The performance of agriculture in Nigeria can be viewed from historical point, as stated in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development report (2000) and cited by Okolo (2004), Nigeria is an agrarian country with 80% of its land mass in the rural areas and as such the rural areas have to be developed to favorably impact on agriculture. Lack of good infrastructure has hindered the prompt evacuation and distribution of farm produce after harvest and the supply of needed inputs for agricultural production. This has resulted into high food prices. The high cost of land development is another serious problem. The high cost of land development has contributed largely to inability for large food cultivation. Large hectares of land are uncultivated in most parts of the country because of the high cost and these represent a huge waste of natural resources. The opening up of such large areas will no doubt provide farmers with sufficient land to bring about an increase in food production. The aim of Nigerian Agricultural Land Development Authority is to open up large areas of land in each state of the Federation in realization of the important role land development is likely to play in contributing to increased food output and thus reducing the cost of food items (Perspective Plan for Agricultural Development- 1990-2005).The procurement of fertilizer and the distribution of same at subsidized prices to farmers is yet another attempt by the
Some of the key issues responsible for the poor performance of many Government support programmes include the followings: Policy instability and inconsistency in policies are said to be one of the major constraints to the effectiveness of past agricultural policies in Nigeria (Manyong et al,