| Nigeria is the most populated in west Africa as well as the whole of the African continent and Protection of its arable land cannot be over emphasized as it is very important for food security.Also policies to protect arable land should be created not just within the agricultural policies but enacted into the land law so as to ensure that the objectives of the policies are implemented.On the other hand China is the most populated in East Asia and has been able to protect its arable land despite its population.In this research,the performance of agricultural land policies for protecting arable land in Nigeria and China was analyzed using statistical software.Secondary data was collected from the Food and Agricultural Organization database from 1961-2018.The research found out that;1.There was statistical correlation between the years policies were implemented and arable land for both Nigeria(r=.619,N=58,p<.0001)and China(r=.798,N=58,p<.0001.).2.Compound growth rate was calculated for area harvested and yield for maize,rice,wheat and also for the sum total area of crops harvested and yield for both Nigeria and China to indicate the trend of growth.The research found out that in Nigeria,the compound growth rate of area harvested for maize(3.8%),rice(6%),wheat(4.3%)and the sum total of crop area harvested(4.3%)was higher than that of China which was 1.7% for maize,-0.2% for rice,-0.1% for wheat and 0.4% for sum total of crop are harvested.3.While the reverse was the case in the compound growth rate of yield as the maize yield in Nigeria had a compound growth rate of 1.4% while the maize yield in China had a compound growth rate of 2.7%.The rice yield in Nigeria had a compound growth rate of0.5% while rice yield in China had a compound growth rate of 1.8%.There was a deceleration in the yield of wheat in Nigeria as it had a compound growth rate of-1%,but wheat yield in China had a compound growth rate of 3.5%.Total crop yield in Nigeria(total yield summation of maize,rice and wheat)a compound growth rate of 0.2% whereas total crop yield in China had a compound growth rate of 2.5%.4.Also the food security status of both Nigeria and China was checked using the FAO food security indicator such as food availability,food access,food stability and food utility and found out that Nigeria is far from being a food secured country which is worrisome as population tends to increase.5.The research concludes that arable land quantity is not the present problem of agricultural productivity in Nigeria compared to china but would soon become as population tends to double by the year 2050 and the arable land per person is predicted to reduce to as low as 0.088hectare/person which is the present condition of China.So therefore the Nigerian Government should be awoken to ensure that policies for protecting arable land are been implemented earlier and given legal backup for continuity,food availability,food accessibility,food stability and food utilization. |
