Nigeria’s agricultural products exports made up only 2.67% of the total exports value for 2021 and this is the highest it has been for the last four years.
The total value of agricultural products exported in 2021 was N504.89 Billion representing a 57.02% increase compared to N321.54 Billion recorded in 2020.
Q2 2021 saw a peak value of N165.46 Million, the highest value agricultural export had seen in the last four years.
The value of Q4 2021 was N132.71 Billion which represented a 137.93% increase from the corresponding period in the previous year and a 67.12 % increase from Q3 2021.
All of these increases however amounted to just 2.67% contribution to total exports.
The top 5 agricultural products exported in Q4 2021 were good fermented Nigerian cocoa bean with the Netherlands as its major importer, sesamum seed followed with China as its major importer, superior quality raw cocoa bean majorly exported to the Netherlands, shelled cashew nuts majorly exported to Vietnam and other frozen shrimps and prawns with the Netherlands as its major importer.
Agriculture is the main source of employment for a good number of Nigerian citizens making up 36% of total employment according to the World Bank. A strong Agricultural sector can improve livelihood, food security including access to safe food, improve rural welfare as well as contribute to the national income.
Agriculture is the largest sector in the country contributing an average of 27.6% to the country’s GDP in the last nine years which is about one-fifth of the nation’s GDP. However, the size does not reflect its trade proportion.
The agricultural sector in Nigeria is faced with many challenges that have stifled its productivity. Some of these challenges include violent conflict between nomadic herdsmen and crop farmers leading to a decrease in food production output. Financial Inclusion is another big challenge facing the sector as smallholder farmers suffer exclusion from both financial services and support.
Another challenge faced by the sector is the lack of adequate infrastructure, and this short-circuits the agricultural value chain and inhibits both local and foreign investments. Other stumbling blocks faced are poor land tenure system, land degradation, lack of agriculture mechanization or outdated systems of agriculture, resource shortage and insufficient supply to meet up with population growth and food demand.
To help boost the sector and its contribution to the national income, the government has implemented several policies and initiatives including the Agriculture Promotion Policy (APP), the Nigeria-Africa Trade and Investment Promotion Programme, the Presidential Economic Diversification Initiative, the Zero Reject Initiative, The Economic and Export promotion Incentives, among others.
One such initiative is the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), which has greatly improved rice production in the country although it is yet to meet up to local demands.
With about 70.8 million hectares of agricultural land area, Nigeria has the potential to increase its agricultural productivity in order to meet both domestic demands as well as position the country as a force on the international market.
A gendered approach must be adopted to tackle all the problems highlighted above for optimizing the agricultural sector. Women make up 70 to 80% of smallholder farmers in Nigeria and yet are the most financially excluded even from government programs, and the inclusion gap is widening. Laws around land ownership and limited access to agricultural extension services are the other layers that limit women farmers and by extension, the agricultural sector that relies heavily on them.
Data has shown that women and children are peculiarly impacted by insecurity, one of the main challenges with food production and security in the country. It makes sense then that even in tackling insecurity a gendered approach is critical.