Nigeria’s agricultural growth slowed to 0.18 percent in the first quarter of 2024 despite the federal government’s declaration of a state of emergency in the agricultural sector.
According to the GDP report, the sector experienced a significant decline of 1.9 percent on a quarter-on-quarter basis, down from the 2.1 percent growth rate recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023, narrowly avoiding negative growth.
Year-on-year, the sector grew marginally by 1.08 percent in real terms, compared to a negative growth rate of -0.9 percent in the same quarter of 2023.
In July 2023, the federal government declared a state of emergency on food and introduced a short, medium, and long-term plan to revamp the country’s food system and address the food crisis. However, progress since this announcement has been limited.
Within the agricultural sector, crop production was the main driver of growth during this period. Over the past five years, the sector’s growth rate has fluctuated below 3 percent.
“The sector contributed 21.07 percent to overall GDP in real terms in Q1 2024, lower than its contribution in the first quarter of 2023 and the fourth quarter of 2023, which were 21.66 percent and 26.11 percent, respectively,” the NBS reported.
Food inflation, a major component of headline inflation, reached a record high of 40.5 percent in April.
Investors have become increasingly disinterested in the agriculture industry over the years, as they no longer see promising returns on their investments in the sector.
