| | Preliminary investigations of the role of Transnational Corporations in Nigerian agriculture in the 1980s suggest that the corporations are operating, as an American official put it, 'under the umbrella of government to government cooperation' arrangements. The central thrust of the strategy is to 'promote joint ventures in agriculture' between these companies and 'Nigerians who have land, some capital, but not the technology and expertise' . Parallel to this 'channelling of development into private hands' (which in the case of the United States companies also coincides with a policy which is of prime interest of the Reagan Administration), is that of encouraging the World Bank, Ford Foundation, and Church organisations to help the Nigerian government in providing services to small farmers. As an American official put it: |
