Agriculture in Nigeria

Development of agricultural output of Nigeria in 2015 US$ since 1961
Oshodi Market in Lagos



Agriculture is a major sector of the Nigerian economy,[1] accounting for up to 35% of total employment in 2020.[2] According to the FAO,[3] agriculture remains the foundation of the Nigerian economy,[1] providing livelihood for most Nigerians and generating millions of jobs.[4][5][6] Along with crude oil, Nigeria relies on the agricultural products it exports to generate most of its national revenue.[6] The agricultural sector in Nigeria comprises four sub-sectors: crop production, livestock, forestry, and fishing.

Nigeria has a total agricultural area of 70.8 million hectares,[3] of which 34 million hectares are arable land,[7] 6.5 million hectares are used for permanent crops, and 30.3 million hectares are meadows and pastures.[8]

Maize, cassava, guinea corn, Groundnut and yam are the major crops farmed in Nigeria, with 70% of the households engaged in crop farming. In the south, 7.3% of the households practice fishing, while 69.3% of the households own or raise livestock in northwest Nigeria.[9]

In the third quarter of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the sector grew by 14.88% year-on-year. Crop production remains the largest part of the sector. During the third quarter of 2019, the agriculture sector contributed 29.25% to the overall real GDP.[10] Between January and March 2021, agriculture contributed 22.35% of the total gross domestic product.[3][11][12][13][14]

The sector is undergoing transformation through commercialization at the small, medium, and large enterprise levels.[15] However, there are several factors in the Nigerian agricultural sector that may prevent its growth, including a land tenure system that limits access to land, the country's level of irrigation development, limited adoption of research findings and technologies, costs of farm inputs, the amount of access to credit allowed by the management of specialized institutions established for the development of the agricultural sector, the manners of fertilizer procurement and distribution, storage facility effectiveness, and the amount of access to markets.

More recently, changes in average temperatures, rainfall, climate extremes, and the growing infestation of pests and related diseases precipitated by climate change pose a challenge to the integrity of the country's agriculture system.[16] This is coupled with a dependence on rain-fed agriculture, which has made the sector vulnerable to seasonal conditions.[17]

These all contribute to agricultural productivity and post-harvest losses and waste in Nigeria.[3] Illiteracy is also one of the several factors preventing the progress and development of agriculture in Nigeria. Research has proven that most of the farmers in Nigeria have not acquired formal education.[18]

  1. ^ a b "10 Roles of Agriculture in Nigeria Economic Development". InfoGuideNigeria.com. 2020-12-06. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
  2. ^ "Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) (modelled ILO estimate) - Nigeria". Work Bank Data. World Bank. 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d "Nigeria at a glance". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
  4. ^ "Nigeria: agriculture sector share in employment". Statista. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
  5. ^ Adeite, Adedotun (2022-04-14). "Agriculture in Nigeria: 7 Interesting Facts & Statistics". Babban Gona. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  6. ^ a b jlukmon (2022-11-18). "List 10 Importance of Agriculture in Nigeria". About Nigerians. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  7. ^ "Topic: Agriculture in Nigeria". Statista. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
  8. ^ cycles, This text provides general information Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct Due to varying update; Text, Statistics Can Display More up-to-Date Data Than Referenced in the. "Topic: Agriculture in Nigeria". Statista. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  9. ^ "Topic: Agriculture in Nigeria". Statista. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  10. ^ Nigerian Gross Domestic Product Report Q3 2019, National Bureau of Statistics. https://www.nigerianstat.gov.ng/pdfuploads/GDP_Report_Q3_2019.pdf
  11. ^ "Agriculture contributes 23% to GDP in 2022 – Minister". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 2022-09-15. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  12. ^ Isaac, Nkechi (2022-09-16). "Agriculture Contributed 23.3% To National GDP In Q2 – Abubakar". Science Nigeria. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  13. ^ "Agriculture contributes 23% to GDP in 2022 — Minister". NewsWireNGR. 2022-09-15. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  14. ^ Ukpe, William (2022-08-26). "GDP: Nigeria's Agriculture sector grows by 1.20% in Q2 2022". Nairametrics. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  15. ^ Olomola Ade S. (2007) “Strategies for Managing the Opportunities and Challenges of the Current Agricultural Commodity Booms in SSA” in Seminar Papers on Managing Commodity Booms in Sub-Saharan (:Africa: A Publication of the AERC Senior Policy Seminar IX. African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), Nairobi, Kenya
  16. ^ Kurukulasuriya, Pradeep (2013). "Climate Change and Agriculture: A Review of Impacts and Adaptations". Climate Change Series 91 Environment Department Papers, World Bank, Washington, D.C.
  17. ^ Olayide, Olawale Emmanuel; Tetteh, Isaac Kow; Popoola, Labode (December 2016). "Differential impacts of rainfall and irrigation on agricultural production in Nigeria: Any lessons for climate-smart agriculture?". Agricultural Water Management. 178: 30–36. Bibcode:2016AgWM..178...30O. doi:10.1016/j.agwat.2016.08.034. ISSN 0378-3774.
  18. ^ "6 Agriculture Problems in Nigeria—and Solutions". agricdemy.com. Retrieved 2022-12-16.