Effects Of Commercial Banks' Credit To Agriculture Of Selected Staple Crops In Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Agriculture is derived from the Latin words 'Ager' (field) and 'cultural' (cultivation). This means field cultivation (Erebor, 2003). According to Onyebinarna (2000), Agriculture embraces farming. Farming is defined as man's deliberate effort to rear animals and grow plants for his own use. Agriculture therefore entails man's quest to improve production, increase the production of useful plants and animals to preserve, process and distribute the products from these plants and animals. Agriculture is the oldest industry known to mankind and it is the source of our food and raw materials for many industries (Lot, 1985). Infact it can be justifiably referred to as the world's primary Industry. However, progress in the agricultural sector had been slow. (Ijere, 1994) attributed this slow in progress to the numerous problems faced by Nigeria's economy and revealed that to improve progress in agricultural development, credit is inevitable. In other words, finance must be critical considered as a factor agricultural development.