Cultivating Change: The Political Economy of Southwest Nigeria's Blossoming Horticulture Sector
Horticulture holds great potential for alleviating food and livelihood insecurity issues in Southwest Nigeria, yet its development in the region remains underexploited.
Structurally, the sector suffers from path dependency caused by natural limitations, reliance on oil revenues and historical neglect. Historical emphasis on cash crops and carbohydrate-dense staples in the Southwest region, coupled with unfavourable agroecological conditions, have hindered sectoral growth. Inflation and exchange rate volatility pose significant macroeconomic challenges. However, rapid population growth and urbanisation rates present opportunities, potentially increasing labour availability and market demand.
Several external factors impact the sector: Nigeria as a whole is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, which will lower its agricultural productivity and have implications for the Southwest region.The Russian-Ukraine war increased fertiliser prices and reduced official development assistance (ODA) to Nigeria, with funds increasingly going towards in-donor refugee costs. Foreign direct investments (FDI) are declining, making capital more expensive and inhibiting economic growth and diversification across the country.
Institutionally, horticulture's underdevelopment in the Southwest is due in part to the nature of politics at both national and regional levels, where power and influence are driven by rents and networks, and horticulture in the Southwest does not provide these, leaving it as a relatively low-level sector. Similarly, national policies and strategies relevant to the horticulture sector have been marred by inconsistencies and ineffective implementation, which are innately driven by rent-seeking and corruption. At the regional level, however, specific horticulture development strategies are lacking.At the actor level, the sector in the region is characterised by fragmentation and weak organisation. Some efforts are led by public sector bureaucrats operating within that system, but developing the horticulture sector is not a key underlying ambition, given its limited political payback or rent opportunities. At the same time, horticulture producers in the Southwest region operate at a small scale with little political clout or organisational capacity, impeding sector development. ‘Winners’ from the status quo of the sector are market sellers and officials, while especially producers - notably female and small-scale farmers - lose out.
Specific challenges to the sector relate to inadequate access to fertilisers and improved seeds, as well as high disease pressure that further reduces yields. At the same time, weak connections between producers and processors and inadequate storage solutions result in significant postharvest losses. Lastly, knowledge gaps among farmers and a shortage of reliable labour limit the sector's overall potential.
This study provides a comprehensive political economy analysis of the horticulture sector in Southwest Nigeria. It examines the sector's current state, including the roles and power relations of actors within it. It also assesses both political and economic influences, governance behaviours, and the impact of formal and informal norms and institutions.
Contact
You can reach out to the Netherlands government agricultural team in West Africa, Ghana and Nigeria, by e-mail: ACC-LNV@minbuza.nl