Business Economics Assignment

When we speak about the factors of production, in that respect are some overlapping categories. Economic experts have used the four general factors of production (Land, labor, capital and entrepreneur) from the very early stage. These factors contribute a large portion of the industrial revolution in the sass, because the factors of production, especially entrepreneurs were largely split into groups. Labors, for instance, seldom owned capital or land, nor did they begin their own business. Land lords almost never did manual labor, nor did they become owning factories.In the olden days (18th century) entrepreneur, labor, capital and land, were not just four categories Of factors f production, they were four different socio-economic groups. Traditional Business Vs.. E-Business When we compare traditional business and e-business, both are similar in scope to the competitive marketplace. Although a brick-and-mortar shop and an online marketplace are both â€Å"real,† they appeal t o different characteristics, display their goods through different methods and offer consumers different levels of pricing, service and comfort station (Christina Hamlet).The following are some of the significant differences of traditional business and E-business. Needs Assessment The nature a small business and the type and quantity of customer interaction it requires to be successful dictate whether you call for a physical address or a practical one. For instance, you're providing writing, copy-editing, consulting, and accounting or billing services. While, your primary interface with your guests is by telephone, email and fax, negating the need for workspace beyond a home office.On the other hand, a small business in which you sell cosmetics, jewelry, graphics, furniture or home equipment will require display space, changing rooms and proper storage. Page 4 As a single business proprietor, you are just equally likely to desire about its libeling, whether it's far away or close. T o sort tryout work life from your personal life has been normally a larger challenge when personal life and work life live under the same roof.The anytime availability environment of e- business makes it to start knowing yourself as accessible to your customers round-the-clock, something that would not go on if you kept traditional hours at a shop. Legalities and Expenses Traditional Business and e-businesses both require you to possess a business permit. Registering your business name with the registrar, acquiring a tax ID number, examining local zoning and licensing regulations, acquiring insurance pertinent to your needs and creating banking relationships are critical steps in setting up shop in either Traditional Business or e-businesses.While telecommunications expenses, office supplies and a marketing or advertising budget are necessary expenses in both traditional and commerce. But, in the traditional commercial enterprise model has more overhead expenses such as lease, staff salaries and other benefits, maintenance costs and expenses incurred for security arrangements, however, e-business operate from a home Office, which utilizes mostly existing facilities. Customer ConvenienceSince e-business is available 24 hours (24/7), customers are freer from the challenges, like, difficulties in reaching the shops due to bad weather or difficulties in parking, than a physical shop located across town, which is normally open five days a week for a specific time period. E-commerce not only save customers' time and energy, it also, avoids customers from paying sales taxes, offer more outlets to compare stores. However, most of the customers need to inspect the sellers personally, take advice as well as support and be able to bear the goods home immediately instead of paying hipping costs and waiting.However, a traditional business satisfies those needs by producing an environment, where customers can deal face to face. Page 5 In economics, the market structure is t he number of firms producing similar products which are identical. The following are some of the significant market structures of today's business environment. Monopolistic Competition In these markets, there is a large number of firms, each firm is having a small proportion of the market share and slightly differentiated products. It is a marketplace, where a miniscule number of firms that together bear the ajar share of the market.Monopoly This is a market condition, where there is a single supplier Of a product or service. Perfect competition The Perfect Competition Structure is a theoretical structure that features no barriers to entry, an unlimited number of producers and consumers, and a perfectly elastic demand curve. The continuous evolution of technology is changing the way we do business, the dynamics of the workplace and what we perceive is possible. During the last 10 to 15 years, the technology is extremely changing the approach and the production processes.Significantl y, the continued evolution of electrification and Information Technology is increasing the ongoing translation of the business environment to hold advantage of available tools and opportunities (Rosily Frenzy). In some countries, there can however be arguments between the traditional practices and the modern business methods that can be realized through technology. This might be that decision makers still have not fully appreciated for the irrecoverable changes that technology had brought to the business methods. Indeed, to get these changes, the key role is played by internet.The Internet is quickly becoming the base of choice for e-commerce. Because it offers a universal and user friendly set of technology, which can be used by all organizations, no matter which information technology platform they use. Moreover, this technology offers a much cheaper and easier replacement for management activities than traditional methods. Business organizations can utilize Internet technology to decrease their operational and administrative expenses. Fundamentally, internet technology lowers the cost of data processing, sending and storing of data while producing that information more widely useable.Page 6 By using Internet and other networks for e-commerce, organizations in some industries can make transactions directly with clients and suppliers. The Internet can assist companies for the production and making profits in new ways by adding special value to existing products and services. In many e- commerce platforms, like Ebay, Alabama or Amazon creates information brokers, virtual storefronts, transaction brokers, online marketplaces, online service providers, content providers, virtual communities, and online portals.Following are some of the enhancements brought by information and digital technology. Productivity The usage of computers has changed the work environment and the speed Of ark in the past days. It pushed down the cost of data processing, and the simplicity with which large volumes of data can be manipulated by and transferred between several units within the business organization. And also, thus increasing the processing power along with the extensive range of standard and customized hardware and software.This resulted in changing employer and client expectation of work quality and output, at the employee and organizational levels. Banking services are good examples of this point. A wide range of services are giving through internet or intranet which involves a number of different footwear and hardware. Some of the services supplied by financial institutions with the help of technology is ATM and internet banking services. Today, most of the banks realize that they should change the way they do business to take maximum profit.For instance, America's most go-getting banks were SSH fitting from acquisitions to providing Internet-based financial services (John McCoy) Collaboration In a situation, where persons might not be in office to physically interact with clients, technology is providing a number of connectivity choices that facilitate continued discussion and collaboration among work forces. Options can low both the real-time and non-real time communication, and also they can integrate into a platform of specialists to access and use of different tools and features.For example, people can buy and sell on Ebay at any time, in addition to that, buyers and sellers can communicate real time or non-real time. Some of the other famous online stores are Amazon, Alabama, best buy etc. Page 7 Resounding With the help Of technology, business organizations find new ways Of increasing their resources. Cloud computing is a good example, which offers a large scope of resources, such as computer applications, online storage and processing power. By the help of the cloud technology, companies can decentralized or delegate different aspects of their businesses to either affiliate or third parties.For example, Google provides online storage, which allows organizations as well as individuals to store and share their documents whenever they want. Interaction and participation Customer interaction and participation is readily apparent through the impact Of social media in business. In addition to providing a platform for the distribution of information, marketing and promotion, social media creates an environment to generate feedback from consumers and the public. Many organizations are starting to take advantage of the chances to secure feedback on their products and services (Jack Supple and Michael Schmaltz).A good model for such platform is Faceable, which offers a number of chances for the purpose of marketing and promotion as well as sharing information and cool electing feedbacks. Cost management While performing in a competitive marketplace, Organizations are continuously trying to manage the operational costs and to control spending. To accomplish this goal, technology has provided a platform with cost effective alternatives, such as skilled labor and computing resource outsourcing. This result, increasing productivity, efficiency and individual performance.The financial results of the top 25 e-commerce platforms including the AOL, eBay, Yahoo and so on, all together generated about $5 billion in revenue and spend around $1 billion last year (Ion McCoy). For example, Banks and Airlines. Processing an airline ticket on the Internet costs $1 , compared with $8 through a travel agent (the Economist). Page 8 Efficiency and optimization At last, this stage is a very significant outcome of most of the points brought up earlier, since there is a higher expectation of the organizations becoming more efficient.In traditional business models, one of the greatest challenges that organizations have confronted is that although they might be very open about what their core objectives might be, considerable attention on financing, workforce, management, and etc. Had been given to supportin g activities and processes to the core business. However, technology based companies have more choices through which to move their efforts towards the most important natural processes that they must manage, thereby increasing productivity and output.Effects on factors of production In today's business world, the factors of production are used in different says. Let's take the four factors of production to measure the impact of information technology. Land In recent days, the number of businesses moving to e-business are increasing and the amount of physical stores is decreasing. This reduces the demand for land and increasing availability Of land at a cheaper rate. Labor When organizations are focusing more on internet based activities, the involvement human activities are turning more depressed.

Psychology and Psychiatrist Sigmund Freud Essay

The study of personality is one of the biggest topics of interest within psychology. There are numerous personality theories that exist making the most major ones fall right into at least one of our four major perspectives. These perspectives on personality attempt to describe the different patterns in personality, including how the patterns form and how people differ on individual levels. In my essay I will go into more in depth detail about these major perspectives and afterwards explain to you how changeable or unchangeable I think my personality is. To start off, there are four different perspectives. The first is Psychoanalytic Perspective. This perspective emphasizes the importance of early childhood experiences and the unconscious mind. This particular perspective was created by psychiatrist Sigmund Freud who strongly believed that things that are hidden in the unconscious could be revealed in numerous different ways. However the Neo-Freudian theorists only agreed in the importance of the unconscious, but disagreed with other aspects of Freud’s theories. The second perspective is called The Humanistic Perspective. This focuses on psychological growth, free will, and my favorite, personal awareness. This perspective is my favorite because it takes a more positive outlook on human nature and is centered on how each person can achieve their individual potential. The third perspective is called The Trait Perspective. This one is centered on identifying, describing, and measuring certain traits that make up a human’s personality. By knowing and understanding this, researchers have come to believe that they can now better comprehend the differences between individuals. The last perspective is The Social Cognitive Perspective. This one emphasizes the major importance of observational learning, self-efficiency, situational influences and cognitive processes. Now as far as explaining how changeable or unchangeable I think my own personality is, my personality really depends on who you are, what day it is, what went on that day, and in a lot of cases what kind of mood I’m in.

The process of Government Bids Research Proposal

The process of Government Bids - Research Proposal Example Bid Contract (2011) indicates that the U.S. Government is the largest company in the world with some $1 billion in new opportunities that private businesses can bid on each day. According to Bid Contract (2011), approximately 11 million contracts are signed by the federal government each year. However, despite this fact less than five (5) per cent of US businesses provide contractual services and products to U.S. Government via one of its federal agencies. Bid Contract (2011) further states that approximately 95% of these contracts are awarded to small and medium sized businesses. These contracts include: janitorial services, food services, technological systems such as complex space flight systems development. A small business set aside program is also in place to ensure that small businesses awarded a fair proportion of these contracts. Therefore certain government purchases are reserved for small businesses. This relates specifically to contracts with values between $25,000 and $1 00,000 which are reserved for either small, small disadvantaged, women-owned, and small veteran owned businesses. How the government buys According to Bid Contract (2011), there are two methods that the government uses to purchase products and services that it requires to carry on the business of managing the nation. They are sealed bidding and negotiation. The sealed bidding process involves an Invitation for Bid (IFB) by the agency that needs to procure services or goods. A contract is usually awarded to the lowest price bidder following the receipt and evaluation of these bids. The contracting officer determines this bidder to be both responsive and responsible. The negotiation process involves the issuing of a Request for Proposals (RFPs) or a Request for Quotations (RFQs) and involves the negotiation of all elements in the proposal. The best proposal in terms of both technical content and price is usually awarded the contract. Types of goods and services normally purchased by g overnment A wide range of goods or services are normally required by government. They include architectural; cleaning and custodial; construction and remodeling; construction and building materials; consulting services; environment and conservation; recycling, waste water, sewage treatment; air purification, tanks, excavation, demolition, salvage; financial and accounting; retirement plan, investment; food services; garden and landscaping; HR services; computer hardware; computer software; insurance; machine shop and fabrication; mailing; marketing and communication; medical and laboratory; personal care, rehabilitation, psychotherapy, drug counseling, medical facilities, ambulance, burial, cremation; office supplies; other supplies; other products; other services; printing and reproduction; Research into energy, healthcare, science and technology; security and safety; facility rental and management; telecommunication; translation and transcription; transporting and warehousing; and weapons and ammunitions. It therefore means that contracts are regularly offered for these services. The Bidding Process In order to bid for a contract with any federal agency a prospect has to tender a proposal. However, Onvia (n.d.) states that some contractors are normally frustrated by the Request for Proposal (RFP). However, this is the only way that a prospective contractor can bid on a US government

Principles of Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Principles of Project Management - Essay Example According to the research findings, it can, therefore, be said that in a functional organization, staffs from the main organization are the ones that fill the functional positions in a project, for example, the people handling the Finance and Accounting will come from the Finance and Accounting department of the organization. This type provides clear authority and designation but may lack on the specific needs of a project. The second organizational structure, the project based, is done for huge projects involving a large number of people in a longer period of time. Staffs are accumulated and several functional departments are created from within which promotes clear authority and clear focus. The downside is the duplication of functions among the departments for instance that the project may have a Finance department duplicating the central Finance department. Finally, the matrix based upholds expertise and maximization of competencies within an organization. Here, staffs with requi red expertise report on their specific department while doing tasks and reporting on one or several projects that need their skill. The major disadvantage is the indistinct authority that may occur since one person may report to several project managers. Selection of the organizational structure would depend on the capacity of the organization, the project scale and the time allotted for its completion. The model, as shown, depicts specific authority and relationship among the project team members. The Senior Responsible Owner or SRO is the main owner or chair of the project which requires an active participation and not just a figurehead role in representing the project team.

Human Right in Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Human Right in Development - Essay Example This paper shall now discuss the thesis: To what extent might water as a priced commodity be consistent with the human right to water? The political economic foundations of this thesis will also be discussed. This study is being undertaken in order to come up with a clear understanding of the subject matter, including its essential points of discussion. Body The world’s natural supply of underground water which is relied on by about two billion people is being depleted, according to a report by the United Nations (BBC, 2003). This report further revealed that the water tables are falling by about three metres with each year throughout many developing nations. The increase in populations, the rapid rate of industrialization, and intensive farming are just some of the reasons for this dramatic decrease in water supplies. In the US in Arizona, the report further revealed that the amount of water being extracted from the ground is twice what is actually being naturally replaced (B BC, 2003). In the Arabian gulf, their underground water is being contaminated by the salty water which is gathered from the coast to supplement the city’s water supply (BBC, 2003). Developing nations are the countries mainly utilizing underground water sources and their rates of use are increasing significantly. Dhaka in Bangladesh has also been using underground water sources to an extent where in many regions, the water table has fallen to about 40 metres. The issue of limited water supply is one which does not appear to have a clear resolution in the immediate future. And many more issues shall be borne from it before a satisfactory solution can be established. Millions of people in the world do not have regular access to clean water. In some regions of the world, getting water for daily use calls for a significant expenditure of time and effort. The issue is also not singularly based on access to water, but access to clean drinking water (Okonski, 2009). Dirty water is a source of bacteria and viruses. The UN also expressed that the world shortage of water supply has caused the deaths of more people through disease, than deaths through wars. In effect, shortage of water supply is one of the major problems of the world. Various researches have been carried out on water and on the issue of water scarcity. These studies have focused on establishing a better understanding of the causes of this shortage and the impact of this issue (Okonski, 2009). In the same manner however, the issue has also been the target of varying opinions and points of contention on water being a human right. Theorists advocating the contention that ‘water is a right’ argue that since water is a natural resource which is essential to our survival as humans, the access to clean water must also be considered a basic human right (Okonski, 2009). The government must therefore do whatever it can to provide clean water, and its access must not be secured with profit consid erations. These theorists raise crucial points in this discussion. If credence is to be given to the argument that water is a human right, does every person then have the right to imbibe as much water as he wants, without making any considerations as to time and place? If the answer is no, what quantity then of water is each individual entitled to? And how are arguments among users of water to be resolved? How then would the efficient use of water be

IMPACT OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS ON INNOVATIVENESS IN ITRC Research Paper

IMPACT OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS ON INNOVATIVENESS IN ITRC - Research Paper Example If the knowledge management system of Iran Telecommunication Research Center (ITRC) is efficient and effective, then innovativeness in the telecom industry will be enhanced by improving the knowledge management process, knowledge creation and knowledge sharing. There are 64 respondents in this study who comprises of 49 males and 15 females. The majority of these respondents are graduates of technical fields such as computer science, digital communication, and telecommunication engineering.Among the respondents,12.5% are Ph.D. holders,18.75% have a master’s degree,25% have a bachelor’s degree,31.25% have an associate degree and 12.5% have a diploma or a technical graduate diploma (Aghmyoni, 2012) The research has obtained valuable data in areas that include different types of managerial decision effects on knowledge creation process, requirements in knowledge creation process, impressive organizational cultures that are useful in knowledge creation and sharing. The available data include the data from a comparative analysis that is coded and classified. Based on the analysis and classification results, the most important type of decision in the managerial level that has the greatest effect on knowledge creation according to the survey is senior managers’ support followed by creation of a cultural context and lastly being thoughtful managerial

Cost Accounting Assignment Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cost Accounting Project - Assignment Example At the end of year 2013, the net income of the company was $494,500 million. This is an increase of about 17%and 21% from 2012 and 2011respectively. The company brands the products and distribute to the market segments. Each market segment receives a unique brand as per their respective preference. Enables them to company manufactures thousand units of the product at some point in time. The method provides the manager with an answer of comparison of similar products from one period to another hence having a control over the manufacturing cost. The method allows the allocation of materials that part way the process. This enables in determining the value that processes material such as the labor cost. The company incurred several operating and management costs. The cost incurred includes factory insurance cost, plant depreciation $13,450, factory manager’s salary$90,000, laborers wages 450,000, supervisor’s salaries 250,000, power consumption $45,000 and warehouse maintenance cost 50,260. The direct cost was which composed of laborer’s wages $450,000, indirect costs was $398450 that is factory insurance $120,000, power consumption $45,000, factory manager salary $90,000, depreciation $13,450 and supervisor $250,000. The fixed cost includes the warehouse maintenance cost of $38, 000. From the financial perspective, the company has improved due to marketing of its products and services worldwide. From the annual report, the company garnered 26 billion as the total profit after tax. This is the growth of 1.45% and 3% from 2013 and 2012 years respectively. From the customer perspective, there is an increase in the customer loyalty. This is due to the manufacture of superior quality products that give them a competitive advantage. The products sell faster than the competitors because of efficiency supply of products to the markets for their loyal customers. From internal business

Diabetes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 2

Diabetes - Essay Example However, the International Diabetes Federation indicates that seven of the ten countries with the highest number of diabetics are in the developing world rather than where the medicines and treatments might be readily available. Increased risks of stroke and heart disease are associated with diabetes no matter where it strikes. â€Å"These life-threatening consequences strike people with diabetes more than twice as often as they do others† (American Diabetes Association, 2006). Further complications associated with diabetes include kidney disease, blindness, and the threat of amputations. â€Å"In some countries in the Caribbean and the Middle East, the percentage of the diabetic population ranges from 12 to 20 percent† (Dorfman, 2007). These numbers increase every year along with the rising costs associated with health care provisions. This discussion examines what diabetes is, the lifestyle and genetic risk factors of the disease and its potential health consequences. It will also discuss preventative measures as well as proper diet and care for those afflicted with the disease. A primary factor in diabetes is the level of insulin present in the body. Insulin is a chemical the body produces naturally to mange the induction of glucose into the system. When the body produces too little amounts of insulin, greater amounts of glucose are allowed to enter the bloodstream thereby causing the symptoms of the disease called diabetes. Glucose, a simple sugar, enters the body by way of ingested food and into every red blood cell via the bloodstream; the cells then break down the glucose which acts to supply energy throughout the body. Brain cells, as well as other organs, are fueled by glucose alone. In diabetics, the body does not keep a stable amount of glucose in the cells. This means the body has more than the necessary glucose levels immediately after a meal but too

Biochemistry and Medicine Information in Pharmacology Assignment

Biochemistry and Medicine Information in Pharmacology - Assignment Example AD brains are particularly marked by neurofibrillary tangles, amyloid plagues, neuronal cell loss, innate immune responses as well as a prominent activation of the glial cells. This paper critically investigates the potential relationship between Alzheimer’s disease, Beta-C kinins and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) as well as their improvement on the cognitive function of patients. Numerous recent empirical studies suggest that the production of a class of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is significantly diminished among the patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Generally, BDNF is normally produced in the entorhinal cortex area of the brain (the part involved with cognition and memory) throughout an individual’s life Honea et al., 2013). It is widely believed that the production of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor is particularly enhanced by beta-C kinins, a class of neuropharmacological molecules some of which include AB 123. Although the correlation between the lowered levels of BDNF and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has not been effectively established, studies indicate that neurotrophic factors normally play a critical protective role against amyloid beta toxicity (Mattson, 2008, p.97). This is further supported by the growing number of scientific studies in Alzheimer’s disease that have revealed significant alterations in the immune responses including observable changes in the macrophage and lymphocyte distribution and activation. In a recent study conducted by Weinstein et al(2014), the researchers examined the levels of BDNF in 2131 healthy adults and then followed them for ten years. The results revealed that up to 50% individuals with the highest baseline levels of BDNF were less likely to develop dementia compared to their counterparts with the lowest levels of the molecule. It was concluded that a higher level of BDNF may protect against the occurrence of memory loss.

Western Civilization Movie Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Western Civilization Movie - Term Paper Example Secondly, because of the first issue, there were not many written works in wide circulation and therefore not many people who were fully educated enough to both enjoy reading as a past-time or to serve as scribes to create more manuscripts. Within the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the story opens at a point where Gawain is a young knight in the service of the legendary King Arthur and thus addresses the historical existence of this figure. However, the narrative story is not considered a reliable source of information because there are few existent facts to support it and there is sufficient evidence to suggest that the Gawain author borrowed from older legends, such as the legend of Cuchulain (Brewer, 1992), to create his story. Despite this, the story still has numerous merits that help us understand more about life in medieval times such as the important elements of being a knight and the latent criticism of the male-ordered ‘civility’ represented by King Arthur and his knights as they turned their backs on nature and the natural element in man. At the beginning of the story, Gawain comes to the realization that he is the only knight capable of accepting the challenge of the Green Knight who has come bursting into Arthur’s court issuing a New Year’s Day challenge. This is because he feels he is the least valuable knight in the court and therefore the one most expendable should he fail to win the challenge. â€Å"I am the weakest, the most wanting in wisdom, I know, and my life, if lost, would be least missed, truly† (I.16.354-355). This reveals the context of defining the true knight in which humility is seen to be prized over bravery regardless if it is true. According to Garbis, the concept of the reluctant hero is an important element of the Arthurian tradition. â€Å"Some kind of shock occurs that makes one aware of the self† (Garbis, 2002). However, it often goes unnoticed that the Green Knight is clearly a supernatural figure that

The role of agricultural sector as an accelerator for economic growth in Nigeria Essay Example for Free

The role of agricultural sector as an accelerator for economic growth in Nigeria Essay 1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY Agriculture is a systemic and controlled use of living organism and the environment in the improvement of human condition. It also covers farming, husbandry, cultivation of plants, animals, and other life forms for food, fiber, bio-fuel, and drugs. Agriculture is the science, art, or occupation concerned with cultivating land, raising crops, and feeding, breeding, and raising livestock; farming (Dictionary.com). It also is the practice of cultivating and farming animals, food and other life forms that are used to sustain life. It is a science and was key to the rise of human civilisations as agriculture enabled man to be able to feed himself and produce surpluses (Ask.com). Economic Growth, defined as the increasing capacity of an economy to produce goods and services, compared from one period of time to another. Economic growth can be measured in nominal terms, which include inflation, or in real terms, which are adjusted for inflation. For comparing one economic growth to another, GDP or GNP per capita should be used to take into account population difference between countries (Investopedia). The growth of an economy is thought of, not only as an increase in productive capacity but also as an improvement in the quality of life of the people of that economy. The agricultural sector plays a major role in the provision of food, security of raw materials for industries, employment, market for industrial goods such as agro-chemical, tractor and fertilizers, and foreign exchange within the context of capital formation. Before oil, Nigeria had oil; with oil, she had additional opportunity of crops like groundnut, cocoa and rubber. These crops were cultivated in large quantities and exported to Europe and America in the pre-1960s and early-60s, (Nigeria’s founding fathers built the nation from agricultural resources; but since the days of the oil boom we have abandoned all the great opportunities that come with the business of Agriculture). With Military incursions into Nigerian government and the dependence on petroleum products as the foremost foreign exchange earner, the attention to the agricultural sector dwindled. Nigeria’s groundnut pyramids disappeared, the oil palm plantations vanished and farming went back to the subsist ent level. With an increasing population, it became increasingly difficult to feed the masses, and the  country resorted to importing food to supplement the ones grown at home. The agricultural sector has played a crucial role in the social and economic growth and development of Nigeria; however, its full potential has not been reached. In the last two decades, government has paid very little attention to the growth of the agricultural sector, though there has been increased farm output at great cost through major projects, massive investments in rural infrastructure and the introduction of modern seed varieties and chemicals. The agricultural sector is yet to boast of any contribution whereas about 75% of export earnings in the 1970s were from agriculture. Agriculture as a major sector of the Nigerian economy can provide up to 70% of the population with employment. The sector in recent times is being transformed by commercialization at the small, medium and large-scale enterprise levels. Major crops include beans, sesame, cashew nuts, cassava, cocoa beans, groundnuts, gum Arabic, kolanut, maize (corn), melon, millet, palm kernel, palm oil, plantains, rice, rubber, sorghum, soyabeans, and yam in the area of land cultivation, and Fish Farming, Piggery and Poultry in the area of animal husbandry, but this is yet to assure the nature of food security and enough foreign exchange earnings desired. Wikipedia recorded that in 1990, 82 million hectares out of Nigeria’s total land area of about 91million hectares were found to be arable, although only 42% of cultivatable area was farmed; leaving us with unused arable land of about 58%. In 2013, the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) was introduced by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. The Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) has a great potential in enhancing the role of agriculture as an engine of inclusive growth leading to rural employment, Wealth creation, and diversification of the economy. A major policy accomplishment in the sector is the liberation of seed and fertilizer supply, which had until now been controlled by the federal government, undermined the private sector and did not deliver the inputs to genuine farmers. Since September 2011, fertilizers and seeds are being sold by the companies directly to farmers. Lending commitments from commercial banks has been leveraged using guarantees issued by th e Ministry of Finance. In order to provide a legal framework for the establishment and perpetuity of staple crop processing zones, and transform the Nigerian agricultural sector with significant multiplier effects on the entire economy, an Act to provide a legal framework for the establishment of  Staple Crop Processing Zones (SCPZ) is currently being drafted prepared to the National Assembly for adoption. Agriculture has a stronghold in any economy, for without it, a country will always have to depend on foreign countries to feed her population thereby exposing herself to the issues of food security. Moreover, the growth in the agricultural sector could be a catalyst for national output through its effect on rural incomes and provision of resources for transformation into the industrialized economy. Therefore; it is clear that agricultural growth has played a historically important role in the process of economic development as evidence from industrialized countries like China and India. Countries that are just rapidly developing today have also indicated that the sector has been the engine that contributes to the growth of the overall economy like China. 1.2STATEMENT OF PROBLEM Agriculture is the single largest contributor to the well-being of the rural poor in Nigeria, sustaining about 86% of rural household in the country. Improved agricultural development and growth, can offer a pathway out of poverty. But until very recently, agriculture has suffered the effect of several decades of neglect. Nigeria’s agricultural policies have been inconsistent, uncoordinated and ad hoc. After very slow growth during the 1970s and 1980s, agricultural growth began to pick during the 1990s and, since 2000, has averaged 5.6 per annum. However, even with the rapid agriculture growth of the past decade, Nigeria still has one of the highest poverty rates in the world. A paradigm shift towards a sound evidence-based policymaking process is needed to promote more equitable, gender sensitive and environmentally sustainable growth in the agricultural sector. The recent food price surge has made this shift even more important. It is clear that Nigeria has an arable land of about 82 million hectares and only 48% has been farmed. It is also clear that the agricultural sector is sustaining about 86% of the rural household in the country. There has also been a lack of coordination of agriculture policies. The reason Nigeria still has one of the highest ratings of poverty in the world. This research work is targeted at reconciling the opportunity inherent in the Nigeria’s poor/rural population; vis-à  -vis the massive uncultivated arable land through small scale agricultural support from the government. It will further re-echo  existing solutions as well as provide additional information on our challenges in agriculture as a nation, with a view to providing thought provoking and inciteful analysis of the opportunities inherent in an agricultural based economy, particularly for a blessed nation like Nigeria with quality arable land, and enough water resources to support animal husbandry. 1.3OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The main objective of this research work is to study the roles of agricultural sector as an accelerator for the economic growth in Nigeria. Specific objectives: The study is aimed at: 1. Assessing the various policies and programmes used in promoting the agricultural sector in Nigeria, failures and successes. 2. Evaluating the performance of the agricultural sector of Nigeria over the years, that is1980-2012 and the way forward. 3. Making suggestions as to how the full potential of the sector could be realized in line with the successful policies and other developments. 1.4RESEARCH QUESTIONS This study seeks to find answers to the following research questions; 1. What are the roles of the agricultural sector in relations to the growth of the Nigerian economy? 2. What efforts has the government made to restore the agricultural sector in Nigeria? 3. What is the performance of the agricultural sector of Nigeria over the years? 4. What could be done to make the agricultural sector achieve its full potential? 1.5RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS The research hypothesis is to create a relationship between the growth on agricultural sector and the Nigerian economy as well as the inverse relationship between them. = Growthof the agricultural sector playsno significant roles in the economy. = Growthof the agricultural sector plays significant roles in the economy. 1.6SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The significance of this study depends on the fact that with an improved economy, Nigeria stands to gain in its effects towards economic growth. It is advantageous to both the government and citizens; in the sense that its  serves as a guide for future governmental policy on agriculture and when this is well implemented, we will notice that the welfare and standards of living of the citizens will be improved. 1.7THE SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY This study examines the timeframe of 1980-2012. The purpose of choosing this period is to empirically test the significance or the extent to which the agricultural sector contributes to the economy’s growth despite the several years of government’s neglect, and to re-emphasize the need to properly coordinate Government policies and reconcile the opportunity of our rural population with the available natural resources, particularly the arable land for optimum usage and the renewal effects towards stabilizing the agricultural sector. The performance of Nigeria’s agricultural sector shall be evaluated in detail as well as efforts of the government at restoring the sector examined. This study will also go further to discuss the major constraints on the performance of the Nigeria agricultural sector. The limitations are due to lack of available data information, time factor, and cost involved in carrying out this type of research. 1.8DEFINITION OF TERMS. i. Capital Formation; this can be defined as the transfer of savings from individuals or households to the business sector, directly through investment or indirectly through banks. ii. Husbandry; this is defined as the science of raising crops or food animals or the cultivation and production of edible crops or of animals for food. iii. Labour-Intensive; is a process or industry that requires large amount of labour to produce its goods and services. iv. Global Warming; an increase in earth’s average atmospheric temperature that causes corresponding changes in climate and that may result from the greenhouse effect. v. Greenhouse Effect; an atmospheric heating phenomenon, caused by short wave solar radiation being readily transmitted inward through the earth’s atmosphere but longer wave length heat radiation less readily transmitted outwards, owing its absorption by atmospheric carbon dioxide, water vapour, methane, and other gases; thus the rising level of carbon dioxide is viewed with concern. CHAPTER TWO 2.1 INTRODUCTION This section presents the theoretical, methodological and empirical review of literature. The theoretical review covers various theories on the subject matter, while the methodological review also cover various methodological issues used in the past studies and the empirical review present various findings that results from the methodologies. 2.2THEORETICAL REVIEW OF LITERATURE The study of economic history provides us with ample evidence that an agricultural revolution is a fundamental pre-condition for economic development (Eicher and Witt, 1964, Olusanmi, 1966, Jones and Wolff, 1969). The agricultural sector has the potentials to be the industrial and economic spring board from which a country’s development can take off. Indeed, agricultural activities are usually concentrated in the less developed rural transformation, redistribution, poverty alleviation and socio-economic development (Stewart, 2000). Agriculture can be advanced beyond its primary function of supplying food and its primary cultural sector has the potential to shape the landscape, guarantee the sustainable management of renewable resources of many rural areas (Humbert, 2000). In fact, through its different spheres of activities at macro and micro levels, the agricultural sector is strategically positioned to have a higher multiplier effect on any nation’s quest for socio-ec onomic and industrial development. It is very obvious that a sustainable agricultural growth has been highly instrumental in Brazil’s rapid rural transformation, the empowerment of Brazilian peasant and the alleviation of abject poverty. Interestingly, the Nigerian economy like that of Brazil during the first decade after independence could reasonably be described as an agricultural economy because agriculture serves as the engine of growth of the overall economy (Ogen, 2003: 231-234). From the stand point of occupational distribution and contribution of GDP, agriculture was the leading sector. During this period, Nigeria was the world’s second largest producer of cocoa, largest exporter of palm kernel and largest producer and exporter of palm oil. Nigeria was also a leading exporter of other commodities such as cotton, groundnut, rubber and hides and skin (Alkali 1977: 15-16). The agricultural sector contributed over 60% to the GDP in the 1960s and despite the reliance of the Nigerian peasant  farmers on traditional tools and indigenous farming method, the farmers produce 70% of Nigeria’s export and 95% of its food needs (Lawal 1997: 195). However, the agricultural sector suffered neglect during the hay days of boom in the 1970s. Ever since then, Nigeria has been witnessing extreme poverty. Historically, the root of the crisis in Nigerian economy lies in the neglect of agriculture and the increased dependence on a monoculture economy based on oil. The agricultural sector now accounts for less than 5% of Nigeria’s GDP (Olagboju and Falola 1996: 263). It is against this back drop that this paper sets out to draw comparative analysis from the Brazilian experience for possible replication in Nigeria. Such an approach is particularly feasible given the fact that Nigeria shares so much in common with Brazil in terms of a highly conducive agricultural climate, huge and diverse population as well as the availability of natural resources. 2.2.1MEANING OF ECONOMIC GROWTH According to Turrets (1987) â€Å"the economic growth of a country can be defined in various ways as an increase in gross domestic product, in real GDP or in per capital GDP†. It is clear therefore, that the rate of growth of the real GDP country. If we want to determine the growth in Nigeria for example, the rate of growth of its real GDP stands as the most appropriate measure. Alternatively, we can also examine the meaning of economic growth through the use of production possibility curve. A production possibility curve is used to depict the maximum quantities of two goods or types of goods that can be produced when all the resources of the country are fully and efficiently utilized. However, smith (1996) visualised that economic growth results from specialization of labour, application of new technology as well as through international trade. But one important fact to note is that, since economic activities tend to or shift outward, countries will always record a positive g rowth rate and sometimes negative, such as inward of country’s production possibility curve (PPC) (Clawer, Graves and Sexton, 1989).Nigeria’s economy had in some ears of the late1980s and through 1990s recorded some negative growth rate and in fact, still does till date and even beyond. 2.2.2AGRICULTURE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH Development economists in general and agricultural economists in particular,  have focused on how agriculture can best contribute to overall economic growth and modernization. Many early analyst (Fel and Rani, 1954; Jorgensen 1961; Hirschman 1958; Scitovsky 1954; Lewis 1954; Rosentein-rodan 1943), have highlighted agriculture because of its abundance of resources and its ability to transfer surpluses to the more important industrial sector. The conventional approach to the roles of agriculture in economic growth concentrated on agriculture’s important market-mediated linkages, and they are: i. Providing food for the expanding population with higher income. ii. Providing labour for an urbanized industrial work force. iii. Supplying savings for investment in industry. iv. Enlarging markets for industrial output providing export earnings to pay for imported capital goods and v. Providing primary material for agro processing industries (Timer 2002, Delgado et al 1994, Ravis et al 1990, Johnson and Mellor 1961). Rapid agricultural productivity growth is a prerequisite for the market mediated linkages to be mutually beneficial. Productivity growth that resulted from agriculture has had enormous impacts on food supplies and food prices and consequent beneficial impacts on food security and poverty reduction (Hazel and Hag blade 1993, Binswanger 1980, Hayami and Herdt 1977, Pinstrup Anderson 1976); Alston et al (1996), posit that because a relatively high proportion of any income gain made by the poor is spent on food, the income effect of research induced supply shift can have major multinational implications, particularly if those shift results from technologies aimed at the poorest producers. Agricultural productivity growth also triggers the generat ion of non-market mediated linkages between the agricultural sector and the rest of the economy. These includes the indirect contribution of a vibrant agricultural sector to food security and poverty alleviation, safely net and buffer role; and the supply of environmental services (FAO, 2004). While agricultures direct private contributions to form households are tangible, easy indirect benefits tend to be over looked in assessing rate of returns. Ignoring the whole range of economic and social contributions of agriculture underestimates the returns to investments in the sector (Valdes and Foster, 2005). Some empirical evidence exists on the positive relationship between agricultural growth (Valdes and Foster 2005). The transformation of agriculture from its  traditional subsistence roots induced by technical change, to a modernizing agricultural sector is a phenomenon observed across the developing world. Concluding, it is clear that agricultural growth has played a historically important role in the process of economic development. Evidence from industrialized countries that are rapidly developing today indicates that agriculture was the engine that contributed to growth in the non-agricultural sectors and to overall economic wellbeing. Economic growth originating in agriculture can have a particular strong impact in reducing poverty and hunger. Increasing employment and income in agriculture stimulates demand for non-agricultural goods and services, thereby providing a boost to non-farm rural income earners as well. 2.2.3AGRICULTURE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. The contribution of agriculture to economic development lies in: i. Providing more food to the rapidly expanding population increasing the demand for industrial product, and thus necessitating the expansion of secondary and tertiary sectors. ii. It can release workers needed for the production of non-agricultural goods and services. iii. It can provide a source of capital that can be invested in improved productive facilities in the rest of the economy (Timer 2002, Delgado et al 1994, Ravis et al 1996. Johnson and Mellor 1961). A progressive urban industrial economy contributes, in turn, to the rapid development of agriculture by expanding the market for agricultural products; by supplying the farm machinery, chemical fertilizers and so on, that raise the level of agricultural technology; by expanding productive employment opportunities for workers released from agriculture by technological change; and by making possible improvements in the quality of rural life by raising standards of consumption both in urban and rural areas (Binswanger, 1980). A rise in rural purchasing power, as a result of the increased agricultural surplus, is a great stimulus to industrial development. The market for manufactured goods is very small in an underdeveloped country where the peasant farm labourers and their families, comprising typically two goods in addition to whatever they need. There is lack of real purchasing power thus reflecting the low productivity in agriculture. The basic problem thus is low investment return caused by small size of the market. Increased rural  purchasing power caused by expansion of agricultural output and productivity will tend to raise the demand for manufactured goods and extend the size of the market. This will lead to the expansion of the industrial sector (Lewis, 1954). Moreover, the demand for such inputs as fertilizers, tractors, better tools, implements, irrigational facilities in the agricultural sectors will all lead to the greater expansions of the agricultural sector. Besides, the means of transport and communications will expand to urban areas and manufactured goods to the rural areas. The long run effects of the expansion of the secondary and tertiary sectors will be towards higher profits in them whether they are operated in the private or the public sector. These profits will tend to increase the rate of capital fo rmation through their re-investment. That is what Kuznets calls the â€Å"market contributions† of agriculture when it trades with other sectors of the economy. Underdeveloped countries mostly specialize in the production of a few agricultural goods for export. As output and productivity of the exportable goods expand, their exports increase and results in larger foreign exchange earnings. Thus agricultural surplus leads to capital formation when capital goods are imported with this foreign exchange. As development gains momentum due to industrialization, the proportion of agricultural export in the country’s total exports is likely to fall as they are needed in large quantities for domestic production of imported articles. Such articles are import substitutes and conserve foreign exchange. Similarly, increased marketed surplus of food grains leads to a net saving of foreign exchange, as the economy tries to achieve the goal of self-sufficiency in food production. Larger productions of food and export crops do not only conserve and earn foreign exchange, but also leads to expansion of the other sectors of the economy. Foreign exchange earnings can be used to build efficiency of other industries and help the establishment of new indus tries by importing scare raw materials, machines, capital equipment and technical know-how. Kuznets calls it the â€Å"product contribution† of agriculture which first argues about the growth of net output of the economy and the growth of per capita output. An underdeveloped needs large amounts of capital to finance expansion of the infrastructure and for the development of basic and heavy industries. In the early stages of development, capital can be provided by increasing the marketable surplus from the rural sector without reducing  consumption levels from population. According to Johnson and Mellor (1961) â€Å"an increase in agricultural productivity implies some combination of capital formation when it is reduced on the farm and employed in construction works†. But the possibility of utilizing unskilled surplus form labour on capital project requiring skilled labour is limited. The second possibility of increasing capital formation through reduced agricultural prices is also not feasible in the early stages of development when the rise in price is not feasible. Reduction in agricultural prices is not feasible. Reduction in agricultural prices is possible in the long run but democratic countries may not be able to follow this reasoning for political reasons. A more practicable solution is to stabilize the prices in farm products. The third possibility of increasing farm receipts is perhaps the best way for capital formation. This can be done by mobilizing increased farm incomes through agricultural income tax, land registration charges, s chool fees, for providing agricultural technical services and other types of fees that cover all or part of the farm population. But â€Å"political and institutional problems makes it difficult to translate the increased potential for saving and capital accumulation, made possible by increased agricultural productivity, into an actual increase in investment in underdeveloped countries. According to Wald, special assessments have had their widest application in the United States. In view of the fact that they are specially designed for financing such developed projects as irrigation works, flood control system and certain classes of roads, all of which are extremely important for underdeveloped countries like India that â€Å"the penalties of too light taxation on agriculture are a stagnating farm sector, a financially starved public sector and a retarded rate of economic growth in the country as a whole; (Wald, 1995). Thus countries were agriculture dominates, the taxation of agriculture in one form or another is essential for mobilizing agricultural surplus in order to accelerate economic development. Kuznets calls it the â€Å"factor of contribution† when there is a transfer of resources to the other sectors, these resources to the other sectors, these resources being productive factors. Agriculture also expands and diversifies employment opportunities in rural areas. As agricultures productivity and farm income increases, non-farm rural employment expands and diversifies. Landless and marginal farmers are primarily engaged in  non-agricultural pursuits which includes the manufacturers of textile, furniture, tools, handicraft, leather and metal processing, marketing, transport, repair work, construction of houses and other buildings, education, medicine and other services, as these activities satisfy local demand. Lastly, increase in rural incomes as a result of the agricultural surplus tends to improve rural welfare. Peasant starts consuming more food especially of a higher nutritional value in the form of superior quality cereals, eggs, ghee, milk, fruits etc. They build better houses fitted with modern amenities like electricity, furniture, radio, fan etc. provide themselves with bicycles, motorcycles, watches, readymade garments, shoe etc. they also receive direct satisfaction from such services such as schools, health centres, irrigation, banking, transport and communication facilities. Thus increased agricultural surplus has the effect of raisi ng the standards of living of the mass of rural people. 2.2.4NIGERIAN ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT Nigeria was and is still basically an agricultural country despite the fact that there is significant growth in the other sector of the economy since her independence in 1960. Agriculture remains the single largest sector of the economy since it provides employment to a large segment of the work force and constituting the main stay of Nigeria’s rural population. Since 1985, the percentage of gross domestic product attributable to agriculture has been maintained about 31%, well ahead of mining and quarrying, which includes crude petroleum and gas as well as whole sale and retail trade, which are also the other two major contributors to GDP in Nigeria. Before 1970, the agricultural sector has enjoyed a relatively abundant supply of farm labour and cultivable land for agriculture was able to respond quite steadily to a rising demand. An expansion of land under cultivation and increased absorption of rural labour constituted a ready means for output expansion. However, the 1970s o il boom saw a high rate of rural-urban population migrating, which resulted into supply demand imbalance in the food subsector, while traditional export declined sharply in both absolute and relative terms. From 1970, Nigeria’s agriculture has been characterized by excess demand over supply due to high population growth rate, stagnant declining economic growth, high rate of globalization, increased demand for  agricultural raw materials by an expanding industrial sector and the rising per capita income which is stimulated by an oil export revenue boom. The decline in production of tradable has raised serious domestic and external balancing problems. The output of domestic inputs using agro-allied firms is constrained by output fluctuation, which reduces the size of export revenues and market shares. This adversely affects the balance of payment. The agricultural sector was estimated to decline at an annual average of 0.43% between 1970 and 1985 while the periods between 1975 and 1978 recorded the highest level of decline of 7.88%. The agricultural export crop sub-sectors contribution to the total foreign earnings declined from an average of 58% in the 1960s to only 5.2% between 1971 and 1985. Indeed, by 1980, Nigeria had become a net importer of food and most of its tradable export crops had either disappeared from the export list or merely maintained an insignificant presence. As it were, the agricultural export sub-sector became increasingly unable to meet the raw material needs to the primarily processing industries and furthermore, inflationary pressure characterized the economy, general degeneration of rural life and rural urban migration. Notwithstanding, the observed agricultural decline, agricultural policy appeared to have been more active in the 1970s than in the 1960s. In the formal period, the government implanted successful programme like National Agricultural Food Production Programme (NAFP), Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) and green revolution programme, also banks assisted Agricultural Development Programme (ADP). Government also tried to improve marketing system for agricultural export crops by reforming the marketing board system in 1973, 1976 and 1977. Agricultural sector did not improve; as a result there was introduction of Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in 1986, which necessitated the deregulation of exchange rates and abolition of marketing board system. 2.2.5AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION DURING THE STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMME (SAP) One of the most important debates the structural adjustment programme (SAP) has centred on the impact of the programme on agricultural sector. It was anticipated that the measures adopted under this programme will bring about increased domestic production of food and eventual elimination of food import, increase supply of manufacturing industries of agricultural raw materials such as cotton, cocoa, oil palm, rubber etc. was also anticipated (Obadan and Egbase, 1992). Also, the  diversification of export base of the economy would be enhanced with the increase in the agricultural prices and boom in the sector, production was expected to translate into rising rural employment, income and standard of living. Therefore, the agricultural production will be viewed from two perspectives, which is agricultural food production during SAP and agricultural export during SAP. 2.2.6AGRICULTURAL FOOD PRODUCTION DURING SAP Following the introduction of SAP in 1986, some writers have claimed that food production have been on the increasing sides. Since one of the expectations of complimenting this programme is to bring food and to make sure that the importation of food is eradicated. Iwayemi in 1994 found out that one of the positive developments in recent years is a merging trend of upward turn in the production of agricultural tradable (rice, soya beans and maize) and of the non-traded food category and cassava has performed impressively. Furthermore, it was discovered that immediately after the introduction of SAP, there were sharp increase in the prices of staples such as yam, cassava, rice, maize, etc. for instance the average market retail price in Kwara state rose from â‚ ¦450 per tonne to â‚ ¦560 per tonne in 1986 and â‚ ¦686 per tonne in 1986. Also, the average market price of rice in Kaduna state rose from â‚ ¦1500 in 1985 to â‚ ¦1700 and â‚ ¦2213 in 1992. These increases in the price of staples are adduced to high inflationary pressures resulting from SAP. Also Edgbai (1988)argued that the devaluation of the Naira following the advent of the SAP lead to spectacular increase in the prices of most agricultural inputs, implements and machinery. The percentage price increase of these inputs between 1985, the last pre-SAP year’s ranges between 50% and 70% using official prices subsequently there have indeed been increases in the producer prices of maize development. Finally, Iwayemi (1994) concluded that the most pressing problem in the sector is the lack of adequate production capacity to meet domestic food requirement of rapidly raising large population. 2.2.7AGRICULTURAL EXPORT DURING SAP The major aim of introducing SAP was to improve the agricultural export through the depreciation of the country’s currency. However, different researches hold different opinions concerning this. For instance, Obadan (1993) found out that SAP policy of exchange rate adjustment was an  important factor that positively affected supply of rubber and suggested that real depreciation of the naira for example, tends to stimulate rubber farmers to increase supply of export, thus talking advantage of the improved international competitiveness. In modern development, with the exception of rubber, the export elasticity of cocoa, palm kernel and processed or semi processed product with respect to change in exchange in Nigeria was generally of low order even in the long run. Hence, Obadan and Egbase (1992) concluded that export base production activities especially agriculture, have benefited from the SAP incentive arising particularly from naira to depreciation and trade liberalization. Thus, quantity of natural rubber exported rose from 32000 in 1985 to 108600 in 1991, changes in naira exchange rate significantly affected natural rubber supply under SAP. In contrast, Ajilim and Agba, (1986) claimed that there is over whelming evidence that SAP has very slim prospect for stimulating non-oil export e.g. cocoa. Also Dayo, (1996) discovered that the low elasticity estimate was due to limited volume of agricultural export earning in response to devaluation of the naira. Also, Ajayi (1988) and Osagie (1985) posit In that in Nigeria, exchange rate devaluation is stagnant and have no significant effect on the external trade balance because of low prices elasticity generally associated with the excess import and export demand functions. In other words Balogun (1987) estimated agricultural export function with exchange export has the redress and the result showed unresponsiveness of aggregate agricultural export to exchange rate, price and imported and agricultural input. He thus, concluded that the agricultural sector, which is dominated by smaller hold farming, is insulated from external trade variables or shocks. Finally, Obadan and Egbase (1992) argued that export base production activity, especially agriculture, have benefited from SAP incentives arising particularly from naira depreciation and trade liberalization, for example in response to the price and exchange liberalization, the quantity of natural exported rose from 32000tonnes in 1985 to 33000 in 1986 and 108800 in 1991 changes in naira exchange rate significantly affected natural rubber supply under SAP. However Obadan (1993) argued that the main objective of SAP has not been realized even though that the number of agricultural export have increase, the value is still in significant. 2.2.8THE EFFECT OF SAP AND THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. Warder (1995) analysed  the economic and political development on Nigeria’s agricultural sector including the application of the structural adjustment programme (SAP). He discovered that with the application of SAP, that the country was able to orient her agricultural production toward the production and exportation of cash crops while Husia and Farugee (1994) found out that for any developing country like Nigeria to experience the turn-around in our country, the country should establish and maintain macro-economic stability, eliminate discrimination against agriculture and take measures to remove anti export bias. Furthermore, Obadan (1994) stated that the agricultural sector during SAP was able to reverse negative gro wth of the economy during the early 1980s, because of more favourable more weather conditions and adoption of a floating exchange rate system which favoured agriculture deregulation of agricultural prices and the priority according to the implementation of the key public sector agricultural programs. Stanley (1987) added that SAP policy consisted of measures that are aim at achieving viability in the medium term balance of payment why the level and rate of growth of economy activity was maintained at the optimal level of operation. In addition Ojo (1988) stated that the effect of SAP on agricultural and rural development has brought about an increase in agricultural production and there was an improvement in rural development.He however, noted that the fundamental problems of Nigeria agriculture still persist. In contrast, since the theoretical bases of SAP is based on the invisible hand or market mechanism, Obadan and Ekuarhare (1993) opined that a Pareto system which required a free market economy may not be idea for a developing or even a developed country. This is because the market mechanism may faster efficiency but not equity. The price mechanism which is concerned with state resources allocation undermines economic growth and development in developing countries. ‘â €™consequently, without governments intervention in economic activities, the market leads to misallocation of present and future resource or at least to one which may not be in long run in the best interests of the society’’ (Torado 1977, 164 quoted in Obadan and Ekuarhare 1993). Finally, Obadan and Ekuarhare opined further that the fiscal monetary exchange policy mix contained in SAP is inter-consistent with economic recovery from a recession (from which the country has been battling due to external shock and the crisis of accumulation within the domestic bourgeoisie). Recovery  from this cyclical downturn characterized by below capacity nation production would require an increase in government expenditure to provide greater employment and increased social benefit. In other words, the deflation an economy coupled with deregulation and liberalization will not lead to an upturn of the economy. Therefore,Obadan (1993) discovered that the main objective of SAP has not been realized even though the number of non-oil manufactured agricultural export items have increased the value and is still insignificant. For instance, exchange in-flow from non-oil exports reduce from $557million in 1985(per SAP) to $538 million in 1987. It increased to $613 million in 1988 bu t reduced drastically to $406million in 1990 and by 1992; the sector only contributed 3.6% of the nation’s foreign exchange. The value of agricultural export which stood at an average of â‚ ¦408.7 million before declining sharply to â‚ ¦270.8 million in 1981-1985, owing largely to decline in cash crop producers. During SAP, export earnings grew to â‚ ¦1822.9 million in 1986-1990 for primary agricultural commodities such as tubers, fruits and spices coming on board. In addition, export of manufacturers and semi manufacturers of agricultural products which earned only â‚ ¦37.2 million in 1891-1985 recorded the sum of â‚ ¦214.9 million in 1986-1990 as Nigeria became exporter of textile, soap, detergent, beer, beverages and skin in addition to cocoa products. Emmanuel (2002) viewed productivity as the wealth of a nation. According to him, Nigeria is generously endowed with abundant natural resources. He further argued that if this enormous resources base is well managed, through increased productivity, the wealth of the nation is bound to increase. He argued that a farmer plants a seed and reaps several harvesting period, productivity has increased and the wealth of a nation has increased too. The mercantilists (18th century) argued that productivity in the agricultural sector contributed the least to the economic growth. They said that it only promoted domestic trade and did not fore see mechanization and modernization that took over manual labour in the agricultural sector, as agricultural commodities are not only traded domestically but exported to other countries. 2.2.9AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AND EXPORT The breakdown of agricultural production into its component parts reveals the problems during 1985 period. While food production recorded only a marginal  increase export crop production declined sharply. The inadequate domestic food production is reflected in Nigeria’s massive food imports, especially in the 1970’s to argument domestic supply. The supply in the production of some of Nigeria’s cultural export commodities was most worrisome for instance, Nigeria that was ranked as the world leading producer and exporter of palm oil in the 1960s had become the net importer of this commodity in the mid-70s. Similarly, Nigeria’s cocoa production, which reached its peak of 309000 tonnes in 1970-71, fell drastically to 160000 tonnes in 1985. The sharp turn down in the gross value terms of trade in agriculture was equally serious. The ratio of agricultural exports to food imports which stood at 143% in 1970-1975 suffered significant deterioration and reached th e lowest at 38% by 1976-1982. The performance of agriculture during the review period was underdetermined mainly by its neglect coupled with a chain of distributive created by the oil boom. 2.3THE METHODOLOGICAL REVIEW OF LITERATURE Several policies as well as policy instruments have been put to place over the year by successive government in Nigeria. Some had positive effect while the others had negative effects. Olayami (1985) identified three distinct agricultural policy era under which the agricultural sector developed for the past three decades, these includes; the 1960-1969 era, the 1970-1985 eras. These policies were targeted at improving the performance of the sector during this period. A review of these policies would be discussed; Agricultural policy during these periods was limited to marketing and pricing for which the marketing board was established. Actually, at the outbreak of World War 2 in 1939, government owned marketing boards were setup in British, West Africa to assure orderly marketing and to protect British supplies of raw materials (Adegbola and Akinbode, 1986). Government was involved in agricultural research and extension of services but the issue of self-sufficiency in agriculture for food and raw materials was not pursued. Also investment in agriculture with initiatives to improve employment was left to the initiative in farming. During this period, there was decentralised approach to agriculture with initiatives being left to the regions and the states while the federal government played a supportive role. Regional government were executing abhor policies, programme and  projects. There was no institutional federal responsibility for agriculture and there were no specific agricultural sector objectives. There were a number of policies and programme and some of them are discussed below; 2.3.1AGRICULTURAL MARKETING POLICY The agricultural marketing board system was used extensively in marketing agricultural products during this period. The system started with the establishment of a commodity marketing board in 1947 and for groundnut, palm produce and cotton in 1949. In 1954, the board became regionalized with one multi commodity marketing board for each of the regions, and later for each of the states. The board accumulated huge trading surpluses which were used to mobilize substantial savings for the government. These surpluses were generated at the expense of the stability of farmers’ income. The farmers’ income was kept low and with increasing risk on the farm declining world commodity prices of the mid 60s, there was an incentive for peasant increase production (Adubi, 1966). 2.3.2AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION PROJECTS The regional government of the east and western Nigeria stared this project and then later the north, to encourage the development of these crops. There financed from surpluses of the marketing boards. This was before the creation state, the UNIX oil palm plantation (now in Rivers and Cross Rivers), the Hushin rubber estates (now in Ogun state), and the upper Ogun cattle ranches etc. 2.3.3FARM SETTLEMENT SCHEME In the early 1960s the regional government assisted school leavers who were willing to go into agriculture establishment farm settlement scheme in places like Edo, Ilora, Ikenne, Ibadan and so on. The farm settlement were setup as model for other farmers who often look up practises being carried out by settlers and had easy access to farm equipment and services. However, due to non-ownership pattern of the scheme, farm and house power supply problems and the limited individuals’ holdings, most settlers were not committed. The owned land outside the greater settlement and mainly used the opportunity to obtain services through membership of a settlement scheme (Adegbola and Akinbode, 1986) 2.3.41970-1985 ERA (PERIOD OF MAXIMUM  GOVERNMENT INTERVENSION) Agricultural production started to decline towards the end of the decades of 1960s. Export crops outputs were stagnating while export volumes begin to decrease, and there was evidence of food shortages in the country. The 1963 G DP figures for example shows that agriculture crops, livestock, fishing and forestry accounted for 64% of total GDP and the average for 1960s decade estimated at 56%. Similarly, in the export sector, the percentage of agricultural produce was declining (Adubi, 1966). The problem of agricultural production decline was ascribed partly to the civil war and partly to the declining commodity process in the world market and the incentive to production due to taxation of the commodity board. There was therefore greater involvement of the government in agriculture. The expenditure of government and therefore for its investment increase in the sector specific sector emphasis of policy was on accelerating production of the staple food crops and some export crops. There was a fundamental shift in the strategy compared with the decade of 1960s and the federal government became more involved in the sector.The strategy taken, led to the launching of several special programme and projects. Also specialised in institutions were setup to ensure smooth implementation of the agricultural policies; the period witnessed many macroeconomic and sector specific policies, which directly or indirectly affects agricultural production. Many of the macroeconomic policies of the government had wide spread effect on agriculture, though not targeted at the agricultural sector, until there are some programme which includes marketing policy, input supply and distribution policy and input subsidy policy. Agricultural Development Projects (ADPs) and River Basin Development Authority (RBDA) were also established to promote agricultural developments. 2.3.5THE 1985-1999 ERA (SAP AND POST SAP PERIOD) With the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in 1986, government admitted the failure of past policies to significantly improve the economy and reverse the declining trend of production in the agricultural sector. The SAP relied most especially on the agricultural sector to achieve the objectives of its far reaching refunds on diversification of export and adjustment of the consumption structure of the economy. The philosophy of SAP for the agricultural sector was that only the interplay of the market  forces could foster efficiency in the sector. The government was therefore expected to play minimal role for private sector initiative in the sector. Many of the policy measure adopted in SAP and macro in nature and those that affect agriculture also fall directly into fiscal, monetary, trade and exchange rate policies as well as institutional policy refunds. Many institutions such as National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFR RI), National Agricultural Insurance Company (NAIC), National Land Development Authority (NALDA) were established to assist new farmers and promote agriculture development in the rural areas. Essentially, these policies and programme were implemented until 1999. The changes in the government during the review period 1985-1999 also led to modifications of some of the policies above, which essentially formed the major focus of government on agricultural development. 2.3.6THE NEW MILLENNIUM AGRICULTURAL POLICIES (1999-2003) At the inception of the new democratic administration in May 1999 and shortly before then, several institutional changes were made in order to realize the sector’s objectives and in line with its belief that agricultural and rural development are sine que non for improved economy recovery (Olamola, 2003) these includes the relocation of department of cooperatives. Division of the ministry of Water Resources to the ministry of agriculture all before 1999, the scrapping of the erst while National Agricultural Land Development Department, the scrapping of the Federal Agriculture Coordinating Unit (FACU) and the Agricultural Project Monitoring and Evaluating Unit (APMEU) and the setting up of Project Co-ordination Unit (PCU) and the stream lining institution for agricultural credit delivery with the emergency of the Nigerian Agricultural Co-operative and Rural Development Bank (NACRDB) and the peoples bank and the asset of the Family Economic Advancement Programme (FEAP). New inst itutions are also evolving to enable the Nigerian agricultural sectors respond to the imperative of the emerging global economic order. The new agricultural policy has a clear statement of objectives amid the structural transformation necessary for the overall socio-economic development of the country as well as the improvement in the quality of life of Nigeria. This objective reflects the current policy recognition of agriculture as a vital sector under the poverty reduction  programme (FMARD, 2003). The government also seeks to pursue the following specific objectives: i. Attainment of self-sufficiency in basic food commodities with particular reference to those which consume considerable shares of Nigerian’s foreign exchange and for which the country has comparative advantage in local production. ii. Increase in production and processing of exportable commodities with a view to increase their foreign exchange earning capacity and further diversifying the country’s export base and source of foreign exchange earnings. iii. Increase in production of agricultural raw materials to meet the growth of an expanding industrial sector. iv. Modernization of agricultural production, processing, storage and distribution through the infusion of improved technologies and management so that agriculture can be more responsive to the demand s of other sectors of the Nigerian economy. v. Creation of more agricultural and rural employment opportunities to increase income of farmers and rural dwellers, productivity absorbed and increasing labour force in the nation. These objectives are properly in agreement with the whole concept of agricultural sustainability and inter-linkage between agriculture and each of the relevant sectors of the economy. As it is usual with the specification of agricultural policy objectives from time immemorial, these objectives are clearly presented and are basically consistent with the overall strategy of diversifying the productive base of the economy for an increased foreign exchange generation, higher level of employment and productivity and improved economy recovery. Specification of policy objectives had been the most easily accomplished component of agricultural policy formulation in particular and development planning experience in the country in general. It is therefore not surprising that the specified objectives in the new policy document are indeed comprehensive and quite appropriate. 2.4POLICY EVALUATION It might be difficult to evaluate all the policies objectively given the space and the focus. However, evidence from some authors (Olayemi 1995, Olamola 1998, Garb 1998) has indicated minimal positive impact of these policies. Also, the performance of the sector is far from being fully satisfactory. The evidence of these is the decaying rural infrastructure, decline domestic and foreign investment in agriculture. In fact the  increasing withdrawal of manufacturing companies from their backward integrated agricultural ventures has reduced investment in the sector considerably. Input supply and distribution have been inefficient and most agricultural institutions are ineffective. The evidence of ineffectiveness is the scrapping in the year 2000 of some of the institutions established for agricultural production, a critical examination of the policies and there implementation over the years to show policy instability. This problem is not unconnected with the political instability in t he country. Between 1979 and 1999, the country has passed through five military and civilian regimes. In between the minister of agriculture at the federal level and the various commissioners for agriculture at the state level were changed several times on the average of one per two years. Several policy measures were stated and changed without sufficient rating for policy effect or result. 2.4.1POLICY INCONSISTENCIES. With respect to agricultural production, the sector has passed through several periods of production and unbridled opening up for competition. It has also passed through eras of no government and less government involvement in direct agricultural production. The consistencies of policy transparency, leads to poor implementation and mismanagement of policy instruments. 2.5EMPERICAL REVIEW Oji-Okoro (2011) investigate the contribution of agricultural sector on the Nigerian economic development and reveal that foreign direct investment on agriculture contribute the most (56.43), this means that for every unit of change in FDI on agriculture there is a corresponding change of 56.43 unit in GDP in Nigeria. Suleiman and Aminu (2010) conducted research on the contribution of agriculture, petroleum and manufacturing sector of the Nigerian economy and found out that agricultural sector is contributing higher than both petroleum and manufacturing sectors. The paper reveals that agriculture is contributing 1.7978 units to GDP while petroleum is contributing 1.14 units to GDP which is less than the contribution of agriculture. Awe and Ajayi (2009) conducted research on the diversification of the significant when the log of revenue from agriculture was tested on the revenue from agriculture. About 60 percent of the movement could be  explained in the relationship. The findings from the study further revealed that dynamic relationship exists between the revenue from the non-oil sector economic development. Ekpo and Umoh (2012) revealed that the contribution of agriculture to GDP, which was 63 percent in 1960, declined to 34 percent in 1988, not because the industrial sector increased its share but due to neglect of agriculture sector. It was therefore not surprising that by 1975, the economy had become a net importer of basic food items. The apparent increase in industry and manufacturing from 1978 to 1988 was due to activities in the mining sub-sector, especially petroleum. Muhammad and (2006) conducted study on production of agriculture in Nigeria and revealed that the negative coefficient of the value (-0.07) of the food imports indicates that as food import increases, domestic agricultural production decreases. This might be due to the fact that food importation exposes the local farmers to unfair competition by foreign producers who usually take advantage of economies of scale in production due to their access to better production technology. The positive coefficient (286.91) of t he GDP growth rate indicates that increase in the GDP also moves domestic agricultural production in the same direction. This shows that increased domestic economic activity has the impact of increasing the domestic agricultural production. This may be due to the fact that most economic activity in the country is related to agriculture. The result also shows that population increases has been a major contribution to domestic agricultural production in Nigeria with the coefficient (18424.73). This may be due to the fact that majority of the populace are engaged in agriculture, meaning more hand on the farm as population increases. The coefficient of consumer price index was positive (8.49). This shows that as consumer price increases domestic agricultural production also increases’, meaning that domestic agricultural production is positively related to increase in consumer prices. This may be due to the fact that increase in price stimulates supply on the farmer’s side leading to more production of food. More agro-processing activities must therefore be embarked upon in order that farmers may be able to dispose of their produce at fairly reasonable prices. The result of the coefficient (0.04) of government expenditure was positive, that is domestic agricultural production is positively related to increase in government expenditure, meaning that as government expends more on agriculture, domestic  agricultural production also increases. The reason why it was not significant might be due to the fact that government has not been investing so much on agriculture over the years.

Evolution of Community Kitchens

Evolution of Community Kitchens Abstract Community kitchen, as a concept is critical for ensuring the food security of the vulnerable population. It is a gathering point where groups of people come together to pool their resources to cook large quantities of food. The main focus of this research thesis is to understand the concept of community kitchens and their operation in different social settings. This research also aims to understand the role of the government agencies (if any) in ensuring the food security for the communities (which is their primary responsibility). In the changing context of state relegating to a secondary position, initiatives by such private actors assume significance. By highlighting on two different case studies of organizations, we tend to unravel the process of community kitchens in separate social environments. With the help of participant observation, focus group discussions and in-depth individual interviews, this research is an exploration of the possibilities of food security through the c oncept of community kitchens. Introduction Community kitchen is an institution where food is prepared by the members of a community in a collective manner. There are different models of community kitchens that exist around the social space. Generally it is observed that members of a community who prepare food are also the consumers of the same meals cooked collectively. However there are other models like Akshay Patra (our case study in the present study) where food is collectively prepared but distributed among the non preparers of the food cooked. Community kitchens aid the community in preparing affordable meals through a self sustaining institution. The purchase, preparation and consumption are more often than not done in a collective manner which makes the enterprise a cost effective and time efficient in nature. While meeting a communitys social needs, collective kitchens are a mechanism which provide financial, social and food security to the community members. Community kitchens are socially rooted institutions, they help in increasing the solidarity among the members of the community. Grace Campbell states The formation and operation of community kitchens varies widely across communities and cultures and is largely dependent on the membership, yet each organization requires a well-equipped kitchen, willing participants, and initial capital. Food security is a modern day challenge, which needs to be addressed at all levels of society. Community kitchens at local level provide access to affordable and nutrition rich food to the members of a community, which goes a long way in ensuring food security. Globalization, inflation, increasing gap between the haves and have nots, are the major reasons which are keeping an average man food insecure. In such a scenario, this research aims to explore food security through the concept of community kitchens. Food security Food security is a condition in which all people at all times can acquire safe, nutritionally adequate and personally acceptable foods that are accessible in a manner that maintains human dignity.[1] The four components of food security, as described in the literature, are the quantitative, the qualitative, the social, and the psychological. The quantitative component describes what is traditionally known as hunger, not having enough to eat at the individual level, or not having food in the house at the household level. The qualitative component concerns the quality of the available food (its nutritional adequacy, safety, and variety). Individuals often compromise on food quality to cope with a lack of funds to purchase suitable foods. The psychological component includes the fears and decreased feelings of self-worth associated with dealing with the lack of funds to purchase sufficient, quality food, whereas the social component describes many of the coping strategies used to acquir e food when funding has run out, such as charity, stealing, and buying on credit. [2] In the 21st century disparities in economic growth have questioned the socio-economic and environmental sustainability. The issue of food security has now become a global concern. Notwithstanding the technological and scientific developments in the area of agricultural productivity, hunger and malnutrition continue to be a threat to the humanity. Access to food is still perceived by many as a privilege, rather than a basic human right, and it is estimated that about 35 000 people around the world die each day from hunger. An even larger number of people suffer from malnutrition. [3] UNFAO (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization) defines food security as Food security is food available at all times; that all persons have means of access to it; that it is nutritionally adequate in terms of quantity, quality and variety; and that it is acceptable within the given culture. Only when all these conditions are in place can a population be considered food secure. Based on the UN definition research world over emphasizes on four main components of the issue of food security those being availability to provide sufficient food to all, equal accessibility to nutritious food, acceptability of food based on local traditions and cultures and lastly adequacy which emphasizes on sustainability of production and distribution of food. Food security in India Food security has been a major development objective in India since the beginning of planning. The achievements of green revolution have somehow failed to reach the bottom of the pyramid. Chronic food insecurity remains at an all time high. Over 225 million Indians remain chronically under nourished. The state of Indias food security is worsening by the year.[4]The cost of food items is increasing rapidly, making them unaffordable to a majority of the people. In recent years, there has been a state policy focus towards household level food security and per capita food energy intake is taken as a measure of food security. The Indian government has been implementing a wide range of nutrition intervention programmes for achieving food security at the household and individual levels. The Public Distribution System (PDS) supplies food items, such as food grains and sugar, at administered prices through a network of fair price shops. There have been a range of food-for-work and other wage employment programmes. Another approach adopted by the government is to target women and children directly. This includes the mid-day meal programme for school going children, supplementary nutrition programme for children and women and Right to Food bill. [5] The Right to Food Bill introduced in the parliament in 2009 insists on the physical, economic and social right of all citizens to have access to safe and nutritious food, consistent with an adequate diet necessary to lead an active and healthy life with dignityWith the Right to Food campaign, hunger and food insecurity have come in the center of development discourse in India. Notwithstanding all these developments, our country is a habitat of people with unconscionable level of malnutrition and hunger. Malnutrition levels among the children and women are even higher than the overall average. Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council for Medical Research) estimates that nearly 40% of the adult population in India has a Body Mass Index of less than 18.5, which implies chronic energy deficiency of epic proportions, bordering on a national humanitarian crisis. [6] Since food security of the vast majority in the region is at stake, addressing such a wide range of issues demands community value-system based participatory approaches to ensure involvement of all the stakeholders. The various government schemes may serve as immediate means for dealing with food insecurity but shall be of ultimate irrelevance, until we work on developing our local community based food systems strong.[7] One of such means is through the institution of community kitchens. Community kitchens in their historic perspective Community kitchen as a concept is old, dating back to the late 15th century, which has undergone change over the years and the current form seems to be involving the community to address larger social issues like food security. In India, Sikhs have a history of providing food along with every worship service, ceremony, or event, and when Gurus gained popularity, people traveled from far of distances and gathered in groups to hear them preach the principles of equality and humanity. It was in the late 15th century that Guru Nanak dev ji, the founder of Sikhism, started the institution of Langar (community kitchens). Langar is a Persian word meaning an alms house, an asylum for the poor and the destitute.[8]Langar upheld and reinforced the Sikh principles of service to mankind, equality of all and humility. Although the institution was begun under aegis od Guru Nanak, it was institutionalized by Guru Amar Das, who sought to encourage a tradition of eating together that had begun with Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. Langar is the collective kitchen which is run in the Gurudwara. The institution feeds all who come, regardless of their religion, caste, gender or creed. Sikh devotes are involved in each stage from the food preparation, to feeding and to cleaning of the utensils. Today, this institution of Langar is cornerstone of Sikh religion, encouraging the discipline of service and a spirit of co-operation, philanthropy, equality, the ideas and practices deeply imbedded in the community kitchen movement. The practice and its origin must be seen in the light of its contradiction to the Hindu and Muslim custom at the time, which separated people on basis of caste (social ranking) or purdah (seclusion of women). In the recent past various moments around the concept of community kitchens can be seen across the world. In the nineties of the last century community kitchen was seen as a movement in Nicaragua, when Sandinista government lost power. The fall of the government put the nations food security policy in turmoil. It was then that community kitchens were set up all across the country to address the issues of hunger and deprivation. Similarly in Abkhazia, after the end of war between Georgia and Abkhazia (1994) community kitchens were established to provide food to the vulnerable populations of the country. The focus of the state sponsored community kitchens were women, children and elderly. Self sufficiency and sustainability were attained by purchase at local level and secondly by employing the local community. In America too, we see the moment of community kitchens. A not for profit body called Second Harvest was a pioneer to work in the area of food security in USA. Extensive community kitchens were set up to create hunger free America. The programme was unique as it involved students in the food preparation and distribution process. This led to skill enhancement and job training for the unemployed youth. History also holds evidence of collective kitchens operating in San Francisco. Community kitchens were set up there to meet the need of the immigrants and other discriminated sections of the population. These kitchens continue to encourage community unity through resource pooling, cultural exchange, and social interaction. Although in most of the cases the community and collective meal programmes were primarily organized to address financial challenges, many kitchens now focus on expanding social circles, multicultural interaction, address the challenges of hunger, dealing with food insecurity, and building community capacity. Food security and community kitchens Collaborative solutions that will make our communities resilient in the 21st century dont need to be at vast scales alone. Efforts at local community, household and individual levels play an important role to deal with the issue of food insecurity. One such model of community kitchens is a smart, practical program that has the ability to promote local food security. This model not only ensures that the participants have access to affordable food, but also in a sustainable and cost efficient manner. These are resilience building institutions, and work on principles of shared equality and mutual benefit. This local level initiative has the ability to grow across a wide range and make an impact on the global food security level. Community kitchens as alternate means of livelihood Community kitchens can serve as means of alternate livelihood to women of the marginalized sections, unemployed youth, local unskilled labor and other marginalized communities like sex workers. Community kitchen has the ability to provide the financial means whereby a group or a community can live a dignified and sustainable life. Sex workers face continuous social exclusion and are in a constant search for a stigma free means of livelihood as a pre-requisite for a dignified and better tomorrow. Initiation of community kitchens provides as a means of employment for many unskilled and semi-skilled workers thus ensuring a livelihood to the community. Collective kitchens serve to reduce vulnerability of marginalized sections of the society. It provides source of income as well as a sense of ownership and possession to the members of the community. Sex works lead a life of stigma and discrimination. The degree of stigma is higher among male and transgender sex workers. As members of the society it is their right to be a part of the normal social life, without any marginalization. Especially sex workers facing stigma of HIV Aids have a natural right to live in supporting environments free from social stigmas. United Nations Community based programs like community kitchens have a crucial role in assisting communities to identify and change stigmatizing attitudes and behaviors related to HIV and sex work and to foster a spirit of tolerance and inclusion. Community kitchens provide meaningful and comprehensive set of alternatives and meaningful economic options to sex work. Hunger, food productivity and illiteracy: establishing the link While talking about building community capacity the children of the community must remain the central focus. Children, who come from remote rural areas, work so hard at the household level that going to school remains no priority for them. It is a well established fact that knowledge has the ability to transform society. Education to these children can serve as a force which can liberate the coming generations from the clutches of abject poverty. Children living in vicious circle of hunger and illiteracy require special attention by the government and society, in form of new schools, better learning facilities, learned teaches, and locally relevant syllabus taught in their local language. Have we ever wondered why the hungry are always also illiterate? A study by World Bank states that the people who are undernourished and the adults who are illiterate are mostly the same people, mainly the poor in rural areas. Illiteracy and hunger thus are cause and effect of one another, making it a vicious cycle of poverty. Collaborating the solution of the issues of education and hunger represents an important step forward, it has led to the creation of a new partnership initiative called mid day meal scheme in India. Hunger among children leaves them with very little energy to attend school and learn effectively. Medical research proves that hunger impairs both mental and physical growth of children. If millions of hungry children cannot learn, or are forced to work instead of attending school we will not reach the Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education. Offering incentives like noon meal encourages children to attend and their parents to send them to school and such initiatives could have a major impact on child nutrition, school attendance and social equity. Universal and nutritious mid-day meals would be a significant step towards realization of the right to food.[9] National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE), popularly known as the Mid Day Meal Scheme, was launched as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme on 15th August 1995, initially in 2408 blocks in the country. The mid day meal scheme aims to ensure food security among the school going children in India. Under the aegis of the scheme the school going children in all government schools are to be provided with free lunch. Midday meal scheme began as a strategic program to address two most pressing problems in India: hunger and education. The government of India had made education for children between the age group of 6-14. Hunger obstructs the process of holistic education, as children are forced to leave schools and take up menial jobs. Lack of education curtails opportunities for development and leads to vicious circle of poverty and hunger. Midday meal programs (school lunch) emerged to address the multiple challenges of poverty, hunger, and access to education. Rationale behind the mid day meal scheme is firstly, to protect school going children from chronic hunger. Secondly to attain advancement in school attendance and enrollment rates. Thirdly, enhance socialization and feeling of oneness among students, thus breaking the schakels of gender, race, class and caste. Supreme Court of India passed an order on November 28, 2001, which mandated Cooked midday meal is to be provided in all the government and government-aided primary schools in all the states. This order expedited the implementation of the scheme. Mid day meal scheme was soon extended across the nation and across all government schools, government aided schools and for children in anganwari centers. The allocation and off take of food grains under the scheme during the 10th Plan and the first two years of the 11th Plan 2007-08 2008-09is presented in Table 1. The table 1 summarizes the allocation of funds in terms of food grains each year, from 2002-03 to the last financial year. The allocations have risen considerably over the years, both in terms of the rice and wheat food grains. It is seen from the table that allocations from the central government have been more than the off take or utilization of the food grains in the implementation of the scheme. The summary of subsidies in different states, as on November 2009, is listed below: The table 2 shows a comparative analysis of how the central government is contributing in terms of money and food grains for the smooth running of the mid-day meal scheme. It can be seen that in Karnataka the subsidy varies with three grade levels. Subsidy in terms of money is same for the level 1 to 5 and from 6 to 7, however it increases from 1.80 rupees to 2.20 per child per day when students reach grade 10. The grains available for children below grade 5 are 100 grams per child per day, which increases to 150 grams of grains per child per day from grade 6 onwards. On an average all states are providing 100 grams of grains per child per day in lower primary level and 150 grams per child per day in the upper primary level. Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh provide highest amount of monetary subsidy per child per day that is 3.00 rupees. Karnataka state shows the lowest figures (1.80 rupees) in terms of monetary subsidy. It must also be borne in mind that higher subsidy does not necess arily correspond to better performances. We shall look into the state of Karnataka in detail in section three. The scheme has a long history especially in the state of Tamil Nadu, where it was introduced by K. Kamraj government in 1960s and expanded by M.G Ramachandran in 1982. Ever since it has been adopted by most of the states in India after the landmark directions by the Supreme Court of India. The purpose behind the judgment was to enhance enrolment, retention, and participation of children in primary schools, simultaneously improving their nutritional status. The judgment aims to cater to the nutritional needs of low-income groups in both rural and urban areas (Planning Commission, 2007).[10] As per the programme the Government of India provides grains free of cost and the States will provide the costs of other ingredients, salaries and infrastructure. By January 2004, nearly 50 million children received midday meals provided either by the Government or by NGOs working in partnership with the government.[11] However, inconsistent food quality, occasional food poisoning, poor hygiene, and operational concerns were among the complications to the provision of government-sponsored midday meals. The meals were prepared by teachers, who cooked the same meal every day: ghoogri, gruel made of boiled wheat. Children reported that that they grew tired of eating the same food daily, they did not like the taste, and it often made them feel sick. In 2004, a fire accidentally started by a teacher cooking the midday meal killed 90 children in Tamil Nadu, an event which underscored the safety issues inherent in meals prepared in makeshift kitchens based on school sites. Given the scope of hunger in India and the difficulties faced by the government programs, the task of feeding school children was still a significant challenge. Public private partnership implementation As the research is based on two organizations located in the state of Maharashtra, the following section analyses the public private partnership model used to implement the mid day meal scheme in the state. The State of Karnataka introduced the provision of cooked meals in June 2002 which saw a successful private sector participation in the programme. One such initiative was Akshaya Patra, which started with leadership from ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness). The programme has evolved into a movement where by children in the government schools are provided with cooked lunch on all working days. The state and the central government support the Foundation in the execution of the programme. Hence the programme runs a collective kitchen based on a public-private partnership. The Akshay Patra program is conducted in partnership with the various State Governments and Central Government. All of these governments provide a subsidy to support about 55% of the running cos t of the Akshay Patra program. The Central Government support is routed through the respective State Governments. The meal includes a nutritious mix such as sambar, rice, vegetables and some curd on most days. Since the success of this programme there has been an in the private sector participation in India. The partnerships in execution of the programme are not limited to rural areas but also major urban centers like Delhi, and Hyderabad.[12] About the study Statement of the problem In the Indian context both GDP and food grain production have risen at a faster growth rate than growth in population over the past 50 years. Yet our country faces chronic hunger and starvation among large sections of our population. There has been declining calorie consumption especially in the bottom 30% of the pyramid. Attempting policy reforms in an era of overall weakening governance and state commitment in social sectors seems a challenge. In this background, concept of collective and community kitchens have evolved and grown acquiring various dimensions in the past few years. This research aims to explore the possible link between community kitchens and food security. The research revolves around the idea of community kitchens being the possible means to attain an end of food insecurity examining the models of Ashodaya Samiti and Akshay Patra in the Indian scenario. Ashodaya Samiti is a sex workers organization working for HIV prevention since January 2004 in Mysore district of Karnataka. In 2004 University of Manitoba was directly implementing the HIV prevention project ably supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations Avahan project.[13] The organizations collectivization and formal registering as Ashodaya Samithi was done in December 2005. Community mobilization since then has today resulted in the formation of the community based organization to take ownership of HIV awareness, prevention care, support activities and beginning of an entrepreneurial venture in the form of community kitchens. The second organization under study is Akshay Patra. Children from economically weaker sections are forced to seek work in place of education. Some of those who do manage to attend the school drop out to feed themselves and their families while others are known to perform poorly because of short attention spans and extreme hunger. Realizing that a nutritious school meal is an effective means of gettingunderprivileged childrencome to school and complete their education, Akshay Patra was formed as a not-for-profit organization in June 2000. The purpose of the organization in their words is to provide unlimited food for education, through modern community kitchens, thus freeing children from the vicious cycle of poverty and ensuring them an education.[14] Objectives of the study The main objectives of the current study are to Understand the evolution of the concept of community kitchens in India Provide a socio-economic profile of the respondents who are engaged in community kitchen in both settings (of the cases undertaken) Analyze the implementation of community kitchen undertaken by different organizations namely Ashodaya Samiti and Akshaya Patra Study how community kitchen is serving as a means to break social barriers (as demonstrated by Ashodaya Samiti). Understand how community kitchen could be a potential mechanism for eradicating hunger among school going children in the context of mid-day meal programme of Akshay Patra. Analyse the constraints in mobilizing the resources to keep the community kitchen a sustainable enterprise. Methodology Data collection for the research was done in two major organizations, Ashodaya Samiti in Mysore and Akshay Patra in Bangalore. The period of data collection was from 10.02.2010 to 22.02.2010. The data collection involved personal visits to both the organizations, interviews, focus group discussions and -participant observations. The current exploratory study attempts to understand the functioning of the community kitchens. Both primary and secondary sources of data have been collected for the study. The secondary data for the study came from annual reports of the organizations, websites, documentaries and media reports that have been provided by the organizations. The primary data for the study was collected from a diverse group of individuals engaged with both the organizations. In Ashodaya Samiti focus group discussions were carried out with the 20 sex workers who are the key in managing and operating the community kitchen. Individual in dept interviews were also carried out with 2 senior officials of the organization. The interview schedule consisted of open ended questions to include more information, their feelings, attitudes and understanding of the subject of community kitchen. In Akshay Patra data was collected through participant observation and interview schedules. Interviews were carried out with the workers in the kitchen to understand the mechanization of the operations. In-debt interviews were also carried out with the media spokesperson of the organization and the programme director. Visits to the kitchen on daily basis allowed an in-depth investigation of the process of food preparation and its distribution among the schools across the city. In this study in depth interview was useful in understanding the concepts related to community kitchens. The tool was helpful as it ensured that I received detailed information which helped me in exploring the idea to its depth. Focus group discussions were used as a form of qualitative research in which a group of people which included male, female and transgender sex workers of Ashodaya Samiti were asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes towards sex work as their livelihood, need to collaborate at community level, evolution of the organization from heath interventions to community kitchen, empowerment through community kitchens and their future expectations from the project. Questions are asked in an interactive group setting where participants were free to talk with other group members. Participant observation which has its roots in the traditional ethnographic research was used a qualitative research strategy. Participation and observations were carried to varying degrees to study the communitys daily activities in both the cases (Ashodaya Samiti and Akshay Patra). Participant observation took place in the community settings, in locations like the sex workers day care centers, the Ashodaya hotel, community kitchen of Akshay patra which had direct relevance to the research questions. Engagement was done in such a manner such data could be collected by observing what life is like for an insider while remaining, inevitably, an outsider. While in these community settings, careful, field notes were made to record all observations. Data Analysis The current section provides an overview of both the organizations included in the study i.e. Ashodaya Samiti and Akshaya Patra. Ashodaya Samiti: Community kitchen used to break social barriers The first case that is presented in this section is the Ashodaya Samiti. The history of Ashodaya Samiti has to be seen in the backdrop of project Avahan. In the year 2003 Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded an India Aids initiative to reduce the spread of HIV in India under the project AVAHAN. Avahan was set up as a far ranging Aids prevention project, and has been a success story since its inception. Under the aegis of the project aids prevention work is carried out in six major sates in India. Within these states, it provides, prevention services to nearly 200,000 female sex workers, 60,000 high-risk men who have sex with men, and 20,000 injecting drug users, together with 5 million men at risk. [15] In 2003, UNAIDS studies reported that Asia presented the greatest risk of expansion of the global epidemic. The HIV cases have been on a continuous rise since the past decade. The major reasons for that are high prevalence of unsafe sex work and injecting drug users. Initial inter ventions by Avahan indicated that HIV transmission in south India was primarily sexual, and in the north-east mainly related to injecting drug use.[16] The Indian national response had a sound strategy for addressing high-risk groups. However, coverage of these groups was variable across the states and national average strikingly low.[17] [18] The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation designed a programme with help of technical experts to look into the HIV and aids prevention strategies. The project began with full co-operation from the Indian government. Avahans aim was to help slow the transmission of HIV to the general population by raising prevention coverage of high-risk and bridge groups to scale by achieving saturation levels (over 80 percent) across large geographic areas. Considering the scale of the country the project was magnanimous in its objectives. To avoid any complications the project began with local level involvement in operations and planning. Avahan in Karnataka As mentioned earlier, the project was started in six high prevalence states namely Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Manipur and Nagaland. The prevalence in the first four states was predominantly due to male, female and transgender sex workers. In the other two states there were high incidences of the spread of virus due to injecting of drugs among the people. In Karnataka, University of Manitoba took the initiative to take up the project in the 18 of the 30 districts. Among the 18 districts, in 16 districts the i