Nigeria’s economy would benefit from increased investment in the agriculture sector. Despite the Maputo Declaration, which called for African governments to devote at least 10 per cent of their budgets to agriculture and rural development, Nigeria has invested less than the recommended percentage. The Buhari administration’s budgetary allocation to agriculture fluctuated between 1.34 per cent and 2.00 per cent from 2017 to 2021.
Nigeria needs to become self-sufficient in food production to promote economic development. Although the current and previous administrations have attempted to revive the agriculture sector, their efforts have been insufficient. From January 2017 to March 2021, Nigeria imported N3.9trillion more in agricultural goods than it exported. In 2017, Nigeria generated N125.88billion from agriculture exports but spent N891.87billion on imports. Nigeria’s main agricultural exports in 2017 were sesame seeds, cashew nuts, soya beans, and ginger, while its imports included durum wheat seeds, maize seeds, and crude palm oil.
Nigeria must take advantage of agriculture’s potential to change its reliance on oil. In the early 1900s, Nigeria produced all the palm oil sold on the world market and was a significant source of foreign exchange. However, traditional production methods, excessive tapping of palm trees for palm wine, and the civil war led to a decline in Nigeria’s palm oil production. Despite this, agriculture contributed 22.35 per cent to Nigeria’s total GDP from January to March 2021, with over 70 per cent of Nigerians engaging in the sector mainly at a subsistence level.
Experts believe that Nigeria needs to upgrade its agriculture methods to include mechanized farming. Nigeria is one of the least mechanized farming countries in the world, with a tractor density of 0.27 hp/hectare compared to the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s recommended density of 1.5hp/hectare. The federal and state governments need to invest more in agriculture to improve the sector’s performance.
The Agricultural sector in Nigeria is divided into four sub-activities: Crop Production, Livestock, Forestry, and Fishing. In Q4 2021, the sector experienced nominal growth of 12.86 per cent year-on-year, which was a decline of 1.17 per cent points compared to the same quarter in 2020. However, there was an increase of 4.92 per cent points compared to the preceding quarter’s growth rate of 7.95 per cent. Crop Production remained the major contributor to the sector’s growth, accounting for 91.23 per cent of overall nominal growth in Q4 2021.
Quarter-on-quarter growth in Q4 2021 stood at -0.65 per cent, while annual growth was 10.43 per cent in 2021. Agriculture’s contribution to nominal GDP in Q4 2021 was 24.17 per cent, which was lower than the rate recorded in the same quarter of 2020, and also lower than the third quarter of 2021, which recorded 24.23 per cent and 26.57 per cent respectively.
By all means, Nigeria must feed itself to grow and develop.
Improving food production in Nigeria requires concerted efforts from all stakeholders, including the government, farmers, and the private sector. Here are some steps that could be taken:
 Increase funding: Nigeria needs to allocate more resources to the agricultural sector to drive productivity and innovation. The government can do this by increasing the percentage of its budget allocated to agriculture, as recommended in the Maputo Declaration, from the current level of less than 5 per cent. Private sector investment can also be encouraged through incentives such as tax breaks and subsidies.
Encourage mechanized farming: Nigeria needs to adopt modern, mechanized farming methods to improve productivity and efficiency. This includes the use of tractors, irrigation systems, and other technologies that can help farmers increase yields and reduce post-harvest losses.
Improve access to credit: Farmers in Nigeria face significant challenges in accessing affordable credit, which limits their ability to invest in their farms and increase productivity. The government and private sector can work together to develop loan programs and other financial instruments that are tailored to the needs of farmers.
Enhance research and development: Nigeria needs to invest in research and development to improve the quality of seeds, fertilizers, and other inputs used in agriculture. This will help farmers to improve yields, reduce costs, and increase profitability.
Develop infrastructure: Nigeria needs to develop infrastructure such as roads, storage facilities, and processing plants to improve the efficiency of the agricultural supply chain. This will help farmers to get their products to market more quickly and at a lower cost, which will benefit both farmers and consumers.
Provide extension services: Extension services can play a critical role in improving food production by providing farmers with access to information and training on best practices in agriculture. The government and private sector can work together to develop extension programs that provide farmers with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed.
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