“We’ve seen some aspects of achievements in terms of the agricultural sector. They have established the National Agricultural Fund. I think the fund is still working. Trying to see how they can reach out and provide financing to agriculture,” – Dama
Simeon Shodimu:
Nigeria has awakened to the realization of the importance of agriculture and is indeed putting in place efforts to support the sector. Despite insecurity along the food belts of the nation and climate change and other challenges facing the sector, the sector is relatively growing. Though more efforts are still needed compared to the 1960s when agriculture used to be the mainstay of the Nigerian economy, the sector’s growth is notable, especially considering the insecurity in the north and Middle Belt, where farmers are frequently killed by bandits and in farmer-herder clashes.
The overall annual gross domestic product growth for Nigeria in 2024 is reported at 3.40 per cent. The oil sector’s contribution to real GDP in Q4 2024 was 4.60 per cent, with an annual growth rate of 5.54 per cent. The agriculture sector contributed 24.64 per cent to real GDP in Q4 2024, and 20.97 per cent to aggregate nominal GDP for the full year, though its growth was more modest at 1.2 per cent to 1.76 per cent across different quarters. The non-oil sector, which includes agriculture, contributed a substantial 95.40 per cent to real GDP in Q4 2024, indicating a decreasing reliance on oil as the main economic driver.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that Nigeria’s agricultural sector recorded a year-on-year growth of 0.07 per cent in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2025. This growth, the NBS said, signifies an increase of 1.85 percentage points compared to the same period in 2024, though it reflects a decline of 2.48 percentage points from the previous quarter, which experienced a growth rate of 2.54 per cent.
The report also indicates that the agricultural sector contracted by 34.70 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis. Despite this contraction, the sector contributed 23.33 per cent to the aggregate GDP in real terms for the first quarter of 2025.
The modest increase observed in the sector’s contribution to GDP occurred in the context of a notable decline in the recently reported annual food inflation rate, which was primarily influenced by a change in the base year.
In its latest food inflation report, the NBS said the food inflation rate in June stood at 21.97 per cent on a year-on-year basis. This was 18.90 percentage points lower compared to the rate recorded in June last year (40.87 per cent).
Over the past two years of President Bola Tinubu’s tenure, Nigeria has witnessed a persistent surge in the prices of basic food items in the country, largely due to the removal of fuel subsidy upon assuming office in 2023.
Increased Budgetary Allocation:
The administration has steadily increased budgetary allocations to the sector, growing from N228.4 billion in 2023 (1.05 per cent of total budget) to N362.94 billion in 2024 (1.32 per cent) and N826.5 billion in 2025 (1.7 per cent).
Experts Speak:
As President Bola Ahmed Tinubu marks his second year in office, stakeholders in Nigeria’s agricultural sector have delivered a cautiously mixed verdict on his performance. While acknowledging bold reforms and billion-naira investments, industry leaders say deep-rooted challenges continue to undermine real impact on the ground.
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) applauded Tinubu’s economic reforms, such as fuel subsidy removal, exchange rate liberalisation, and tax restructuring, for boosting the services sector and overall GDP growth. However, Director General Dr. Chinyere Almona noted that the agriculture sector remains burdened by high production costs, insecurity, and logistical inefficiencies.
“Smallholder farmers, agro-SMEs, and food processors are struggling to survive rising inflation, forex instability, and erratic fuel prices,” Almona said, warning that policy divergence between monetary and fiscal authorities is also eroding investor confidence.
On the achievements side, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, under Minister Abubakar Kyari, has initiated key programmes, including dry-season farming, fertiliser distribution, mechanisation, and rural infrastructure upgrades. Over ₦309 billion has been committed to interventions, with more than 60,000 jobs created and millions of hectares cultivated.
Chairman of the Competitive African Rice Forum, Nigeria, Peter Dama, in a review of the sector’s performance under Tinubu’s administration, noted that while the government had introduced several initiatives, the full impact is still unfolding.
“We’ve seen some aspects of achievements in terms of the agricultural sector. They have established the National Agricultural Fund. I think the fund is still working. Trying to see how they can reach out and provide financing to agriculture,” Dama said.
Speaking further, Dama stated that government-backed efforts in mechanisation and input distribution have also been initiated, though not fully implemented.
Also as reported by many publications, food prices in Nigeria have been falling steadily since 2025, after historical highs in 2024, especially in urban centres which tallies with what the President’s media aide, Sunday Dare, said about the administration’s aggressive structural reforms beginning to take root and moving the country into early recovery.
