An expert, Mr Benjamin Ekeyi has attributed the decline in the contribution of agriculture to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Q4 2024 to insecurity and climate challenges.
Ekeyi, a Public Finance Management and Governance expert, said this in an interview in Abuja on Sunday.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) GDP Report for Q4 2024, agriculture contributed 25.59 per cent to Nigeria’s GDP, while its overall contribution in 2024 was 24.64.
The Industry sector contributed 17.03 per cent while the Services sector contributed 57.38 per cent in Q4 2024.
Ekeyi said persistent insecurity, particularly in farming regions, had disrupted agricultural production and supply chains.
He said that banditry, farmer-herder conflicts and insurgency in some parts of the country contributed to reduced output.
Ekeyi said that Climate-related factors, such as flooding and drought, also affected crop yields, which had led to lower agricultural productivity across the country.
He said another issue was post-harvest losses and infrastructure deficiencies caused by poor storage facilities and transportation costs.
The expert noted that these factors had led to significant post-harvest losses, which reduced the sector’s overall economic contribution.
“The lack of adequate rural infrastructure such as transportation, power, etc, limit the efficiency of agricultural supply chains.”
Ekeyi said another key factor responsible for the decline in contribution of agriculture to the GDP was a structural shift towards the services sector.
“The services sector grew significantly, contributing 57.38 per cent to GDP in Q4 2024.
“This suggests a shift in economic activities towards sectors like telecommunications, financial services and trade, reducing agriculture’s relative share.”
He said the high cost of inputs and inflation were also responsible for the decline in agriculture contribution to the GDP.
According to Ekeyi, the rising costs of fertilizers, seeds, and fuel due to inflation and subsidy removals have made farming more expensive, limiting expansion.
He said inflation, which remained above 32 per cent in 2024, reduced the purchasing power of farmers and rural households, thereby impacting investments in agriculture.
The expert said weak investment and policy challenges also played a role in the performance of the agricultural sector to the GDP.
Ekeyi also said limited access to credit facilities and financing for farmers had hindered mechanisation and expansion.
He said government policies aimed at boosting other sectors, like the foreign exchange reforms, which affected import/export dynamics, may also have had unintended consequences on agricultural performance.
“While crop production remains a major part of economic activity, the sector’s overall contribution to GDP has declined relative to the faster-growing services and industrial sectors.
“Addressing these challenges would be essential to reviving the role of agriculture in Nigeria’s economic growth.”
The major contributing economic activities in real terms in Q4 2024 were Crop Production at 23.42 per cent and Trade at 15.11 per cent.
This was followed by Telecommunication at 14.40 per cent, Real Estate at 5.88 per cent, Financial Institutions at 5.76 per cent, and Crude Petroleum at 4.60 per cent.
NAN
