2024: Agric sector’s growth stunted by insecurity,

By Chinyere Anyanwu

In 2024, Nigeria’s agricultural sector grappled with multiple hurdles that stunted its productivity and growth. Insecurity, climate change and critical funding gaps were listed by key stakeholders as the key challenges preventing the sector from reaching its full potential. These factors not only disrupted farming activities but also undermined efforts to achieve food security and economic stability.

In a nutshell, these factors stalled the sector’s success as reflected in its contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

However, it is not all gloom for the sector.

For many, the sector’s performance in the country’s GDP in 2024, which was put at nearly 25 per cent, according the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in addition to its employing over 70 per cent of the nation’s workforce, reveals that agriculture is growing at a steady rate and improving on its performance in the last decade.

Despite improved contribution of agriculture to the GDP, especially with crop production recording about 80 per cent contribution, food systems are still experiencing shocks.

Nigeria was faced with the worst level of uncontrolled rising cost of food items in 2024.

Major staples became scarce commodities in homes owing to their high prices and inability of consumers to purchase them.

A 50kg bag of rice (long grain), for instance, rose steadily from N45,000, the price it sold in 2023, to hit N115,000 in December 2024, the highest price in the history of the country. A 100kg bag of honey beans (oloyin) sold for as high as N350,000. The hunger in the land occasioned by skyrocketing cost of food gave year 2024 a nationwide slogan, which might not go in a hurry – “we are hungry!”

Climate change crisis

Climate change emerged as a major obstacle to Nigeria’s agricultural sector advancement in 2024, with severe weather events such as flooding and drought taking a toll on key food-producing states.

These unpredictable climatic shifts have disrupted crop cycles, reduced yields, and threatened the overall stability of food production across the country. Particularly hard-hit were states that have long been considered the nation’s food baskets, where essential crops were either damaged or wiped out entirely.

In addition to climate-related challenges, insecurity continues to plague the agricultural sector, casting a shadow over its growth and sustainability. The year 2024 saw no relief, as parts of the country, particularly in the North Central region, including states such as Benue, Niger, Katsina, and Kaduna, suffered devastating losses due to violent activities by bandits and herders. Farmers in these areas not only lost their lives but also faced the destruction of their crops, livestock, and farmlands during these attacks. The fear instilled by such violence further demoralised farmers, causing many to abandon their farms or hesitate in resuming agricultural activities, deepening the already critical food production deficit.

The combined impact of climate change and insecurity has led to a noticeable decline in agricultural productivity, threatening the livelihood of millions and exacerbating food insecurity across the nation. The long-term effects of these challenges highlight the urgent need for both improved climate adaptation strategies and enhanced security measures to protect farmers and their operations. Without these interventions, Nigeria’s agricultural sector is at risk of further stagnation, impacting not only the economy but also the overall well-being of its population.

General assessment

Assessing the agriculture sector’s performance in 2024, some analysts and stakeholders scored the sector high while others were not too impressed by happenings in the sector.

According to a report by Oxford Business Group (OBG) on Nigeria’s Agriculture in 2024, “agriculture remains a linchpin of Nigeria’s economy, contributing nearly 25 per cent to GDP and employing 70 per cent of the country’s workforce. To leverage its arable land and favourable climate, and reverse its status as a net food importer, greater investment is needed to develop Nigeria’s downstream food processing and agri-business industries.

“The sector faces a number of challenges across its value chain and climate change is exacerbating these challenges. A combination of new initiatives and a stronger resolve to address the challenges facing the sector could improve output and quality.”

The Chief Executive Officer, AFEX Commodities Exchange, Ayodeji Balogun, in a recent interview, noted that, “lack of access to financial products is impacting the development of the sector. This is due to several factors, such as insufficient infrastructure that weighs on transaction costs and risks associated with weather, price volatility and market fluctuations. Moreover, financiers lack the requisite experience to assess the value of agro-products, which is accentuated by the onerous guarantees demanded of underprivileged farmers.” NBS, in its report on the state of agriculture in 2024, noted that, “there is potential for diversification within the agricultural sector. Sub-sectors such as Livestock and Forestry, which showed positive growth, present opportunities for further development and investment. Expanding these areas could help stabilize the sector’s overall growth and reduce its vulnerability to external shocks.

“Looking ahead, there is need for agricultural policymakers and stakeholders to focus on addressing the structural challenges that hinder more robust growth in the sector. This includes investing in irrigation systems to mitigate the impact of erratic rainfall, enhancing supply chain efficiencies, and promoting access to agricultural inputs and markets for smallholder farmers.”

For the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Farouk Mudi, agriculture performed well in 2024. He said the sector witnessed an increase in the number of farmers coming into agricultural production despite high food prices experienced within the period.

Mudi stressed that to record greater progress in the sector in 2025, government has to inject more funds into agriculture as well as subsidise inputs for farmers.

Assessing the sector’s activities in 2024, the Agricultural Commodity Consumer Awareness Association, Dr. Kenechukwu Aloefuna, scores agriculture low. “The agriculture sector’s performance in 2024 was below average in the case of impact and delivery. Prices of goods tripled and they are clear indications that government control was either not there or very low. That is the reason for the low performance and high cost of food,” he said.

According to him, “the initiatives were non-vibrant, non-impactful, and some may still be in the pipeline or drawing board, which is why there may be low expectation in 2025. Initiatives in seeds distribution have been very low or even non-existing, more in the newspaper and television. If I am scoring agriculture sector’s performance in 2024, it will be 18 per cent.”

The Managing Director, Gerawa Rice Mill, Kano State, Muhammed Isyaku, highlighted the increased level of new entrants into the agricultural sector in the year under review, especially in the rice value chain. He, however, said natural disasters such as flooding and drought in major rice growing states of the country, occasioned by climate change, took a heavy toll on the availability of paddy. This, he noted, adversely impacted rice milling operations in 2024.

For Isyaku, despite these challenges, the agricultural sector performed relatively well but could have done better.

For the sector to deliver greater results in 2025, he advised that government should pay more attention to funding the sector.

He said, “agriculture is what drives the economy of every nation and for Nigeria whose population is growing increasingly, government cannot afford to joke with agriculture. We have to grow the food to feed this population and to do this, government needs to inject funds into food production.

“In 2025, the government should also look more deeply into extension service provision to enable farmers access training for good agricultural practices, which will boost production.”