Keywords
Niger Delta
Oil Exploration
Environmental Pollution
How to Cite
Abstract
Agriculture is the backbone of Africa’s economy. About 70% of Africans especially, Nigerians, and roughly 80% of Africa's poor live in the rural areas and depend mainly on agriculture for their livelihood. Agriculture in Nigeria is the most important sector of the economy from the standpoint rural employment, sufficiency in food and fiber, and export earning prior to the discovery of oil. The oil industry has risen to the unassailable loftiness of the Nigerian economy, contributing the lion share to gross domestic product and accounting for the bulk of federal government revenue and foreign exchange earnings since early 1970. This Paper examines the effect of crude oil exploration on agricultural productivity and those that depend on it. Despite the various polices and strategies adopted by various governments in Nigeria to address agriculture and rural underdevelopment problem, the story remains the same. Oil spills have shown significant negative impact on crop yield and land productivity which further impoverish the already poor farmers in these oil producing areas. With increasing soil infertility as a result of the destruction of soil micro- organisms and dwindling agricultural productivity, farmers have been forced to abandon their land to seek non-existent alternative means of livelihood. This paper finally submits that regulatory agencies and policies should be restructured to tame the tide of environmental destruction perpetrated by oil multinational companies. This is in order to give agriculture the pride of place it deserves in serving as a catalyst for peace, income, employment and pollution-free environment in the Niger Delta.
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