FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY,AKURE

LAND TENURE IN NIGERIA'S AGRICULTURALDEVELOPMENT

INAUGURAL LECTURE SERIES4

DELIVERED AT THE rEDERAL UNIVERSITY orTECHNOLOGV, AKURE ON 23RD .:lJNE,

1987

BY

PROFESSOR OLUSEGUN AKANNI FAMORIYOProfessor of Agricultural Economics, Head of Department

of rarm Management &: Extension Educatinn

LAND TENURE INNIGERIA'S AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

INTRODUCTIONThere seems to be a consensus that the basic needs

of every human being consist of food, clothing, shelter,leisure or recreation and a means of mobility.

Man has learnt to satisfy his need for food throughthe agricultural systems that had evolved in varioushuman societies during the stages of pristine agriculture.

In that early period, when man himself, through hislabour, contributed most to the process of 'agriculturaldevelopment', man's adventures started from thegathering of food and fruits, and moved towards thehunting of animais. From this 'stage', man has graduatedto what is today generally regarded as sedentaryagriculture.

In the same way, man had tried to satisfy his basicneed for clothing in the earliest times by obtainingmaterials 'from fibres of the bark of trees'. Today, manhas graduated to the stage of manufacturing andacquiring the most sophisticated forms of synthetics.

With regard to shelter, it has been conjectured thatthe desirability for shelter arose from the consciousnessof early man to seek refuge from the onslaughts of thenatural elerrents. In many cases, such refuge wasobtained in caves. From this rudimentary form of shelter,man has again graduated to the achievement of startlingforms of architecture that are to be found in moderncities today. The most dramatic development in thesatisfaction of man's basic needs has been in the aspectof mobility. All who are here today constitute averitable proof of the significance of mobility; yourpresence here at this moment testifies in a spectacularmanner to the quest to satisfy the needs of man formobility and transportation.

Over centuries of human existence, man has tried tosatisfy his basic needs through the utilization of arelatively neglected factor of production: that is, theland (Ofori 1985). It might come as a suprise to hearthat man has neglected such an important means ofsatisfying his needs. Yet the belief has penetrated and

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pervaded many societies of the world that land isplentiful; its existence was thus taken for granted.

But it has become clear that the scene is rapidlychanging and mall is desperately learning fast. To quoteIsaac Ofori (1985):

"In absolute terms, both quantitativelyand qualitatively, we now appreciate that weare running out of land resources tosatisfy man's basic needs.

We know now that desertification, whichis the process of environmental degradationof our natural resources with associatedreduction or loss of land productivity, hasbeen threatening many countries of theworld" (Ofori, 1985).

According to the UN Conference on Desertification(UNCOD), about 60,000 square kilometers of productiveland are lost every year while another 30 million squarekilometers in some 100 countries of the world are proneto desertification. This puts the life of about 628million people in the world at stake.

So it is, that increase in the number of people livingon earth and the demands made by the people for abetter satisfaction of their basic wants (or needs?) havehelped to focus more sharply on land as an importantasset in agriculture.

After these introductory statements, I shall attempt tocomment on the world's agricultural situation side byside with that of Africa in order to present abackground for achieving the task ahead. This is thenfollowed by an overview of Nigeria's agriculturaleconomy. In the fourth part of the lecture, I shalldeliberate on the relationship between land tenure andagricultural development. The fifth part vividly examinesoperations of Nigeria's customary land tenure systems.The sixth part considers the problems posed by landtenure in the agricultural development process in Nigeriaand how the Land Use Act as an innovation wasexpected to solve these problems. The last part of thelecture represents the conclusion and recommendations.

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DEFINITION OF BASIC CONCEPTS(a) Land

A working definition of land is 'the surface part ofthe earth above the sea'. This definition, which appearsto ignore the useful sub-marine features such as thecontinental shelf and oyster beds, has nevertheless,been used contextually by Famoriyo, Gandonu and Fabiyi(1977).

We shall, however, have cause to modify thisdefinition later so as to fit it into the context of theeconomy of Nigeria's agriculture.(b) Land Tenure

The word 'tenure" connotes an element of occupancy,thus positing the existence of a relationship between athing and a person.

Thus, land tenure is the expression of a relationshipbetween man and land on the one hand, and betweenman and man (interpersonal) on the other hand. We shalldiscuss the difficulty inherent in the genesis of thisterm later.(c) Agricultural Development

For the initial purpose of conceptual clarification,agricultural development is an important subsector ofnational or economic development. As an on-goingprocess, it means the extent to which agriculturalresources of a nation are being used to increase thelevel of living of the agricultural population inparticular and that of the nation in general.

Expected beneficiaries of the agricultural developmentprocess would include farmers, labourers and tenants.

THE WORLD FOOD SITUATIONThe world agricultural or food situation is usually best

understood by obtaining information and analysing dataon food production, trends in food prices, developmentin the fertilizer industry and trade (Schuh, 1983).

For the opportunity of this occasion, I have chosento present data on agricultural production so as to givea focal view of wtlrld agriculture, as it were.

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For instance, for the period 1974-79, agriculturalproduction in the less developed countries as a wholeactually exceeded that for the developed countries as awhole. Towards the end of the 1970 s, agriculturalproduction increased by 58 percent in the lessdeveloped countries over the 1991 - 65 base periodwhile the comparative figure for the rate of increase inthe developed countries was 42 per cent. But among theless developed countries, however, Africa performedpoorly, for food production there rose by 32 per centduring the same period whereas in East Asia thecomparative figure was 75 per cent, in Latin America itwas 73 per cent and it was 68 per cent in West Asia(Schuh, 1983).

raking the less developed countries as a whole,however, their performance in food production showsthat they achieved an annual rate of growth of foodproduction of 3.4. percent since 1974. Furthermore, percapital food production had suffered a decline of some 9per cent in Africa when compared to the earlier period1961 - 65 (Schuh, 1983).

More recent data from the World Bank gives averageindex of food production per- capita for the earlyeighties for countries of the world. For instance, using1974 76 as the base period, the index of foodproduction per capita for Nigeria for the period 1982 -84 was 96 as compared with Ghana (73), Kenya (82),"Zambia (74), Ethiopia (100), Tanzania (100), India (1l0),China (128), Egypt (91) and Japan (91) (The World Bank,1986). Although this appears a pleasing situation, yetdata from other watchers of world events suggest thatin the present period, world agriculture is in a state offlux and 'disarray'. This is because while foodproduction is increasing in some areas, it is declining inothers.

It is on record that in one of the world's mostagriculturally productive countries, i.e. the UnitedStates, more and more farmers are becoming bankrupt, atan alarming rate.

Countries of Western Europe which had long remainednet grain importers, however, now constitute one of the

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leading grain exporters in the world. Within the lastdecade, the entire world economy has undergone atransformation since the grain shortages thatcharacterized the seventies have been replaced by thegrain surpluses in the mid-eighties. But this phenomenonhas occurred at severe costs - at the cost of over-ploughing available land. These are vast new lands which?re likely to lose their top soils unless they areconverted to either grassland or woodland forconservation purposes. This transformation has alsooccurred at the cost of payment of excessive subsidiesthrough raisinq agricultural production to artificiallyhigh levels. This is done by the governments ofindustrial countries paying their farmers prices that areabove world prices while declining agriculturalproduction is occurring in parts of the world whereincreases are mostly needed. All these are taking placeon the supply side (Brown, 1987).

If we consider the demand side, trends in foodconsumption in the less developed countries of the worldhave not been satisfactory. For instance, in Africa andLatin American countries where there is a high incidenceof malnutrition and hence where output ought to haveincreased, per capita output of both food productionand food consumption has fallen. (Brown, 1987). Withfurther reference to African countries in particular,according to the most recent data from the Food andAgriculture Organization (FAD), the food supply situationin Africa improved in 1986/87 for the second year insuccession, a reflection of the favourable cropconditions and above average crop harvests in manycountries. Significantly, the aggregate production ofcereals in 1986 by 45 countries in subsaharan Africawas provisionally estimated by FAD at a record 55.7million tons which is about 1.8 million tons higher thanthe good harvest of 1985 and "21 per cent above theaverage for the previous five years" (FAD, 1987).Despite this however, it is estimated that 40 Africancountries would still need food assistance during1986/87. Aggregate food aid requirements are estimatedat 3.2 million tons for 1986/87. This is 3 per cent less

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than the previous year and about half the level for1984/85 (FAD, 1987). But per capita food output inAfrica has continued to decline at a rate of 1.1 percent per year despite the fact that sub-saharan Africais the only part of the world where the rate of naturalgrowth of population increased during the last twodecades (U.N, 1981).

III OVERVIEW OF THE NIGERIAN AGRICULTURALECONOMY: THE STATE OF THE ARTS

A rapid overview of the Nigerian agricultural economic.situation suggests that although agriculture still providesemployment for more than 60 per cent of the Nigerianpopulation, the agricultural sector accounts for less than5 per cent of Nigeria's total exports as compared with80 per cent of total exports which the sector accountedfor in 1960. Agriculture's share of the total domesticoutput is also less than 25 per cent. Furthermore,Nigeria's Gross domestic Product - that is the value ofgoods and services produced within the country in anygiven year - declined from 53 per cent in 1965 to 27percent in 1984. This shows that Nigeria's performance inthe agricultural sector has been poor. An indication ofthe relative stagnation of Nigerian agriculture is seennot only in the food-population relationships (Famoriyo,1984) but also by the fact that in the late seventies,Nigeria, with Ghana and Angola - which are "middle-income countries" according to World Bank classification- 'experienced negative rates of growth of agriculturaloutput' (Eicher & Baker, 1982). Since in Nigeria therate of growth of demand for food exceeds the rate ofsupply, colossal amounts were spent on importation offood as exemplified in Table 1.

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Table 1

rOOD IMPORTATION IN NIGERIA

Year

196219631964196519661967196819691970197119721973.197419751976197719781969198019811982198}19841985*

Value in (N Million)

46.98643.80441.24046.07651.56842.56028.39241.73257.69487.91095.104

126.260155.708277.863438.927702.013

1,108.6621,105.9011,435. 52,000.000

950. 6896. 0

N.A.316

Food includes cereals, meat, dairy products, fish etc.Source: Extracted from: O.Awoyemi: Problems of

Agriculture in Nigeria In: M.O. Ojo, C.C.Edordu&: J. Ayo Akingbade (1981) Editors.'Agricultural Credit And Finance In Nigeria:Problems and Prospects'. Published by CentralBank of Nigeria. October 1981. Page 39.

*For first quarter of 1985 only

N.A. = Not Available

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It is worth mentioning the fact that the period of late70s to early 80s also witnessed the 'RICE ARMADA',forduring the period of January 1984 to April 1985 alone, atotal of 647, 756 metric tonnes of rice were importedinto Nigeria from assorted countries such as Thailand,Pakistan and other foreign sources (Famoriyo, 1983). Withthe Government's current drive towards economic self-reliance, it can be expected that expenditure on importswould be minimal.

Within the confines of our conceptual definition ofagricultural development above, it follows that therelative stagnation of agriculture presupposes that thereexists a non-judicious use -of agricultural resources inNigeria.

The major agricultural resource of interest in thislecture is the land. It is, therefore, germane to attemptto relate land, its tenure and use to the concept ofagricultural development in NIgeria.

IV RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LAND TENURE ANDAGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

Earlier in this lecture, I gave preliminary meanings tothe concepts of land, land tenure and agriculturaldevelopment. In an agrarian society such as Nigeria,land is the greatest asset. Further, historically, undercertain conditions of increased population, old systemsof production have to undergo a radical transformation.Since no production is posssible without relating topeople, it follows that people have to live and worktogether. In order to achieve this goal successfully,people enter into definite relations and interact. Thecomplex relationships which arise among men withrespect to land ownership and land use constitute thecentral issue in land and land tenure. Theserelationships also define in a deterministic sense thenature and character of what has been referred to as'the land question'. It is easily proved that land formsthe basis of all human activities. It is also unique as agift of nature. Its original qualities existed without the

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assistance of any human agent although man possessesthe capacity to destroy these qualities throughimprudent management. Land is also unique because it islocation specific; that is, it is fixed in nature, it isimmovable and not easy to increase its supply exceptthrough land reclamation at very high cost.

The numerous qualities and use-purposes of land canbe captured from the following prosaic expressions ofLouis Post (1927) who said:

"Trees grow in forests, minerals reposein the earth, the soil offers itself to the farmer,the sea to the sailor, solid ground to the builder.

Together with the winds, the lightning, the snow,the rain and all other subtle and mysterious forcesof nature, those natural resources respond freelyto the multif ardous energies, the broadeningknowledge and the intensifying skill of labour".

These expressions convey a comprehensiveness about landand also imply that in order for land to yield its fruits,man must mix its labour with it. In the process, landtenure relationships are developed (Famoriyo, 1985).

It is thus the case that the issue of land tenure inNigeria has been a subject of study by many scholars.Lord Lugard (1922) wrote about it in his Dual MandateIn British Tropical Africa; his emphasis, and that of Meek(1949 - 1957) were on description of land administrationprocedures in Nigeria. Many other writers wrote on landtenure from different perspectives. Examples were Chubb(1961) who focused on the lbo, the work of Green(1947) in the village of Umueke-Agbaja, that of Nadel(1942) among the Nupe, Starns (1973), Abbashiya (1964)and Polly Hill (1972) among the Hausa, the classic worksof Lloyd (1962) on Yoruba Land Law, that of Ottenberg(1965) on the Afikpo. Among Nigerian scholars, thestring of writers include Biobaku (1957), and Mabogunje(1961). The legal luminary, Taslim Elias (1962) in hispathbreaking work on Niqer-ian Land Law and Custom hasmade a monumental contribution. Others in this genreinclude G.B.A. Coker (1958), Onwuamaegbu (1966) andNwabueze (1972) on Niqerian Land Law. All these writersand many others have contributed in various ways to our

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understanding of the workings of Niqeria's customaryland tenure. In addition to all the scholars mentioned,Professor Adegboye's work, from the perspective of landresource economics, is a notable forerunner. I should addthat land resource economics is an applied area ofaqricultural economics.

My interest in this area started with the work on myM.Sc. thesis at the University of Ibadan in 1968. Thetitle was "An Appraisal of Farm Tenancy Problems in IfeDivision, Western State of Nigeria". This interestdeveloped and gave rise to the Ph. D. work which wastitled "Changing Land Tenure In Nigeria: The Promotionof Agricultural Development through Making Adj.Jstmentsin the Land Tenure System with Special Reference toWestern State of Nigeria". This was completed in 1971.

There have been many approaches to land tenureissues in Nigeria and other less developed countries, Thenegative approach tends to suggest that land tenure andits problems are of little or no importance toagricultural development. The optimistic approachsuggests that land tenure problems are naturaldevelopments which are likely to be solved during thegeneral process of economic development. Yet anotherextremist approach is predicated upon the assertion thatunless the entire institutional framework of aqriculturalproduction is restructured through iconoclastic measuresuch as sweeping land reforms, efforts to improve theland tenure systems may not achieve the desired goals(F amoriyo, 1972). So an existing type of land tenure islikely to make an impact in the following areas of theagricultural sector. These areas may be briefly mentionedas:

(a) Productivity of agriculture(b) Security of tenure(c) Shifts in income distribution(d) Rural capital formation

(e) Stability of employmentAlthouqh these areas are mentioned separately, in

functional terms, they interrelate in such a manner that

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determines the character of land tenure and dictates itsstructure, conduct and performance in agriculturaldevelopment.

V OPERATION OF NIGERIA'S CUSTOMARY LANDTENURE SYSTEMS

In any study of land tenure, one agrees withMalinowski (1965) who wrote that:

"Land tenure enters very deeply into everyaspect of human life, and it is the integralexpression of all the ways in which man uses hisland and surrounds it with the values of avarice,sentiment, mysticism and tradition"

In Nigeria, there are as many land tenure systems asdifferent communities although these tenure systemsappear to have developed from a similar baserecognized as the customary land tenure system.

Under the Nigerian customary land tenure arrangements,no land exists without an owner. It is a basic truism.Superior or absolute interests as well as inferior orusufructuary interests are vested in landowners who inNigeria may be individuals, supernatural persons,corporate bodies and the state (Umeh, 1973). We shallelaborate on these as follows. Individuals, by virtue ofmembership of a family or clan become entitled toportions of family land. While the individual enjoys rightsof occupation and use over land, he may not alienate itpermanently without the consent of other members of thefamily. So the family constitutes the basic unit oflandholding in rural Nigeria while the fundamental basisof land tenure in Nigeria's urban areas has been thefamily house. Furthermore, we need to restate the factthat the Nigerian family consists of not only the man,his wife, or wives with their children but also the wivesand children of the latter. It also includes the cousinsand other close relations of the founder, with theirwives and children. In most cases, the family head is amale who usually has certain functions to perform.Firstly, he is responsible for allocating rooms. Secondly,the family head ensures that the compound 18 well-used.

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Thirdly, he carries out repairs to walls and buildings.Fourthly, he takes care of young members of thehousehold for whom he is expected to provide suitableaccommodation until these ones reach adulthood. In thetraditional arrangements, the family head often had toprovide funds if available in order =t.o carry outextension to family house or compound so as to providemore accommodation for the increased population. Thisremains the case for many parts of Nigeria, particularlyin suburban areas where the impact of social,psychological and economic pressures has not yetdestroyed the fabric of traditional family life. In theState Capitals and other major towns however, theimpact of these forces had brought about some erosionof the traditional aspects of family life thus creatingproblems.

Under the traditional or customary tenure arrangementsin Nigeria, the methods of acquiring rights in bothurban-suburban and rural areas are similar. Briefly, anindividual seeking land approaches the head of thefamily holding ownership rights in that land. Early in thiscentury, for instance, the position was that the familyhead would inform other family leaders or, if possible,all other family members holding rights in the land. Ifthere were no objections, the individual seeking landwould pay a small sum in addition to providing kolanuts.The kolanuts would be split among onlookers andwitnesses, while gin would be drunk thus giving fullvalidity to the 'transaction' (Famoriyo, 1983).

Urban land in Nigeria is generally required fordevelopment either for home-occupation or forinvestment purposes such as agricultural estates,residential, industrial or commercial purposes such asshopping centres (Famoriyo, 1981).

Agriculturally, an individual enjoys absolute rights ofownership if he is the first to clear the land.Consequently, the individual may pledge, lease, mortgageor sell property rights in such land to other parties.Supernatural persons comprise deities, cults, oracles andsecret societies with which ownership of certain lands isassociated in Nigeria. Lands owned by the deity areusually administered on the deity's behalf by appropriate

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individuals. For example, 'Stool' lands are administeredby the head-chief on behalf of the stool. (Famoriyo,1981).

Corporate bodies own land either as corporate orcommunal ownership system known as 'corporationsaggregate', they represent various socio-political groupsfound in Nigeria. They are the rural towns, the extendedvillages, the descent groups, the extended as well as thenuclear family. From the time of the British rule inNigeria, the State has acquired land through grants,gifts and the principle of compulsory acquisition as madeoperational under the relevant legislations. But evenbefore the colonial era, customary tenure systems inNigeria made provisions for allocating land to publicpurposes. In this sense, the customary tenure systemshad rudiments of the powers of compulsory acquisition.

In some parts of the southern states of Nigeria, andin many parts of the northern states of Nigeria whereland is abundant and population density is low, the ruleof land tenure may not always be strictly enforced.Under these situations, rigid demarcation of land betweenindividuals and groups is rare. An individual may farmanywhere within the area of his community, continuallyclearing fresh bush and not claiming any rights over theabandoned farmland.

However, with growing population density, increasingurbanization and or rapid transactions in landedproperty, permanent rights become established in land.Under this situation, once a man has farmed a piece ofland, he usually returns to it after the fallow period. Heloses rights to return to it only if he has exceeded thespecified number of years - that is the fallow period.But for members of the landowning group, permanentrights in land are held f'or life and can be inherited onthe death of the farmer (Famoriyo, 1977).

One therefore belongs to an ownership (landowning)group either by birth or by being absorbed into thegroup. The group exercises rights of ownership while theindividuals exercise rights of use. The latter rightsinvolve more than mere physical control by the allotteeon his allotted land. He can exclude from the land

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strangers to the group as well as others of the samegroup, provided that when doing so he himself hat; notcommitted any breach of the customary rules withrespect to the rights of other group members.

LAND TENURE IN TRANSITIONUnder pristine agriculture, the needs of most Nigerianswere comfortably met by the provisions of the customaryland tenure system. But as development progressed andbecame accompanied by new demands, various socio-economic forces/factors brought impact on the landtenure system. These forces/factors are considered byanthropologists as 'aspects of culture change' broughtabout by the influence of the commercial economy ofWestern Europe on African society.In contrast to what might be expected under a 'pure

subsistence economy', the land tenure situation has beenundergoing a transition in Nigeria and in most WestAfrican countries. One of the visible manifestations ofthis is that land is now a highly tradable commodityparticularly in the urban and suburban areas.In examining other visible manifestations of this

transition, Mr. Vice Chancellor, I wish to refer to thefindings of my earliest research in land tenure in theformer Western State of Nigeria. These research findingswhich were based upon interview of 1378 farmers from24 villages formed the basis for the publication of myfirst book in 1975 entitled "Land tenure studies in Egbaand Ondo Areas of Southern Nigeria" (Famoriyo,1975).The research findings confirmed variations in methods ofacquiring land by private individuals in differentlocalities in Nigeria. Such variations were found to bedue to the nature of land ownership in the differentlocalities. For instance, the cocoa belt of Nigeriainclu~s the towns of Ondo, Ibadan, If e, Akure andAbeokuta, all of which have had different historicalpatterns of development, particularly with respect toownership of rural lands (f arncriyo, 1974).The findings further confirmed that in the township of

Ondo and its environs, all land was said to belongtraditionally to the ruler of the town who held it for

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the benefit of all Ondo people. Any native of the town,according to tradition, was allowed to farm anywherewithin the traditional boundaries (Lloyd, 1962). The.farmer was free to grow both tree and food crops andhe could only be evicted from the land if he committeda felony. Such land was, however, not to be alienated,that is, it could not be disposed of without theagreement of the whole family who had now become therecognised owner of land originally given by the Dba.But as far back as 1920, according to Lloyd (1964)transactions did take place in land in Ondo area in formof sales of cocoa farms at prices that varied thenbetween £10 to £22:10sper acre. The audience can usethe SFEM rate to calculate how much this would beworth today! So it was established that despite the rulesof alienation, cash transactions still occurred in land.

In Ibadan, on the other hand, we know from agro-historical analysis that as more farmers sought land togrow cocoa, they were obliged to "beg" for land fromlandowners. It was customary to ask the head of thefamily for land and in turn to accept the correspondingsocial and political obligations. Berry (1967) showed inher research how farmers moved from towns in theneighbourhood of Ibadan into the large city itself andacquired lands for cocoa. Accordingly, by 1920-1930,many farmers had obtained land from ex-hunters for theestablishment of cocoa plantations. It was notable thatas cocoa plantations expanded, so individuals moved awayfrom the city of Ibadan into the periphery.

In Ife, where there had always been a very largepopulation of cocoa growers, these growers werecustomary tenants under the customary land tenuresystem. Findings from research indicate here that whilethe ownership of lands granted to individuals remainedvested in the landowning family or group, each farmeracquired rights of use. The continued use of the landwas subject to annual payment of tribute, isakole whichI established to be usually a small proportion of thefarmer's total output. It was also established that thisproportion was determined by a number of factors. Themost important determining factors were however

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identified as the nature of the relationship between theland-lord and tenant; the volume of output produced andthe system of cropping. These factors were found to beresponsible for variations in the amount of tribute paidin Ife area.

In the Egba area, the research findings confirmedevidence that sales transactions in land had becomewidespread as far back as between 1860 - 1880. In thesearch for more fertile lands, farmers moved out cf ruralsettlements to 'scramble' for lands which thus becamethe absolute properties of the owners.

In the Akure part of the cocoa belt, the findingsindicated that individual members of a group acquiredrights to land and could continue to grow both tree andcash crops subject to the condition that rights to theland may not be alienated. At the death of the occupier,rights over the land revert to the group or community orfamily. In most of the villaqes surrounding Akuretownship, cocoa predominates. It was understood thatthese villages had historic links with Akure as, in mostcases, the founder of each village was sent by thereigning Dba in Akure township.

Acquisition of lands for cocoa growing by privateindividuals, generally, did not involve great difficulties.If the farmer is a member of the landowning family orgroup, he is entitled to a share of family land and he isfree to grow on it whatever he wishes so long as he isseen to use the land for cropping purposes. If, on theother hand, the farmer is from a different family, groupor community, he may acquire rights in land of thecommunity where he wishes to stay, provided that hefollows the procedures set by members of thatcommunity., Where individuals decide to come together tofarm as a unit, acquisition of large areas of land isdone through consultations with heads of families.

My research work in the seventies (70S) showed thatfew groups went to the extent of seeking documents inthe State's Ministry of Lands and Housinqri,e, documentsthat conveyed rights from the landowning families. Wherethis step was taken, however, it was established that theconveyances stated that rights in land were transferred

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under terms stated such as "maximum acts of possession",with the transferee enjoying "fee simple" ownership. Itwas further established through the research that undercustomary tenure arrangements, these expressions werenot explicit and that the above stated procedures werenever followed in most cases involving the rural areas.

VI PROBLEMS OF LAND TENURE IN NIGERIAAs indicated earlier in this lecture, Mr. Vice

Chancellor, customary land tenure system in Nigeria hadexisted within traditional agriculture which itself is aproduct of the interaction of several factors. The landtenure system was designed to support traditional'subsistence agriculture" But as requirements of theagricultural sector. steadily increased, the tenure systemshowed barely perceptible change.

Perhaps one of the most fundamental problematic issuesof moment is that posed by population. The rate ofpopulation increase has been greater than could beabsorbed by the non-agricultural (industrial) sector.Consequently, the agricultural sector is left with theneed to absorb some of the unemployed labour force.This need is likely to be even greater for Nigeria in thenineties.

Further, as the Federal, State and Local govenmentscontinue with their development programmes, more landswould be required. The impact on food production is suchthat cultivation of land is intensified as the period offallow gets progressively shorter. The resulting dilemma,however, is that as cultivation becomes more intensive,the land becomes progressively less fertile undertraditional agriculture.

As Kenneth Parsons has truly observed:"One of the great glacial drifts towardagricultural deficiency is the push, aspopulation increases, against the decliningquality of land. The traditional orcustomary tenure system is deeply embedded inthe performances of the people whichactualize this drift" (Parsons, 1970).

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Thus quoted above, land tenure becomes a changinginstitution in response to the needs of man in thesociety. These changes become manifested in the evolvingpatterns of land use within the population over time. Bythe same token, a reciprocal relationship is establishedbetween land tenure and land use while a dynamicinteraction is created in the interplay of factors whichinfluence the behaviour of man to the land.

One of the most recent efforts to research intoNigeria's contemporary land tenure problems wasundertaken by a team of three researchers whichcomprised Gandonu, Fabiyi and Famoriyo in 1977. Morerecently in 1984, I had the privilege to take part in anationwide research into modes of acquisition andallocatinn of rural land in Nigeria, past and present. Theresearch was spear-headed by NISER in Ibadan.

From these experiences, reflections and insights, themost important land tenure problems in Nigeria can bedelineated as follows:

Lack of Adequate ResearchThere is inadequate research at the national level into

land tenure proble ms in ail the nineteen states ofNigeria. While past research has yielded much descriptiveinformation on the nature and character of Nigerian landtenure, there is much to study about how and to whatextent tenure affects other sectors of the economy.Research is also required which would indicate thecorrelates between land tenure, productivity and incomein Nigeria. Lack of adequate knowledge has in the pasthindered the customary tenure system from completelymeeting the needs of Nigerian agriculture. Research alsoneeds to be focused on establishing relationshipsbetween ease of acquisition, or the propensity forfamilies to release their land, and the type of cropsgrown.

Other questions that hold our interest include thefollowing: how substantial must compensation money bebefore large areas of cash crop lands can besurrendered to the state by the families concerned? Indetermining compensation payments, should the State pay

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the market price for the land or should it pay more?What is the social cost involved? For instance, is itpossible to measure the attachment of a man to hisland when the land is seen to belong to the dead, theliving and the yet unborn generation? How far do thesocial costs outweigh economic considerations involved?These and many other related questions constitute basesfor on-going research into land tenure in Nigeria.

Sustained Security of rights in Land

Since rights to the cultivation of land are of interestto the Nigerian farmer, problems relating to insecurityof such rights are of prime importance. The amount andquality of interests determine the extent ofinvestiments that the farmer is willing to make. For anexample, the owner-cuJtivator or the so-called absenteeowner may be more likely to be better disposed tomaking farm investments as he feels that the likelihoodof his staying long enouqh to enjoy the fruits of hislabour is higher than say, that of a 'tenant farmer' whois vested with rights that are inferior in nature. Also,on occasions when periodic reallocation of land is madeto different individuals at different points in time, anindividual who had farmed a piece of land efficientlymay find it re-allocated to some other person. This is aform of disincentive towards increased efforts in farmingthat piece of land.

The issue of security is at the core of inheritancepractices under Nigeria's customary tenure system. It isthrough the inheritance process that it is possible forthe living to enter into the possession of dead peoples'landed property. The 1976 survey indicated that landinheritance consitituted the most important source ofland acquisition in Nigeria. Figures varied from 83 percent for Sokoto State, 35 per cent for Lagos State and78 per cent for Rivers State. For the entire country asa whole, 65 percent of the rural sample acquired theirland through the process of inperitance.

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Inheritance and rarm Sizes

The problem of inheritance is closely related to thatof small farm sizes. The problem has its origin in thedeath of a family member whose land reverts back intothe pool of family land. A single individual does notnecessarily inherit all the landed property of thedeceased. Creation of family property begins when thecreator of the property either dies intestate (that is,without having made a valid will) or if testate (that isif he had made a valid will), he stipulates that it is hisintention to have his property shared in accordance withthe tenets of customary law. Further, there are usuallyspecifications that property should pass either to theheirs in general or to the male children only.

The above tenets also create different problems oftheir own. For instance, if the childr 'of a deceasedare. all interested in farming, it can be expected thatthey will share portions of their father's land in afashion which approximates to equality. Depending uponthe number of children involved, this sharing may resultin excessive sub-division of land with small size plotsbelonging to separate individuals. On the other hand, notall the children may be interested in farming. If thosenot interested in farming abandon the farms and moveinto the urban areas, and they yet cling to theiragricultural lands in the villages as part of theirhereditary possesion, then a situation of absenteeownership may arise.

Furthermore, if the deceased had more than one plotof farmland during his life time, and these plots werescattered, then it is conceivable that each offspringwould inherit parts of the scattered plots, thus givingrise to the incidence of fragmentation. It should bementioned that irrational fragmentation exists whereplots are non-contiguous and they are characterised bylong walking distances.

Land Tenure Litigations

The problemwidespread in

of land tenure litigations hasNigeria as a result of

becomegrowing

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urbanisation, suburban sprawl and expansion of trade andcommerce in the cities. Accompanying this trend is thetendency towards fraudulent practices in land. It wassaid at one time rather uncharitably that people don'tbuy lands in Nigeria, they buy lawsuits. According to aprominent Nigerian musician, "Jibiti mbe ni Lagos, wonta'le kan f'eni mejo", meaning that fraud exists in Lagoswhere one land can be sold to eight different persons.

Thus land prices skyrocketed as rural lands becomesuburban and land cases were rampant in the lawcourts.Land cases tie up the lands for considerable period oftime so that its development is hampered or longdelayed. Besides, litigations are usually ruinous,particularly for the losing parties. Even the winningparties win only after marathon exchanges in the lawcourts. Thus the claims and counterclaims over the samepieces of larid have contributed to the decadence of aland tenure system (Famoriyo, 1980)

Modifying Customary Land Tenure Systems

Amonq the numerous factors that have been found toaffect African customary land tenure systems in generaland that of f'+igeria in particular, three are mostprofound.

The first factor relates to the introduction andintegration of European laws with the customary laws,principles and forms of education. The second factorarises from the consequence of adapting the introducedelements with other elements that are crucial to theeconomic development of agriculture at the homefrontThe third factor is the rapid growth of population whichcreates the need for further strengthening the customarytenure system so as to sustain the tendency towardschange. These three factors have worked differently fordifferent countries, according to existing systems ofeconomic infrastructures in the particular Africancountry and in accordance with policies adopted in the 'metropolitan r, countries.

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STATE INTERVE;\TION IN LAND MATTERSTHROUGH NIGERIA'S LAND USE ACT

The Land Use Act (No.6) of 1978 was formerly calledthe Land Use Decree 1978. It came into effect on LstApril, 1978 and has since become a subject for politicaland academic debate in Nigeria.

"ThE;!major objective of the Act as stated inthe original Decree 6 of 29th March, 1978 wasthat "all land comprised in the territory of eachState in the Federation are hereby vested in theMilitary Governor of that state and such land shallbe held in trust and administered for the use andcommon benefit of all Nigerians" (Federal Republicof Nigeria, 1978).

The act therefore intended to assert and preserve bylaw the rights of all Nigerians to the land of Nigeria.Many reasons were given for promulgating the far-reaching and controversial Act. Firstly, the incidence ofspeculation had become rampant, this was a major causethat made land values assume ridiculously high levelsparticularly in the urban areas. The belief was that oncegovernment assumed the position of ownership and coulddispose of land, speculators would find other ways toexpend their capital thus making it possible to stabiliseprices of land and ultimately cost of governmentprojects.

Secondly, Federal and State Governments had for someyears experienced difficulties in obtaining land fordevelopment purposes. It was therefore considered thattheir difficulties could be alleviated if the governmenttook over the functions of land allocation. It couldthen be easier for government to acquire lands forpublic purposes.

Thirdly, there had been a rapid growth ofurbanization in Nigeria. This had meant modernizingexisting cities, creating new cities and maintaining theequilibrium between urban development and the wholehuman environment (Gandonu, 1976). It has not beenpossible to provide adequate land to meet the growingneeds of urban areas. Neither has it been possible to

24

provide enough land and a physical infrastructure forthe creation and/or expansion of sub-urban areas.Further, the maintenance of balance between rural andurban areas in terms of meeting their land requirementshas not been achieved (Famoriyo, 1984).

Fourthly, the situation during the time ofpromulgation of the Act was that in many parts ofNigeria, the land tenure systems had becomeuncoordinated, confused and detrimental to anymeaningful economic development. As indicated earlier inthis lecture, seemingly endless litiqations became theorder of the day. Except for the financial benefit thatthese may have yielded to the legal prof'ession, thesocia-economic effects on many individuals and familieshave been unhealthy while the effect on Nigeria'seconomic development was manifested through wastefuldiversion of funds that could have been productivelyinvested in land. It was also manifested through theexistence of rancour, family bitterness and quarrelwhich led to bloodshed in certain cases. It wasexpected that systematic arrangement of ownership,distribution and allocation of land through the Land UseAct would reduce these problems to a minimum.

Fifthly, the defects in land tenure arrangements hadimposed severe problems on the modernisation process inNigeria. In cases where collateral security was requiredfor loans, the existence of nebulous and imprecise titlesto land worked against the use of such lands assecurity.

These points of tension before the Act were probablyeased in certain specific cases but even in these casesthe pace of improvement was too slow to make anysignificant impact. In the northern parts of the country,the same anachronistic land tenure arrangements madeabuses and corruption in land matters possible.

It was expected that an effective administration ofland matters was likely to eliminate these defects.Therefore on 16th May 1977, the Federal Government setup a Land Use Panel with specific terms of referencewhich incorporated most of the problems highlighted in

25

this paper. This panel was inaugurated on 26th May,1977.

In the main report of the Panel, it recommended thatlands in Nigeria should not be nationalized. It alsorecommended that the Land Tenure Law of 1962 in thenorthern states should not be extended to all parts ofNigeria. But a minority report described the authors ofthe main report as 'protectors of vested interests' andthat their recommendation was at variance with rationalland use in Nigeria. The minority report was accepted,thus leading to the establishment of the Land Use Act.

The Act makes a distinction between urban and ruralland, both to be so designated by the Governor of aState. All lands in the urban areas come under thecontrol and management of the Governor. In the ruralareas, such control and manaqement was to fall underthe appropriate local government. The Land Use andAllocation Committee set up by the Governor advises onland administration in the urban areas while the LandAllocation Advisory Committee advises on landadministration in the rural areas. But all Lands witrunthe territory of each state in the Federation are vestedin the Military Governor of that state to be held intrust and administered for the use and common benefitof all Nigerians.

The Act recognises both statutory rights of occupancy(urban) and customary rights of occupancy (rural). Asfar as agricultural development is concerned, it is thecustomary right of occupancy that 'captures' ourinterest. This right of occupancy refers to the right ofa person or community lawfully using or occupying landaccording to customary law. It includes the customaryright of occupancy granted by any of Nigeria's LocalGovernments under the Act. Grants by local governmentsare to any individual or organization for agricultural,residential and other purposes. The limits are 500hectares for agriculture and 5000 hectares for grazingpurposes. Local governments are also empowered torevoke any customary right of occupancy on any landexcept land subject to claims by Federal or StateGovernment.

26

IMPLICATIONS OF THE LAND USE ACTBy vesting all land in the State, and reducing the

possessor's interest into a right of occupancy, the Actmakes land an object of overriding public interest,superior to that of the individual. It is easy to see thepossibility of a State governor using his powerscapriciously to make land unavailable even to theFederal government. This scenario was played onoccasions during the 1979 - 1983 fiasco.

Another key issue with regard to rural land tenurelies in a major contradiction inherent in the Land UseAct. On the one hand, the Act seems to be saying tothe farmer. that he is secure and can continue hiscultivation unhindered. Only that he is no longer obligedto pay any 'ground rent' to his landlord sincelandlordism has been abrogated. But the Act alsospecifies as we have seen, that the Local Governmentmay dispossess- any cultivator of his land if thecultivator's land were to be used for 'public purposes'.This contradiction may lead to uncertainty.

The third key issue lies with payment of tribute madeby tenants. Tribute means 'isakole' in Yoruba. 'akorhore'in Benin, 'iru' in lbo, 'Zakka' in Hausa. The Actabolished the practice of landlordism-tenancy and thusbrought about a change in the relationship between afarm tenant and his landlord. The result was thatcustomary court judges were unable to enforce paymentof 'isak ole , as the impression gathered from theadministrators of the Act was that 'tenants were nolonger obliged to pay ground rent in respect of ruralland' (Francis, 1984).

The uncertainty created by this situation was shownin some customary courts in lbokun area of Oyo Statewhere in May 1979 several cases were to be considered

in the Grade B Court with respect to payment ofisakole. The court stated that it was unable to give anyjudgment as the cases were connected with the LandUse Act which prohibits the receiving of isakole from

'tenants'.One of such cases involved a landlord who claimed 25

27

naira as isakole. The tenant, apparently aware of thenew disposition brought about by the Act, rather thanrefusing to pay anything offered to pay the sum of 5naira. The landlord was at first apprehensive but whenhe was told that the court could not enforce paymentof the remainder, he quickly accepted the compromise.Information from this and other parts show thatreactions of : tenants to the Act have varied fromcomplete refusal to pay Isakole to compromised paymentand contracting of new agreements with landowners(Francis, 1984).

The fourth key issue is that since the Land Use Actcame into force, the trend towards statism has beensomehow accelerated. This has led to an 'introvertedoutlook' even in Nigeria's rural areas. When thecivilians took control, politics was inevitably introducedinto the operations of the Act so that at present, wecan observe that non-indigenes of a state find it moredifficult than ever to gain access to land. This runscounter to the objectives of the Act.

VII RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSIONS

1. NEW AGRICULTURAL POLICYThe implementation of a new agricultural policy is

long overdue in Nigeria. Such a policy should beforward-looking, based on a long term strategy and ona new dispensation that emphasises diversification ofagricultural enterprises and transactions. Within such apolicy, emphasis should be on specialization in thedifferent ecological zones of production based on landtenure practices, soil type, and productivity, and so on.

The policy should be predicated upon the basic needsof rural people in terms of what the rural populationsays it needs, NOT on our perception of what we thinkit needs. This basic needs approach should be fullyarticulated in the present context of the Directorate ofFood, Roads and Rural Infrastructure. To be meaningful,any future agricultural policy in the country should beaccorded at least 20 per cent of aggregate publicinvestment in the total economy (Famoriyo, 1987).

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2. INVENTORY or ALL AGRICULTURAL LANDS IN NIGERIAOn the basis of the assertion that what we do not

know, we cannot administer, efforts should beintensified to produce a complete inventory of Nigeria'sland and its uses (Famoriyo, 1986). It is estimated thatonly 42 per cent of Nigeria's arable land is undercultivation. But there is need for better precision andthis need can be satisfied by a complete inventory ofNigeria's lands.

3. RESUSCITATION or VIGOROUS AGRICULTURAL RESEARCHIN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES AND RESEARCH INSTITUTES

With the present dwindling resources of Nigerianuniversities and Research institutes, agriculturalresearch which normally should constitute the engine ofinnovation and growth is rapidly moving to astandstill.

There is therefore n.eed for Federal Government,through the Ministry of Science and Technology, to beefup its financial and moral commitments to theagricultural sector in all the relevant areas of food,agriculture and rural institutions, more so as the yieldof most crops in the country is below 30 per cent.

4. REVITALISING THE .LAND USE ACT (NO.6) of 1978Since the Government intervention through the Act

has now become an established fact, it is appropriate losuggest further improvements as follows:

(I) Because the Act was deSigned to work throughCommittees in the urban and rural areasrespectively, the composition, structure andfunctions of the almost moribund committeesshould be re-studied.

(ii) Secondly, arights heldintroduced.Thirdly, a system of cadastral survey isnecessary so as to identify the ownership of landthroughout Nigeria. It should therefore. bepossible to improve equity in the allocation of

system of compulsory registration ofin lands by Nigerians should be

29

land under the Act so that not only the rich andpowerful get land.

(iv)', ocal governments all over the country shouldbecome more actively involved in land acquisitionprocedures under the Act.

(v) Lastly, it is important to stress in this lecturethat all forms of dogma should be expungedfrom discussions of the Land Use Act. Wetherefore suggest that

"The Federal Government set up a Task Forcenot to dismantle elements of the Land UseAct but to critically study the presentprocedure for allocating land and thecomposition of the Committees in the States.Such a Task Force should also review Landallocation since 1978 to date. It should alsoreview the concept of what constitutes'public purpose' in Nigeria and how best i.hisconcept can be made to function under theLand Use Act" (Famoriyo, 1986).

This suggestion is necessary as the Land Use Act hasbecome a source of confusion, rancour andmisunderstanding among many communities.

In this address, I would like to acknowledge withconsiderable humility the help of all my academiccolleagues right from my time at the NISER, theUniversity of Ibadan, through the Ahmadu BelloUniversity and now at the Federal University ofTechnology, Akure whose Vice Chancellor appointed me aProfessor of Agricultural Economics and Head of theDepartment of Farm Management and ExtensionEducation.

I also thank my colleagues in this University whomade useful suggestions, thereby contributing to thedevelopment of my theme for this lecture.

Furthermore, of significance to my academic successand my life is my loving wife, a woman of honour andinestimable value who has given me all the necessarysupport throughout my life.

Finally, Mr. Vice Chancellor Sir, distinguished

30

colleagues, eminent citizens, ladies and gentlemen, Ithank you for listening.

REFERENCESBrown, Lester R: (1987): Sustaining world Agriculture.

In: State of the World, 1987. W.W. Norton &:Company. New York Chapter 7.

Food And Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations. Food Outlook, ~ebruary, 1987. Reportedin 'Africa Food Picture', West Africa, March 16,1987. Page 523.

Ofori, Isaac. M. (1985): The Human Condition:Introduction to the First Session. In: M. Cullen&: S. Woolery (Eds). Second World Congress onLand Policy, 1985. A Lincoln Institute of LandPolley Book. Pages 3 - 5.

Famoriyo, Segun (l984): Importance of Food Crops inNigerian Aqriculture. Open University EnrichmentLecture Series. 16 PP.

Schuh, G. Edward (1983): The World Food Situation.Paper presented at the meeting of the SeventhWorld Congress of the International EconomicAssociation, September 5 - 9, 1983.

Eicher, Carl K &: Baker, Doyle C (1982): Research onAgricultural Development in Sub-Saharan Africa:A Critical Survey.MSU International Development Paper No.1,1982.

Famoriyo, Segun (1984): Need to Increase FoodProduction In Nigeria - Role of Agro IndustriesIn: A. Osuntogun and Rex Ugorji. (eds) ThePrivate Sector and Nigeria's AqriculturalDevelopment. ARMTI, 1984 Pages 45 - 57.

Famoriyo, Segun (1985): Land Acquisition for large scalefood production: Problems and Prospects. In:A.R. Adeleke &: A.F. Mabawonku (eds) FarmManagement In Nigeria'. Proceedings of FarmManagement Association of Nigeria No.1, 1986Pages 109 - 122. Published by Courtesy of

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Canadian High Commission, Lagos, March 1985.Lord Lugard (1922 & 1965): The Dual Mandate In British

Tropical Africa. Frank Cass & Co. Ltd., Page284.

United Nations (1981): World population Prospects asAssessed in 1980. New York, United NationsSecretariat, Population Division.

Uma Lele (1984): The Role of Risk in an AgriculturallyLed Strategy in Sub-Saharan Africa. AmericanJournal of Agricultural Economics Vol. 66,Number 5, December 1984 Pages 677 - 683.

Meek, C.K. (1957): Land tenure and land administrationin Nigeria and the Cameroons London H.M.S.O.

Umeh, John A (1973): Compulsory Acquisition of Landand Compensation in Nigeria. Sweet & Maxwell,

London, 1973 Page 17.

Famoriyo, Segun (1981): Compulsory Acquisition of Landin Nigeria: Case Study. International Journal ofAgricultural Administration, Number 8.

Famoriyo, Segun (1981): Impact of Land Tenure onAgriculture in Nigeria. Paper presented at theSecond World Conqress on Land Policy, HarvardLaw School, Cambridge. Massachusetts from June20 - 24, 1983.

Famoriyo, Segun (1981): Rural and Urban Land TenureStructures In Nigeria. Appraisal Review Journal,Volume 4, Number 1, winter 1981, Pages 66 -75.

Famoriyo, Segun (1972): Land Tenure and FoodProduction: An Analytical Exposition. WestAfrican Journal of Agricultural Economics. Vol.1, No.1 Pages 239 - 253.

Malinowski, B. (1965): Coral Gardens and their Magic.(Allen & Unwin Ltd., London) Volume I ChapterXI, P.319.

Famoriyo, Segun (1975): Land tenure studies in EgbaAnd Ondo Areas of Southern Nigeria. NigerianInstitute of Social and Economic Research,

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University of Ibadan, Ibadan. 124 PP.Famoriyo, Segun (1974): Acquisition of Land in Western

Nigeria. In: R.A. Kotey, C. Okali and B.E.Rourke (editors), Economics of Cocoa ProductionAnd Marketing. Published by the Institute ofStatistical, Social and Economic Research,University of Ghana, Legon, 1974 Pages 165-172.

Famoriyo, Segun (1980): Land tenure systems and smallfarmers in Nigeria. In: S.D. Olayide, J.A. Eweka& V.E. Bello-Osagie (eds). Nigerian SmallFarmers: Problems and Prospects in IntegratedRural Development. Published by C.A.R.D.

Gandonu, A. (1976): Nigerian urban land supply,allocation ratio and policy guidelines. Paperpresented at NISER Land Policy Conference,University of Ibadan, 20 - 25 September, 1976.

Federal Republic of Nigeria, Decree No.6: Land UseDecree, 1978. Supplement to Official GazetteExtraordinary Vol. 65, No. 14, 28 March, 1978.

Federal Government White Paper On the Report andRecommendations of the Land Use Panel, FederalMinistry of Information, Lagos.

Famoriyo, Segun (1986): Data Needs In Agricultural LandUse In Nigeria. In: B. Olufokunbi, G. Colemanand R. Ugorji (editors) Record-keeping AndAgro-Statistics Data Banks In NigeriaARMTISim:i1ar Series: No. VIII Pages 254-271.

Famoriyo, S; Fabiyi, Y & Gandonu, A (1977): Problemsposed by land tenure in Nigerian Agriculture.

Report Commissioned by the Federal Departmentof Agriculture, Lagos. 200 Pages.

Lloyd, P.C. (1962): Yoruba Land Law. London: OxfordUniversity Press. Page HO.

Parsons, K. (1970): Land Tenure Proble ms In Nigeria.A.I.D. Spring Review of Land Reform (CountryPapers); Washington. D.C.

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Famoriyo, Segun (1984): Administration of landallocation in Nigeria. Land Use Policy, Vol. 1,No. 3 July Pages 217 - 224.

Francis, P. (1984): For the Use And Common Benefit ofALL Nigerians: Consequences of the 1978 LandNationalization. AFRICA, Vol. 54 No.3. Pages5 - 27.

Famoriyo, Segun (1987): Rural Development In Nigeria -An Unfinished Symphony. Invited paperpresented at the Fourth National Conf ere nee ofNigerian Rural Sociological Association held atKongo Conference Hotel, Zaria from 17th -

20th May, 1987.World Bank (1986): World Development Report, 1986

Washington, D.C. Page 184.Famoriyo, S &: Ahmad, M (1986): Agricultural research

administration in Nigeria. Science anJ PublicPolicy, Volume 13, Number 5, October 1986Pages 295 - 300.

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BIOGRAPHICAL DATA OF THE AUTHORProfessor Famoriyo attended (then) King's College of

the University of Durham, England from 1962 - 66 forthe B.Sc Honours in Agricultural Economics, University ofIbadan, Nigeria for the M.Sc. in Agricultural Economicsin 1968 and University of London for the Ph. D. in1971.

Professor Famoriyo who belongs to many learnedsocieties such as the Nigerian Economic Society, Societyfor International Development, Farm ManagementAssociation of Nigeria and the International Centre forLand Policy Studies worked· as a Research Fellow at theNigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research,Ibadan from 1971-77.

He became Senior Lecturer at the Ahmadu BelloUniversity, Zaria in 1978 and an Associate Professor atthe same University in 1980. He joined the FederalUniversity of Technology, !\kure in 1985 as Professor ofAgricultural Economics and Head of the Department ofFarm Management and Extension Education, a positionwhich he currently holds.

Professor Famoriyo is one of Nigeria's leading figuresin agrarian economics. His first book on land tenurestudies in specific regions of Nigeria was published in1975. In 1979, his book entitled "Land tenure andagricultural development in Nigeria" received wideacclaim in Nigeria and overseas.

Professor Famoriyo has published extensively inreputable journals in Nigeria, Europe and the UnitedStates of America.

He is also currently Director of the UniversityConsultancy Services.

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