Overview of Agriculture in Nigeria

Agriculture has historically been the backbone of Nigeria’s economy. contributing over 60% of GDP, 70% of export earnings, and 95% of food needs from the colonial period through the 1970s. The country is well endowed with 79 million hectares of arable land, ample surface and groundwater resources, and over 3 million hectares suitable for irrigation.

However, the rapid growth of crude oil exploration in the early 1970s led to a sharp decline in agricultural performance (NTWG, 2009). Since then, domestic production has struggled to keep up with rising demand driven by population growth, shifting food preferences, urbanization, inflation, and increasing demand from neighbouring countries.

Decline of Agriculture Post Oil Boom

The emergence of crude oil exploration in Nigeria during the early 1970s significantly affected the agricultural sector. As oil production rapidly expanded, agriculture experienced a marked downturn in its performance. This shift had profound implications for food production and economic stability, as domestic agriculture could no longer keep pace with growing demand.

Several factors contributed to this widening gap between agricultural supply and demand. The sharp increase in Nigeria's population placed additional pressure on food resources, while evolving food preferences and urbanization further intensified demand. Inflation compounded these challenges, making agricultural products increasingly inaccessible for many Nigerians. Moreover, rising demand from neighbouring countries added to the strain, highlighting the sector’s struggle to meet both local and regional needs.

Sector Performance and Growth Trends

According to Vision 2020 (NTWG, 2009), agricultural performance in Nigeria has been uneven. Growth averaged 3.3% in the 1990s and rose to about 6% between 2003 and 2007, driven largely by expansion of cultivated land rather than improvements in productivity.

With population growing at 2.3% annually and projected to reach 450 million by 2050, tackling food insecurity remains a critical priority. Agricultural production is strongly influenced by climatic and soil conditions, including rainfall, temperature, soil type, and topography.

Nigeria’s farming systems comprise crops, livestock, fisheries, and forestry, alongside non‑farm livelihoods and shared natural resources such as grazing land and water. Crops dominate the sector, contributing 85% of agricultural GDP, followed by livestock (10%), fisheries (4%), and forestry (1%) (NTWG, 2009). As the largest subsector, crop production continues to drive overall sector growth.

Recent Sector Dynamics (2021–2024)

Between 2021 and 2024, agriculture contributed 28% of GDP¹, while the sector employed about 40% of the labour force²—making it a central pillar of rural livelihoods. Within agriculture:

• Crops contribute 70%
• Livestock: 21%
• Forestry: 5%
• Fisheries and Aquaculture: 4%

Agricultural GDP grew by 2.9% annually during this period¹.

Despite this contribution, the sector faces persistent structural challenges including:
poor land tenure systems, limited irrigation, climate change, land degradation, low technology adoption, high production costs, weak input distribution, inadequate financing, post-harvest losses, conflict, and poor market access.

These constraints have weakened national food self-sufficiency. Between 2021 and 2024, Nigeria imported ₦16 trillion in food—more than double food export earnings of ₦7 trillion³—resulting in a food trade deficit equal to 3% of agricultural GDP. Food exports accounted for only 2.8% of total exports in 2022³, compared to nearly 90% from crude oil and gas.

Policy and Strategic Frameworks

To address these challenges, the government has introduced several policies and programmes, notably:

1. National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy (NATIP), 2022–2027

Launched in August 2022, NATIP aims to boost agricultural growth and resilience for food security and job creation. Its 10 pillars focus on:

• Strengthening agricultural research
• Developing priority value chains
• Mechanization
• Enhanced extension services
• Livestock development
• Fisheries and aquaculture
• Establishment of the Agricultural Development Fund
• Irrigation and rural infrastructure
• Nutrition and export improvement
• Digital and climate-smart agriculture
• Inclusion of women and youth
• Strengthened agricultural lending and insurance

2. Other Key Policies and Strategies

• National Livestock Growth Acceleration Strategy
• National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy
• National Forest Policy
• National REDD+ Strategy
• National Rice Development Strategy II
• Presidential Fertilizer Initiative
• Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (2022–2027)

Collectively, these efforts aim to increase domestic production, enhance export competitiveness, reverse forest loss, rehabilitate degraded land, and strengthen resilience to climate impacts.

Natural Resources and Agro-Ecological Diversity

Nigeria’s agricultural and forest resources remain vast. Agricultural land covers approximately 70.8 million hectares, with major staple crops including maize, cassava, sorghum, cowpea, rice, yam, and millet. Nigeria ranks among the world’s top 10 producers of several of these crops⁴⁵. However, yields remain far below potential due to inadequate input use and suboptimal agronomic practices.

Ecologically, the country spans diverse agro-ecological zones from mangrove and rainforest regions to savannas and the Sahel, with montane ecosystems in the Jos Plateau, Taraba, Adamawa, and parts of Cross River⁴. Climates range from tropical monsoon in the south to semi-arid Sahelian conditions in the north².

Despite these endowments, Nigeria faces severe forest degradation and land-use pressures. With an annual deforestation rate of 3.7%, one of the highest globally³, forest loss is driven by agricultural expansion, fuelwood extraction, unsustainable land management, and infrastructure development. These pressures have led to soil degradation, biodiversity loss, and reduced ecosystem services.

In response, Nigeria has adopted climate-resilient and low-emission development pathways through policies such as the National Climate Change Policy (2021–2030), the updated NDC (3.0), and the Long-Term Low-Emission Development Strategy (LT-LEDS, 2024).

Livestock Sector

The livestock sector provides critical animal-source foods, income, employment, and resilience for millions of households. Nigeria’s livestock population includes:

• Cattle: 55 million
• Goats: 139 million
• Sheep: 65 million
• Poultry: 685 million (409 million exotic/hybrid, 234 million local)⁴

Despite its potential, the sector remains underdeveloped due to constraints in genetics, feeding, animal health, infrastructure, land access, water resources, marketing, and weak institutional coordination.

Key bottlenecks include:

• Low-input production systems dominated by smallholders and pastoralists
• Seasonal feed scarcity and limited access to improved pastures
• Low genetic potential of indigenous breeds
• High incidence of endemic and transboundary diseases (PPR, CBPP, ASF, avian influenza, etc.)
• Weak veterinary governance, limited biosecurity, and inadequate disease surveillance

The National Animal Health Policy outlines frameworks for surveillance, vaccination, biosecurity, laboratory systems, AMR control, and One Health coordination. Strengthening federal–state collaboration, community-based animal health services, and disease reporting systems remains essential.

Market Constraints

Livestock value chains are hindered by poor market infrastructure, inadequate cold chains, weak road connectivity, and informal marketing structures. Enhancing processing capacity for meat, dairy, and poultry products requires:

• Modern processing facilities
• Quality assurance systems
• Cold-chain investments
• Milk aggregation centers and farm-gate pricing mechanisms
• Functional traceability and harmonized national standards

Overall, transforming Nigeria’s livestock sector requires stronger institutions, sustained investment, and inclusive value-chain partnerships.

Fisheries and Aquaculture

Nigeria is the largest fish consumer in Africa and among the largest globally, consuming 3.6 million metric tons annually. The sector is vital for nutrition—contributing about 40% of household protein consumption—and provides livelihoods for millions⁵^; ⁶.

With 853 km of coastline and over 14 million hectares of inland waters, total fish production stands at 1.2–1.4 million metric tons annually. Aquaculture remains a promising avenue for meeting national fish demand and improving nutritional outcomes.

Forestry

Forestry plays a crucial role in ecological stability and economic development. However, Nigerian forests face severe threats from population growth, agricultural expansion, heavy reliance on firewood and charcoal, unsustainable timber extraction, grazing, bushfires, and infrastructure development. Deforestation rates range from 0.72% to 2.38% annually (FAO, 2018).

The Road Ahead

With Nigeria’s population projected to reach 400 million by 2050, improving agricultural productivity through innovative technologies, climate-smart practices, and sustainable resource management is essential. Strong support from government, development partners, and the private sector is key to achieving food security, resilience, and inclusive growth

References

1. National Bureau of Statistics (2026). Gross Domestic Product

https://microdata.nigerianstat.gov.ng/index.php/catalog/14 

2. National Bureau of Statistics (2024a) Nigeria Labour Force Survey Q2 2024. 

https://microdata.nigerianstat.gov.ng/index.php/catalog/152 

3. Based on World Bank (2026) World Development Indicators (WDI) 

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator 

4. National Bureau of Statistics (2024b) National Agricultural Sample Survey 2022/2023 

https://microdata.nigerianstat.gov.ng/index.php/catalog/173 

5. FAO (2026) Production: Crops and livestock products.

https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL 

6. Draft guidelines for sustainable aquaculture, provisional version  (https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/3f11a4c6-32e7-4eb5-9b6f-e46509bf3a51/content) 
7. NTWG (2009). Nigerian Technical Working Group on Agriculture and food Security.  Nigeria Vision 2020 Report, July 2009, 115 pp.
8. FAO. 2020. Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA 2020).
9. UN-REDD Programme. 2015. Nigeria Forest Reference Emission Level Technical Annex.