The growth and economic contribution of the agriculture sector saw a downturn in the second quarter of 2024 (Q2’24), largely due to ongoing security issues and conflicts between farmers and herders, as well as broader business challenges in the country.
In Q2’24, the sector’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell to 22.61 percent, down from 23.01 percent a year earlier. This translates to a N4.14 trillion contribution to the total real GDP, which was N18.29 trillion in Q2’24.
The sector’s growth rate also decreased by 0.09 percentage points, from 1.50 percent in Q2’23 to 1.41 percent in Q2’24. However, on a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis, the growth rate improved by 1.22 percentage points from the 0.18 percent recorded in Q1’24.
Crop production continued to be the primary driver of the sector, making up 87.48 percent of the sector’s nominal value during the period. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the sector grew by 1.41 percent in Q2’24 compared to 1.50 percent in the same quarter of 2023, with crop production contributing significantly to this growth. The QoQ growth stood at 11.41 percent.
David Adonri, Vice Chairman of Highcap Securities, attributed the slowdown in growth and economic contribution to targeted attacks by bandits and terrorists, which have diminished the sector’s productivity. Adonri suggested that the federal government should focus on bolstering domestic security and manufacturing agricultural machinery locally to support the sector.
Mercy Okon, Senior Analyst at Parthian Securities Limited, pointed to climate and weather-related challenges, including flooding, as contributing factors to the decline. Insecurity in major farming areas and rising costs of inputs, exacerbated by high foreign exchange rates, have also negatively impacted agricultural production.