The Mirage Of Plenty: Facts But Fiction In Nigeria Agroeconomy And Smallholder Systems:- Professor Raphael Ndubuisi E

ABSTRACT

Like every other field of science, economics as a social science, be it in the microeconomic and macroeconomic sphere has developed two time-tested approaches to its investigation namely; (i) deductive method and (ii) inductive method. These two methods are applied broadly to studies in agricultural economics and adopt the style of logical reasoning and logical proof (Eboh, 2009). Logic is that reasoning style that allows an investigator or researcher to find the truth through a series of steps that are devoid of emotional and hopeful thinking. According to Singleton, Straits, Straits and McAllister (1988): When a person uses deductive reasoning he or she is claiming that the conclusion absolutely must be true if all the premises are true. When a person argues inductively, he or she is claiming that the conclusion is probably true but not necessarily true if all the premises are true. The deductive method of research in economics was propagated by economists belonging to the classical school led by John Stuart Mills (Okoye, Egwu and Agu, 2021). The method is interchangeably referred to as analytical, or abstract, or a priori method