Expanding Agricultural Sector Frontiers in Nigeria via Application of Marketing Principles: An Issue for Sustainable Development

Nigeria used to be an agrarian economy. In the early 50s up to the early 70s before the discovery of crude oil, agriculture was the mainstay of the economy. It become more apparent that the agricultural sector could not longer perform its traditional role of meeting domestic food requirements, raw materials for industry and the sector which was once a major foreign exchange earner through export have decline. The peculiar characteristics of agricultural produce result in a complicated marketing system and in the process the producers of the produce are exploited. The objective of the study is to examine how principles of marketing can be use to expand agriculture sector. The data used for this study is based on secondary data. The study employed exploratory research design and examines agricultural sector and marketing activities. The information gathered are weighed in relation to the topic using both deductive and inductive reasoning. It was recommended that government should give priority to the need of agricultural development in the allocation of scarce foreign exchange. The Nigerian marketing system should be re-organized to make it more effective and efficient. Emphasis should be made on non-oil production to achieve effective export diversification and reduce the current dependence on crude oil.