THE IMPACT OF AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT ON NIGERIA ECONOMIC GROWTH (1980-2010)

ABSTRACT In recent decades, the main and potential contribution of agriculture to economic growth has been a subject of much controversy among development economists. As some contend that agricultural development is a precondition for industrialization, others strongly object it and argue for a different path. Taking advantage of ordinary least square method OLS, the research carried out by means of secondary data and using the independent variables. Agricultural Development AGD, Capital Formation CFN Inflation Rate INF, and Interest Rate INT to reexamine the question of whether agriculture could serve as an engine of Economic growth in Nigeria. The result gotten from the empirical analysis shows that the productivity in agricultural sector has appreciably impacted positively on the economic growth in Nigeria.