AbstractThe Nigerian government responded after 1980 to decreased access to foreign exchange with policies to attract private domestic and foreign investment to its agricultural sector. The abolition of commodity boards and of state farms in 1986 signaled a break with past approaches to agricultural development, but the ineffectiveness of these institutions raises doubt about whether their loss will bring much change. The strongest incentives for increased investment in agriculture will come from currency devaluation and from severe limitations on food imports, raising domestic prices. The eventual response of agricultural production depends on how vigorously the government pursues this new direction in policy, but there are indications in the policies already selected that the benefits of private investment will not be widely shared.