The Effect of Government Agricultural Spending on Economic Growth in Nigeria (1970-2013)
This research examined the effect of government agricultural spending on economic growth in Nigeria. This research effort was necessary, given the importance of agriculture in Africa. The result shows that less than 5% of government total spending is spent on the agricultural sector. Data covering the relevant variables over the period 1970 to 2013 was obtained from the annual reports and statistical bulletins of the National Bureau of Statistics, Central Bank of Nigeria, Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Bank. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, cointegration, error correction estimation, and Granger Causality test. Government spending was stationary at first difference. Also, a long-run relationship among the growth rate of the economy and government spending in agriculture, education, fertilizer, health services, transport and communication given by the coefficient of Error Correction Model (ECM) of -0.0081 is established.
