Agriculture in Nigeria is a branch and one of the major part of the

economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...

in Nigeria, providing

employment Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any o ...

for about 35% of the population as of 2020. As reported by the

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

remains the foundation of the Nigerian economy, despite the presence of oil in the country. It is the main source of livelihood for most Nigerians, as it provides food for the populace. It is a very important and invaluable sector in the nation Nigeria whose contributions can certainly not be ignored due to the fact that every year this sector manages to make provisions for millions of jobs for the people, tonnes of food products and important raw materials which are generated into economic increase and change for the nation. Putting aside the existence of Crude oil, Nigeria proceeds to rely on the agricultural products exported to generate and create most of its national revenue. Agriculture, however contributes a lesser percentage of the national GDP to industrialized countries while the economy of these industrialized nations are not as dependent on agriculture as they were before, however there would be extreme harm done if all of a sudden exports were to be immobilized. The Agricultural sector in Nigeria is made up of four sub-sectors: crop production,

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

. Nigeria has a total agricultural area of 70.8m hectares. This is distributed among

arable land Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for th ...

area of 34 million hectares, 6.5 million hectares for permanent crops, and 30.3 million hectares on meadows and pastures. Maize, cassava, guinea corn and yam are the major crops among households in Nigeria and 70 percent of households practice

crop farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

. In the south south, Nigeria, 7.3 percent of households practice fishing, While 69.3 percent of households own or raise livestock in north West, Nigeria. In the third quarter of 2019, the sector grew by 14.88% year-on-year in nominal terms with a decline of 3.44% points from the third quarter of 2018. The largest driver of the sector remains

Crop Production Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

as it accounts for 91.6% of the sector in the third quarter of 2019 with a quarterly growth which stood at 44.12%. The Agriculture sector contributed 29.25% to overall real

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...

during the third quarter of 2019.Between January and March 2021, Agriculture contributed to 22.35 percent of the total Gross Domestic Product. Dr Mohammad Abubakar who is the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), made a statement saying the agriculture sector contributed 23 per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first half of 2022, According to him the chart showed that agriculture alone contributed 23.3 per cent to GDP (Half Year 2022), this upholds the positive trend of the previous years’ performance of 25.88 per cent (2021); 26.21 per cent (2020); 25.16 per cent (2019); 25.13 per cent (2018); 25.08 per cent (2017); 24.45 per cent (2016) and 23.11 per cent (2015). The sector is being transformed by commercialization at the small, medium and large-scale enterprise levels.Olomola Ade S. (2007) “Strategies for Managing the Opportunities and Challenges of the Current Agricultural Commodity Booms in SSA” in Seminar Papers on Managing Commodity Booms in Sub-Saharan (:Africa: A Publication of the AERC Senior Policy Seminar IX. African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), Nairobi, Kenya On the other hand, the Nigerian Agricultural sector has encountered several challenges, ranging from an obsolete

land tenure In common law systems, land tenure, from the French verb "tenir" means "to hold", is the legal regime in which land owned by an individual is possessed by someone else who is said to "hold" the land, based on an agreement between both individual ...

system that limits access to land (1.8 ha/farming household), a very low level of irrigation development (less than 1 percent of cropped land under irrigation), limited adoption of research findings and technologies, high cost of farm inputs, poor access to credit due to the mismanagement of specialized institutions established for the development of agricultural sector and lack of collateral security by the farmers, inefficient

fertilizer A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

procurement and distribution, insufficient storage facilities and poor access to markets and more recently, changes in average

temperatures Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied on ...

, rainfall, climate extremes and infestation of pests and diseases causing organisms precipitated by

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

pose great challenge to agriculture. This is coupled with a high dependence on rain fed agriculture which has made the Agricultural Production System highly vulnerable to adverse seasonal variations. These have all contributed to low agricultural productivity (average of 1.2 metric tons of cereals/ha) with high post harvest losses and waste in Nigeria.Illiteracy is also one of the several factors standing against the progress and development of Agriculture in Nigeria. Research has proven that most of the farmers in Nigeria have not acquired formal education, only about 17 % and 13 % possess primary and secondary education respectively. Furthermore around 8 % have acquired tertiary education. In so many developed countries all over the world, most farmers had one form of education or the other, therefore decreasing the level of illiteracy and increasing the level of literacy, a farmer who has gone through one form of education or another will be able to read, understand and handle instruction manuals on input and the use of various machinery. The implication of this issue is that the prospects and overview for the acceptance of innovations are satisfactorily and fairly high when farmers possess formal education.

Dynamics

Food export accounted for more than 70 percent of the GNP of Nigeria at independence. Twenty-five years later, it was almost a complete reversal with food items accounting for over 50 percent of imports. Food output however declined after independence, although, many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa were fertile and potentially productive, per capital food out declined, grain imports then increased more than seven times. The usage of inorganic fertilizers was therefore promoted by the Nigerian government in the 1970s. In 1990, 82 million hectares out of Nigeria's total land area of about 91 million hectares were found to be arable. 42 percent of the cultivable area was farmed. Much of this land was farmed under the bush

fallow Fallow is a farming technique in which arable land is left without sowing for one or more vegetative cycles. The goal of fallowing is to allow the land to recover and store organic matter while retaining moisture and disrupting pest life cycl ...

system, whereby land is left idle for a period of time to allow natural regeneration of soil fertility. 18 million hectares were classified as permanent pasture, but had the potential to support crops. Most of the 20 million hectares covered by forests and woodlands are believed to have agricultural potentials. Agricultural holdings are small and scattered, and

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...

is carried out with simple tools. Large-scale agriculture is not common.

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

contributed 32% to GDP in 2001.Nigeria agriculture
/ref>

Production

Nigeria produced in 2022: * 59.4 million tons of

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

(the largest producer in the world). Nigeria accounts for cassava production of up to 20 per cent of the world, about 34 per cent of Africa’s and about 46 per cent of West Africa’s. * 47.5 million tons of yam (largest producer in the world); * 3.3 million tons of

taro Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Afri ...

(largest producer in the world); * 2.6 million tons of

cowpea The cowpea (''Vigna unguiculata'') is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus ''Vigna''. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few inputs, ...

(largest producer in the world); * 6.8 million tons of sorghum (largest producer in the world); * 2 million tons of

okra Okra or Okro (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in many English-speaking countries as ladies' fingers or ochro, is a flowering plant in the mallow family. It has edible green seed pods. The geographical origin of okra is disputed, with su ...

(2nd largest producer in the world, second only to India); * 2.8 million tons of

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small and ...

(3rd largest producer in the world, second only to China and India); * 4 million tons of sweet potato (3rd largest producer in the world, second only to China and Malawi); * 369 thousand tons of ginger (3rd largest producer in the world, losing only to India and China); * 2.2 million tons of millet (4th largest producer in the world, second only to India, Niger and Sudan); * 7.8 million tons of palm oil (4th largest producer in the world, second only to Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand); * 572 thousand tons of

sesame seed Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus '' Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cu ...

(4th largest producer in the world, losing only to Sudan, Myanmar and India); * 332 thousand tons of cocoa (4th largest producer in the world, second only to Ivory Coast, Ghana and Indonesia); * 3 million tons of

plantain Plantain may refer to: Plants and fruits * Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking ** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa'' * ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...

(5th largest producer in the world); * 833 thousand tons of papaya (6th largest producer in the world); * 1.6 million tons of

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...

(7th largest producer in the world); * 3.9 million tons of

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

(11th largest producer in the world); * 6.8 million tons of

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

(one of the largest producers of rice in Africa, 14th largest producer in the world); * 10.1 million tons of

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...

(14th largest producer in the world); * 7.5 million tons of

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

; * 1.4 million tons of sugarcane; * 1.3 million tonnes of

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

; * 949 thousand tons of mango (including

mangosteen Mangosteen (''Garcinia mangostana''), also known as the purple mangosteen, is a tropical evergreen tree with edible fruit native to tropical lands surrounding the Indian Ocean. Its origin is uncertain due to widespread prehistoric cultivation. ...

and

guava Guava () is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava ''Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae), native to Mexico, Central America, the ...

); * 938 thousand tons of

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

; * 758 thousand tons of

soy The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu and ...

; * 747 thousand tons of green

pepper Pepper or peppers may refer to: Food and spice * Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant ** Black pepper * ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae ** Bell pepper ** Chili ...

; * 585 thousand tons of

egusi Egusi (Yoruba: '' ẹ̀gúsí,'' Igbo: ègwusi), also known as, agusi, ohue, Ikpan, Ikon, or agushi) is the name for the protein-rich seeds of certain cucurbitaceous plants ( squash, melon, gourd), which, after being dried and ground, are us ...

; * 263 thousand tons of sheanut; In addition to smaller productions of other agricultural products. Nigeria produced about 2.2 million metric tons of fish per year in 2008.

Livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

production is an essential component of Nigeria agriculture with abundant social and economic potentials. About 60 percent of the ruminant livestock population is found in the country’s semi-arid zone and mostly managed by pastoralists. Domestic production of livestock products is far below the national demand, resulting in large imports of livestock and livestock products. Except for eggs, the domestic production of animal products is less than half the demand for beef mutton and goat meat, while for milk and pork products it is less than quarter the demand The

Sustainable Development Goals The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future".United Nations (2017) R ...

in the Agriculture sector in Nigeria has made impact in the export sector responsible for the consumption and production of agricultural products in Nigeria. The exportation sector's monthly earns improved in 4 years. In January 2016, agricultural exports raked in N4.1billions which then rose to N25 billion by January 2017. From April 2019 – March 2020, total agriculture exports hit N289 billion for Nigeria. Agriculture exports for the first 6 months of 2020 were N204.45 billion, which concerns that productivity is increasing in the sector to enable export growth. The

has also led to the emergence of various policies that have had impact on the Agriculture sector. Some of them include the Nigerian “Agricultural Promotion Policy—2016–2020” which focuses on ensuring food security through reducing food imports. It covers, among others, institutional reforms and incentives to technological development at the local level. The Empowering Novel Agribusiness-Led Employment Program mobilizes finance for youth-led agribusiness development. Another scheme is the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Act from 2016, which offers incentives to farmers and other professionals throughout the entire agricultural supply chains. Finally, the “Green Alternative: The Agriculture Promotion Policy” launched in mid-2016. It tries to boost soybean and cowpea production, chosen for their nutritional value and export potential.

Agricultural products

Major crops include

beans A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...

, rice,

sesame Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus ''Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cu ...

cashew nuts The cashew tree (''Anacardium occidentale'') is a tropical evergreen tree native to South America in the genus '' Anacardium'' that produces the cashew seed and the cashew apple accessory fruit. The tree can grow as tall as , but the dwarf cul ...

cocoa beans The cocoa bean (technically cocoa seed) or simply cocoa (), also called the cacao bean (technically cacao seed) or cacao (), is the dried and fully fermented seed of ''Theobroma cacao'', from which cocoa solids (a mixture of nonfat substances ...

, groundnuts,

gum arabic Gum arabic, also known as gum sudani, acacia gum, Arabic gum, gum acacia, acacia, Senegal gum, Indian gum, and by other names, is a natural gum originally consisting of the hardened sap of two species of the '' Acacia'' tree, ''Senegalia sen ...

, kolanut, cocoa,

(corn),

melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a "pepo". The ...

, millet,

palm kernel The palm kernel is the edible seed of the oil palm fruit. The fruit yields two distinct oils: palm oil derived from the outer parts of the fruit, and palm kernel oil derived from the kernel. The pulp left after oil is rendered from the kernel is ...

s, palm oil,

plantains Plantain may refer to: Plants and fruits * Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking ** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa'' * ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...

, sorghum,

soybeans The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu and ...

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

s and yams. In the past, Nigeria was famous for the export of groundnut and

palm kernel oil Palm kernel oil is an edible plant oil derived from the kernel of the oil palm tree ''Elaeis guineensis''. It is related to other two edible oils: ''palm oil'', extracted from the fruit pulp of the oil palm, and ''coconut oil'', extracted from ...

. But over the years, the rate of exportation of this produce has reduced. A few years back local Nigerian companies have commenced exporting groundnuts, cashew nuts, sesame seeds, moringa seeds, Ginger, cocoa etc. The country's agricultural products fall into two main groups: food crops produced for home consumption, and cash crops sold for profits and also exported abroad. Prior to the

Nigerian civil war The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...

, the country was self-sufficient in food, but increased steeply after 1973.

Bread Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...

made from American

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

replaced domestic crops as the cheapest staple food. Between 1980 and 2016, yam production increased from more than 5 million tonnes to 44 million tonnes.

Cocoa

Cocoa is the leading non-oil foreign exchange earner but the dominance of smallholders and lack of farm labour due to urbanization hold back production, some other factors holding back the production of cocoa include, poor financing, lack of a coordinating body and low uptake of newer varieties of seedlings to rehabilitate old and cultivate new plantations, appear very prominent as identified by various stakeholders. The challenges have displaced the country from being the second-largest producer of cocoa beans to the fourth, overtaken by Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Indonesia. In 1969, Nigeria produced 145,000 tons of cocoa beans, but has the potential for over 300,000 per year. For more productivity, Nigerian Government should give more incentives to cocoa farmers.

Rubber

Rubber is the second largest non-oil foreign exchange earner. Rubber is grown across different states in Nigeria, some of the states includes Edo, Delta, Ondo, Ogun, Abia, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Cross Rivers, Ebonyi and Bayelsa states.

Oil palm

The palms industry constitutes a significant sector of the Nigerian economy, providing food and raw materials for the Food, Cosmetics,

Pharmaceuticals A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and rel ...

, Plastics and the

Bio-energy Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...

industries. In Nigeria the institute that has valuable information about oil palm is the Nigeria Institute for Oil Palm Research. The formal mandate of the institute is to conduct research into the production and products of oil palm and other palms of economic importance and transfer its research findings to farmers.

Cash crop production

Cash crop production historical statistics in Nigeria:

Traditional native crops

Traditional native cereals such as

fonio Fonio is the term for two cultivated grasses in the genus '' Digitaria'' that are notable crops in parts of West Africa. They are millets with small grains. Fonio is a nutritious food with a favorable taste. It is consumed mainly in West Afric ...

(''

Digitaria exilis ''Digitaria exilis'', referred to as findi or fundi in areas of Africa, such as The Gambia, with English common names white fonio, fonio millet, and hungry rice or acha rice, is a grass species. It is the most important of a diverse group of wild ...

'' and ''

Digitaria iburua ''Digitaria iburua'', commonly known as iburu, is a grass species native to west and west-central tropical Africa, which is cultivated as a grain crop known as black fonio. Iburu (''D. iburua'') is closely related to white fonio ('' D. exilis''), ...

'') are still grown in the

Middle Belt The Middle Belt (also spelt Middle-Belt or Central Nigeria) is a term used in human geography to designate a belt region stretching across central Nigeria longitudinally and forming a transition zone between Northern and Southern Nigeria. It ...

of central

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. Other traditional native crops in Nigeria are: *

Bambara groundnut ''Vigna subterranea'' (common names: Bambara groundnut, Bambara nut, Bambara bean, Congo goober, earth pea, ground-bean, or hog-peanut) is a member of the family Fabaceae. Its name is derived from the Bambara tribe, who currently lives in Mali. ...

* Hausa groundnut * Fluted pumpkin *

Castor bean ''Ricinus communis'', the castor bean or castor oil plant, is a species of perennial flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. It is the sole species in the monotypic genus, ''Ricinus'', and subtribe, Ricininae. The evolution of ...

Melegueta pepper ''Aframomum melegueta'' is a species in the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, and closely related to cardamom. Its seeds are used as a spice (ground or whole); it imparts a pungent, black-pepper-like flavor with hints of citrus. It is commonly ...

Cola nut The term kola nut usually refers to the seeds of certain species of plant of the genus ''Cola'', placed formerly in the cocoa family Sterculiaceae and now usually subsumed in the mallow family Malvaceae (as subfamily Sterculioideae). These col ...

* Green amaranth *

Cowpea The cowpea (''Vigna unguiculata'') is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus ''Vigna''. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few input ...

* Roselle *

Okra Okra or Okro (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in many English-speaking countries as ladies' fingers or ochro, is a flowering plant in the mallow family. It has edible green seed pods. The geographical origin of okra is disputed, with su ...

Ministry of Agriculture

The government office responsible for Agriculture development and transformation is currently the

Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is a Ministry of the Federal Government of Nigeria that has the mandate to ensure food security in crop, livestock and fisheries, stimulate agricultural employment and services, promote t ...

. Primarily funded by the Federal Government, the Ministry currently superintends almost fifty

parastatals A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...

operating as either key departments or agencies across the country. The Ministry has 2 major departments namely Technical and Service Departments: *Technical Departments: Agriculture (Trees and Crops), Fisheries, Livestock, Land Resources, Fertilizer, Food Reserve & Storage and Rural Development. *Service Departments: Finance, Human Resources, Procurement, PPAS (Plan, Policy, Analysis & Statistics) and Co-operatives. The ministry is headed by Audu Ogbeh who was appointed by President Muhammad Buhari on 12 November 2015 succeeding

Akinwumi Adesina Akinwumi "Akin" Adesina is a Nigerian economist, who is currently serving as the President of the African Development Bank. He previously served as Nigeria's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. Until his appointment as Minister in 2010 ...

who was elected to head Africa Development Bank. Buhari also appointed

Heineken Lokpobiri Heineken Lokpobiri (born 3 March 1967) is a Nigerian politician who was elected Senator in April 2007 on the People's Democratic Party (PDP) platform in Bayelsa State, for the Bayelsa West constituency. He is currently the Nigerian Minister of St ...

as the new Minister of State for Agriculture, and Shehu Ahmad as the Permanent Secretary under a newly created Ministry of Agriculture And Rural Development.

Policies

In 2011, the administration of President Jonathan launched an Agricultural Transformation Agenda which was managed by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The intended outcome of the agenda is to promote agriculture as a business, integrate the

agricultural value chain Agricultural value chain is the integrated range of goods and services (value chain) necessary for an agricultural product to move from the producer to the final consumer. The concept has been used since the beginning of the millennium, primarily b ...

and make agriculture a key driver of Nigeria's economic growth. To achieve this agenda the government put in place some new measures: *New fiscal incentives to encourage domestic

import substitution Import substitution industrialization (ISI) is a trade and economic policy that advocates replacing foreign imports with domestic production.''A Comprehensive Dictionary of Economics'' p.88, ed. Nelson Brian 2009. It is based on the premise that ...

*Removal of restrictions on areas of investment and maximum equity ownership in investment by foreign investors * currency exchange controls – free transfer of Capital, Profits and Dividends *Constitutional guarantees against

nationalization Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

/expropriation of investments *Zero percent (0%) duty on agricultural machinery and equipment imports *Pioneer

Tax holiday A tax holiday is a temporary reduction or elimination of a tax. It is synonymous with tax abatement, tax subsidy or tax reduction. Governments usually create tax holidays as incentives for business investment. Tax relief can be provided in th ...

for agricultural investments *Duty Waivers and other industry related incentives e.g., based on use of local raw materials, export orientation Recently, the

Central Bank of Nigeria The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is the central bank and apex monetary authority of Nigeria established by the CBN Act of 1958 and commenced operations on 1 July 1959. The major regulatory objectives of the bank as stated in the CBN Act are ...

began the Anchors-Borrow program to encourage the cultivation of certain crops, especially rice. The FG of Nigeria has also closed it land borders in other to curtail rice imports and encourage local production.

References

External links

Agriculture & Animals
Motherland Nigeria
AgroNigeria
Nigeria's Agricultural Mouthpiece
West African Agricultural Market Observer/Observatoire du Marché Agricole (RESIMAO)Major Farming Problems in Nigeria-Crop Farmers and Livestock Rearers
{{Africa in topic, Agriculture in