Foreign Direct Investments and Agro-Technology Development in Nigeria’s Cross River State

A Study of Wilmar International Limited

Abstract

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has been perceived as the best strategy for achieving agro-technology development in most developing economies. The study investigates the impact of Wilmar International Limited on the transfer of agricultural technology in Biase Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. The study is anchored on the dependency theory to explain how FDI’s impacted on agro-technology development in Biase Local Government Area. The study adopts both primary and secondary methods of data collection. Documentary data such as journal articles, internet materials, textbooks and seminar papers are used for the secondary method, while the survey research design was used for the primary method. Data used for analysis were obtained through the use of structured questionnaires. The analytical technique employed was chi-square. The findings revealed that Wilmar International Limited has a significant impact on the transfer of agricultural technology in the host communities of Biase. However, further than the economic benefits, Wilmar International Limited needs to do more in their corporate social responsibility to the host communities to provide modern farm inputs such as land cultivator machine, palm fruits harvester, inorganic fertilizers, palm fruit processing and refining machine and also need to support the communities through provision of roads, hospitals, schools, electricity and drinkable water to them. On the side of the state government, there is need for a good leadership that will fight systemic corruption and ensure that the laid down agreement that will bring about positive impact in the agricultural sector is enforced.