APPRAISAL OF INFORMAL ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES IN THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR
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Abstract
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Before appraising the informal economic activities in the agricultural sector
it may be necessary first to decipher what constitutes an informal economic
activity. This can be i~fe rred from the definition of the informal sector although
there does not seem to be a consensus yet on the exact definition of the term.
Perhaps, the pioneering work of Hart (1973) which defines an informal sector as
where income is derived from self employment could be a good basis. According
to Obadan et. al. (1996), the works of Sethurama (1976, 1990), Hug an (1971 },
Charmes (1990), Bromey (1979), Macgraffey and Windsperger (1990) and others
have adopted variants of employment/income based classification that are similar
to that of Hart. However, the most frequently adopted definition is that from the
International Labour Organisation (ILO) (1976); which defines informal enterprises
as those that employ a handful of workers, who earn low income, utilize rudimentary
or subsistence technology and operate largely outside the boundaries of
government regulations governing businesses in general. This definition by the
ILO aptly describes most of the activities in the agricultural sector in Nigeria,
which ·is still largely peasantry, relaying on rudimentary technology, employing
mainly family labour and operated on small scale.
Keywords
HB Economic Theory, HG Finance