population and accounting for over half of the GDP of the Nigerian economy at independence in 1960 and beyond. However, the impact of agricultural policies program in the regional and development of the country has diminished over the years due to dominant role of the crude oil sector in the economy. Therefore, this paper is an attempt to reconstruct the historical development of agricultural policies and programs and their impact in Sokoto State in particular and Nigeria as a whole. The paper has also analyzed the various stages of agricultural development from 1984 to 2025 and the changes witnessed in the crop production. The role played by other agencies in agricultural development in Sokoto State, such as RBDAs, OFN, National Fadama Development Project [NFDP] and SRRBDA, IFAD, ATAP, and FADAMA project in the development of increase volume of agricultural crop production in Sokoto State have been discussed among others , which aim at making Nigeria self-sufficient in food production . Other factors contained therein under these policies include; an increase in allocation of funds for agriculture from 6 to 15 percent of the annual capital budget, establishment of new water resources for the development of water resources through eleven River Basin Development Authorities [RBDAs] and National Food Production Programmed [NAPP] .