The 1962-1968 development plan was
Nigeria's first national plan. Among several objec tives, it emphasised the introduction of more mod ern agricultural methods through farm settlements, co-operative (nucleus) plantations, supply of
improved farm implements (e.g. hydraulic hand
presses for oil palm processing) and a greatly
expanded agricultural extension service.
Some of the specialised development schemes
initiated or implemented during this period included:
(l) Farm Settlement Schemes; and
(ii) National Accelerated Food Production
Programme (NAFPP), launched in
1972.
There were also a number of agricultural devel opment intervention experiments, notably
(i) Operation Feed the Nation, launched in
1976;
(ii) River Basin and Rural Development
Authorities, established in 1976;
(vii) Green Revolution Programme, inaugu rated in 1980; and
(viii) The World Bank-funded Agricultural
Development Projects.
While each of the above programmes sought to
improve food production, the ADPs represented the
first major practical demonstration of the integrated
approach to agricultural development in Nigeria.
The experiment which started with World Bank
funding, with projects at Funtua (1974), Gusau
(1974) and Gombe (1974), blossomed into
Ayangba (1977), Lafia (1977), Bida (1979), llorin
(1980), Ekiti-Akoko (1981) and Oyo-North (1982)
agricultural development projects. Following suc cessful negotiations for multi-state agricultural
development projects with the World Bank, each state of the country, and the federal capital, Abuja, now has one ADP.The years since the early 1960s have also witnessed the establishment of several agricultural research institutes and their extension research liaison services. Some of the major institutions are:
(i) Agricultural Extension and Research stock production and fisheries production in Nigeria Liaison Service (AERLS) at the Ahmadu in recent years, is presented in the next two chap Bello University, Zaria, established in 1963;
(ii) The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), at lbadan and;
(iii) International Livestock Centre for Africa
(ILCA)
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