Assessing the migration dynamics in the context of agriculture and human development in Nigeria

Migration presents challenges and opportunities for both origin and destination communities. It should be emphasized that much of the migration discourse has only focused on the origin more than the destination. Hence, the dramatic changes in the flow of migrants across international borders, as well as accelerating internal movements of rural migrants in the direction of the cities are practically reshaping our world. It is a truism that agriculture and human advancement are keys to addressing the fundamental causes of migration. According to (FAO, 2018), over half of the populace in the least developed countries will still live in rural areas in the year 20150. Three-quarters of the extreme poor base their livelihoods on agriculture or other rural activities. In the African continent, Eleven million young people will enter the labor market every year for the next ten years. Thus, agriculture can be categorized as the backbone of human subsistence and its stanchion for human existence surpasses any other area of endeavor. It provides employment to individuals and business support to organizations. However, despite its importance, there has been a continuous reduction in the number of people directly involved in agriculture, especially in developing countries. In Nigeria for example, the attraction to the city which is the ‘Pull factor”, white-collared jobs, price instability, income instability, herdsmen/farmer crisis, general insecurity, government intervention among others have reduced the number of people participating directly in agriculture. Economic issues such as deficit in trade, uncertain availability of food, generation of income, poverty reduction and creation of employment could be catered by the government by enacting pro-agricultural laws and providing incentives in various forms which includes provisions agricultural technology, tax reliefs, easy access to loans, security of lives and livestock, infrastructural development, irrigation trenches in desert areas, supply of fertilizers, control of usage of insecticides. Nigeria should come up with effective, pragmatic and workable agricultural plan and policy to harness the massive possibility of agricultural commercialization to fulfil the internal consumption demands and also for the purpose of export. There is also the need to process raw materials into finished products. For many smallholder farmers and herders, moving away from rural areas is an attractive opportunity to diversify livelihoods, escape slow-outbreak events which include climate change and degeneration of the environment, seek improved social services, and reunite with family members. This paper will interrogate instances of policies in receiving countries that empower the displaced and capitalize on opportunities that can arise from a global population shift. This research paper assesses the relationship between migration, human development, and agriculture and also raises and answers question on how we can enhance the development potential of migration in order to achieve zero hunger. Therefore, this paper concludes with the prospects and limitations of commercialization of agriculture and provides suggestions of ways for advancement using Nigeria as an example. It also seeks to suggest ways to make agriculture more vibrant and robust, which if attained, will reduce reliance on oil and gas as the predominantly sources of revenue generation.