# Thematic Analysis of Agricultural Government Policy and Operational Problems

**Authors:** Kenneth David Strang (W3-Research, Saint Thomas, US Virgin Islands, USA; New York University, Tirana, Albania) — ORCID 0000-0002-4333-4399; Ferdinand Che (School of IT and Computing, American University, Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria); Narasimha Rao Vajjhala (New York University, Tirana, Albania) — ORCID 0000-0002-8260-2392
**Type:** Journal article
**Source:** Agricultural Research
**Published:** 2021
**DOI:** https://doi.org/10.1007/s40003-021-00588-2
**Canonical page:** https://www.narasimharao.net/research/agricultural-policy-rural-farmers-nigeria-thematic-analysis/
**Indexing:** Scopus · Web of Science · Q3
**Keywords:** Nigeria; Agriculture governance; Poverty; Agricultural extension worker; Grounded theory; Focus group

## Summary

**Question.** What are the ground-truth agricultural governance and operational problems facing rural farmers in Nigeria, as seen by the agricultural extension workers who mentor them?

**Finding.** A grounded theory focus group with 16 agricultural extension workers in Northeast Nigeria found that rural farmers have significant problems with government support in six core areas: farming input quality and dissemination, fair input subsidization, training, market facilitation, social responsibility to reduce corruption, and poverty/local security. Farmers also face fake farm inputs, poor roads, insecurity from the Boko Haram insurgency, limited access to credit and land, and too few extension workers.

**Why it matters.** The authors argue the government is the ‘keystone’ stakeholder: if the six core deficiencies were fixed—for example making good-quality inputs fairly available with modern-methods training—other operational problems might be mitigated through natural market growth. They recommend funding farmers’ cooperative associations, strengthening security, eliminating corruption, prioritizing the agricultural extension system, and greater involvement of private businesses and NGOs.

## Key findings

1. The study held a 1-day focus group with 16 agricultural extension workers in Northeast Nigeria, who together represented the perspectives of about 900 rural farmers from three local government areas.
2. Rural farmers in Northeast Nigeria were found to have significant problems with government support in six core areas: farming input quality and dissemination, fair input subsidization, training, market facilitation, social responsibility to reduce corruption, and local security strengthening (listed as poverty in the abstract).
3. Extension workers in the Nigerian study reported that corrupt politicians intercept government farm inputs, mix them with fake varieties and sell them, so the marketplace is flooded with fake seed and fertilizer that farmers cannot distinguish from genuine inputs.
4. The Nigerian extension workers reported that poor roads and a lack of affordable transport leave rural farmers dependent on middlemen, and they recommended re-instituting farmers’ produce associations and cooperatives.
5. Insecurity from the Boko Haram insurgency, including kidnapping risk and a government ban on motorbikes in local government areas such as Mubi North and Mubi South, has made it infeasible for farmers and extension workers to travel to distant markets and farms.
6. The NVivo concept map of the Nigerian focus group data showed the most cross-referenced nodes were government support (credit, input dissemination, training, markets, infrastructure, land ownership, corruption), technology adoption, and socio-cultural issues including insecurity.
7. The study found an insufficient number of qualified agricultural extension workers in Northeast Nigeria, with irregular or stopped incentives and allowances preventing them from maintaining demonstration plots.

## Study at a glance

| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Research question | What ground-truth policy insights underlie Nigeria’s agriculture crisis from the perspective of rural farm operations? |
| Design | Qualitative grounded theory (constructivist) study with a 1-day focus group and member checking. |
| Sample | 16 agricultural extension workers at a regional site in Northeast Nigeria, representing about 900 farmers from three local government areas. |
| Methods | Audio recording, transcription and discourse analysis coded into thematic concept maps using NVivo. |
| Main result | Rural farmers face significant problems with government support in six core areas, including input quality and dissemination, fair subsidization, training, market facilitation, and corruption. |
| Implication | Improved government social responsibility, security and anti-corruption measures, together with NGO assistance and farmer cooperatives, should start to resolve the crisis. |

## Abstract

The purpose of this study was to uncover ground truth policy insights underlying the agriculture crisis from the perspectives of rural farm operations in Nigeria. The needs of rural farmers were otherwise not adequately reflected in national or regional economic development policies. The grounded theory formal method was applied using NVivo software. A focus group was conducted with 16 agricultural extension workers, who are an advanced category of educated experts acting as mentors to rural Nigerian farmers. Audio data were coded into thematic concept maps using discourse analysis. The findings of this study were generally consistent with the extant literature, but several different issues emerged. Rural farmers in Nigeria have significant agricultural challenges with government support in six core areas: farming input quality and dissemination, fair input subsidization, training, market facilitation, social responsibility to reduce corruption, and poverty.

## Key terms

- **Agricultural extension worker:** An experienced, well-educated farming mentor who works in the field and liaises with local government and value chain stakeholders to support rural farmers.
- **Grounded theory:** A qualitative research method in which codes, themes and theory are developed inductively from the data rather than tested from prior hypotheses.
- **Member checking:** A validation step in which participants review transcripts, codes and themes to confirm they reflect their meaning.

## Limitations

- The sample of 16 agricultural extension workers represented 900 farmers’ perspectives from three local government areas in Northeast Nigeria, so more research is needed before results can be generalized to national or international stakeholders.
- The grounded theory method focused on complex qualitative data; further studies using other methods, particularly quantitative surveys of rural farmers in other regions, are needed for triangulation.

## How to cite

Strang, K. D., Che, F., & Vajjhala, N. R. (2021). Thematic Analysis of Agricultural Government Policy and Operational Problems. Agricultural Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40003-021-00588-2

```bibtex
@article{strang2021agricultural,
  title = {Thematic Analysis of Agricultural Government Policy and Operational Problems},
  author = {Strang, Kenneth David and Che, Ferdinand and Vajjhala, Narasimha Rao},
  journal = {Agricultural Research},
  year = {2021},
  publisher = {Springer (on behalf of NAAS, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences)},
  doi = {10.1007/s40003-021-00588-2},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s40003-021-00588-2}
}
```