Agriculture in Nigeria

Overview of agriculture in Nigeria

Agriculture is a sector of the Nigerian economy, accounting for up to 35% of total employment in 2020. According to the FAO, agriculture remains the foundation of the Nigerian economy, Along with crude oil, Nigeria relies on the agricultural products it exports to generate most of its national revenue. of which 34 million hectares are arable land, 6.5 million hectares are used for permanent crops, and 30.3 million hectares are meadows and pastures. Maize, cassava, guinea corn, 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. 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. Between January and March 2021, agriculture contributed 22.35% of the total gross domestic product. The sector is undergoing transformation through commercialization at the small, medium, and large enterprise levels. 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. This is coupled with a dependence on rain fed agriculture, which has made the sector vulnerable to seasonal conditions. These all contribute to agricultural productivity and post harvest losses and waste in Nigeria.

At the time of Nigeria's independence (1960), food exports made up more than 70% of the country's Gross National Product (GNP). However, over the next 25 years, the situation reversed, with food items accounting for over 50% of imports. Despite having fertile land, food output in Nigeria declined, and per capita food production also decreased, leading to a more than sevenfold increase in grain imports. In the 1970s, the Nigerian government promoted the use of inorganic fertilizers to address the issue. By 1990, out of Nigeria's total land area of about 91 million hectares, 82 million hectares were found to be suitable for farming, but only 42% of the cultivable area was farmed. The "bush fallow system," which involves land being left idle for a period of time to allow natural regeneration of soil fertility, was commonly used. Additionally, 18 million hectares were classified as permanent pasture, but had the potential to support crops, and most of the 20 million hectares covered by forests and woodlands were believed to have agricultural potential. Agricultural holdings are small and scattered, and farming is carried out with simple tools. Large scale agriculture is not common. Agriculture contributed 32% to GDP in 2001.

The palm oil industry constitutes another sector of the Nigerian economy, providing food and raw materials for the food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, plastics, and bio energy industries. In Nigeria, the institute with information about oil palm is the Nigeria Institute for Oil Palm Research. The formal mandate of the institute is to conduct research into the production and products of oil palm and other palms of economic relevance and transfer its research findings to farmers.

The Sustainable Development Goals in the agriculture sector in Nigeria have had an impact on the export sector responsible for the consumption and production of agricultural products in Nigeria. The exportation sector's monthly earnings have improved in four years. In January 2016, agricultural exports raked in N4.1 billion, which then rose to N25 billion by January 2017. From April 2019 to March 2020, total agriculture exports hit N289 billion for Nigeria. Agriculture exports for the first six months of 2020 were N204.45 billion, which indicates that productivity is increasing in the sector to enable export growth. The Sustainable Development Goals have also led to the emergence of policies that have had an impact on the agriculture sector. Some of them include the Nigerian “Agricultural Promotion Policy—2016–2020”, which focuses on ensuring food security by reducing food imports. It manages institutional reforms and incentives for technological development at the local level. The Empowering Novel Agribusiness Led Employment Program mobilizes finance for youth led agribusiness development. Another policy is the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Act from 2016, which offers incentives to farmers and other professionals throughout the agricultural supply chain. Finally, the “Green Alternative: The Agriculture Promotion Policy” was launched in mid 2016. It was created to boost soybean and cowpea production, which were chosen for the policy's focus due to their nutritional value and export potential.