ABSTRACT

This study, Agribusiness or agricultural small and medium scale Enterprise (Agri - SMEs) in Nigeria: problems and prospects, was undertaken to find out if the Agri - SME sub -sector in Nigeria has performed its critical role of driving the country' industrial transformation and development as it has done in other developed countries and if not, why and also to identify remedial measures. The Agri-SMEs selected were in Lagos State and covering virtually all types (sole proprietorship, private and public limited companies etc.) and kinds mainly fast foods companies, leather companies and bakeries companies spread all over Lagos. Forty banks were also selected for the study that is all the twenty- five (25) commercial banks and fifteen micro-finance banks (15) were randomly selected in Lagos State. Two sets of questionnaires were constructed, one set for the operators or managers of Agri-SMEs and others for the banks and administered on the participants. The responses to the questionnaire were complemented with personal interviews of the key operators or managers or agents by the researcher. The responses of the participants were analyzed using simple percentages and the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). This study hinged in identifying the greatest problems which Agri SMEs face in Nigeria, form and nature of the business enterprise and its sources of funding for its operations. The major findings if this study includes the following: In Nigeria, Agri- SMEs have performed below expectation due to a combination of problems such as environmental related factors and frequent government policy changes. The major problem areas of Agri-SMEs in Nigeria include access to finance, infrastructure, management, government policy inconsistencies and bureaucracy, multiple taxes and levies, access to modern technology, unfair competition, marketing problems and non-availability of raw materials locally.