Sustainable Agricultural Development in Developing Countries: Regional Approaches

[2F202] Development of the Agricultural Sector of Nigeria and Risk Perception of Farmers

*Hoi Yee Regina FU¹ (1. Senshu University)

Keywords:Africa, Agricultural development, Risk Perception

The agricultural sector is a large part of the Nigerian economy, directly providing more than 50% of jobs and contributing more than 35% to the national GDP. The sector offers substantial potential for transformation and development. In recent years, the sector observes various developmental changes, ranging from growing demand and investment, national policy bolstering domestic production, and change of farmer’s production behaviors. Many drivers are pulling growth on the demand side, however, factors like climate changes and lack of effective risk management constrain the supply side adjustment of farmers. This presentation aims to illustrate the various developmental changes in the agricultural sector of Nigeria, and to analyze how farmers percept and manage risks. Worldview is the fundamental cognitive orientation shared by individuals within which is rooted the entirety of their knowledge. Change in external environment is a gradual modification of the average condition, which is a difficult phenomenon to detect and track accurately based on personal experience. Perceptions of risk associated with various changes are influenced and shaped by a broad range of structural, psychological, social, and cultural factors. The way people perceive risks and their personal understanding may not be accurate or complete, but the studies of perception are important to support risk analysis and adaptive responses, and can improve the effectiveness of adaptation.