A country should embark on development planning to ensure that

Step 1: Analyze the question The question asks why a country should embark on development planning. So we need the real economic purpose of planning, not a side effect or a political motive.

Step 2: Explain the concept Development planning is the deliberate, organized effort by a government to set economic and social goals (such as growth, employment, and better infrastructure) and to decide how the nation's resources will be used to achieve them within a set time, for example Nigeria's past National Development Plans.

The central economic problem is scarcity: resources like land, labour, capital, and entrepreneurship are limited, while wants are unlimited. Planning exists to allocate these limited resources wisely, so that the most important needs are met and nothing is wasted.

Step 3: Evaluate the options

• A. Becoming popular among nations: Popularity is not an economic objective of planning.
• B. Doing what others are doing: Copying other countries is not a sound reason. Plans must fit a country's own needs.
• C. Scarce productive resources are efficiently utilized: This is the core purpose of planning, which is to allocate and use limited resources in the best possible way to achieve growth and development.
• D. Contributing a quota to international organizations: This is a membership obligation and has nothing to do with planning.

Step 4: Answer The correct option is C.

Tip: In Economics, when you see words like "planning", "allocation", or "scarcity", think of efficient use of resources. Options that mention popularity, imitation, or international obligations are usually distractors.