Check out this revealing report from the Washington Post on how Nigeria went from being an exporter of food from well-run large farms to being unable to feed its own people, following the discovery of oil in the 1970's, and the subsequent abandonment of its farm-based economy.
"Today, about 90 percent of Nigeria's agricultural output comes from inefficient small farms, according to the World Bank, and most farmers have little or no access to fertilizers, irrigation or other modern inputs. Most do not even grow enough food to feed their own families."
Appalling?
The key here is on small farms. Their supposed inefficiency stems not from their manageable size, but from the lack of small-scale financial and technical support from the government for farmers, the majority of whom are women.
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