Nigeria: Determinants of Projected Level of Demand, Supply, and Imports of Farm Products in 1965 and 1975

Excerpt from the report Summary: Nigeria is a parliamentary federation within the British Commonwealth of independent nations. The population is estimated to be currently (1962) approaching the 40 million level, making the country the single most populous country on the whole continent of Africa, with roughly 15 per cent of the African continental aggregate. The area of Nigeria is equivalent to Texas and Now Mexico put together, so that population density is now some 100 persons to the square mile. This is a high figure by African standards, but not one that gives cause for any immediate general anxiety. Cultivable land, of variable fertility, remains more than sufficient, taking the country as a whole, to maintain the present population at its present level of consumption. There is scope for improvement in agricultural productivity and need for a better diet throughout most of the country. The main dietary deficiency relates to meat protein, especially in the Western and Eastern Regions. Much of the Northern Region is tsetse-free, and the meat supply could be expanded if the distributive costs could be reduced to bring the product within the limited purchasing power of areas particularly short of proteins.