This category covers the importance of the agricultural sector in the economic development and growth of Nigeria. The articles will focus on the progress of the sector together with updates on the major investments and technological advancements in the sector. Nigeria is blessed with arable land and a particularly good climate for agriculture to flourish. The green color in the Nigerian flag symbolizes agriculture.
Agriculture currently provides over 40% of employment for the population. The government is focused on the sector and it is being transformed through enabling policies, funding, and government interventions. Before the discovery of oil in the 1980s, Nigeria’s economy was sustained by agriculture. The sector remains the largest contributor to the Nigerian economy, accounting for over 38% of the non-oil foreign exchange earnings and employing about 70% of the active labor force of the population.
Major crops include beans, rice, sesame, cashew nuts, cassava, cocoa beans, groundnuts, gum arabic, kolanut, maize (corn), melon, millet, palm kernels, palm oil, plantains, rice, rubber, sorghum, soybeans, bananas, and yams. The country’s agricultural products fall into two main groups: food crops produced for home consumption, and exports.
The government office responsible for Agriculture development and transformation is currently the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Primarily funded by the Federal Government, the Ministry currently supervises over 40 parastatals operating as either key departments or agencies across the country.
In 2018, agriculture contributed around 21.2 percent to Nigeria’s GDP and employed 35.1 % of Nigerians in 2019 according to the World Bank collection of development indicators. It is also the largest economic activity in the rural area where an estimated 50% of the population lives.
Nigeria’s economic growth over the last seven years has been driven by the growth in the agricultural sector. This category will publish emerging information and news in the Agricultural sector.