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Nigeria · Section 1 of 9

Overview

Agriculture, forestry and fishing produced 23.53% of Nigeria's GDP at current prices in 2025 on the rebased national accounts, and the 2022 agricultural census counted 40.2 million agricultural households. Cocoa and cocoa products (HS 18) made up 64.4% of agri-food exports in 2025, while Nigeria imported US$5.59 billion of agri-food products, against US$3.68 billion of exports. Banks directed 6.30% of their loans to agriculture at the end of 2025, and the Central Bank wound down its direct development finance schemes from 2023.

Agriculture share of GDP (current prices)
23.53%
20251
Agricultural value added
66.8US$ bn
20252
Real agricultural growth
2.92%
20251
Agricultural households
40.2million
20223
Bank loans to agriculture
3,608.1NGN bn
≈ US$2.51 bn4
Dec 20255
Agriculture share of bank loans
6.30%
Dec 20255
Agri-food exports
3.68US$ bn
20256
Monetary Policy Rate
23.00%
Sep 20267
1.1

At a glance

Agriculture produced almost a quarter of GDP in 2025 on the rebased accounts. In July 2025 NBS rebased the national accounts to 2019, which raised the 2019 GDP at basic prices by 41.7% and agriculture's 2019 share from 22.12% to 25.83%8. On the new base agriculture, forestry and fishing generated NGN 101.46 trillion of value added in 2025, 23.53% of GDP at current prices and 27.55% at constant 2019 prices, after real growth of 2.92%1. On World Bank data this was worth US$66.8 billion2. The National Agricultural Sample Census of 2022 counted 40,221,060 agricultural households, and the 2023 Labour Force Survey found 30.1% of employed persons working in agriculture, forestry and fishing39.

Root crops and cereals had the highest estimated volumes in 2025. NAERLS estimated wet-season production in 2025 at 65.4 million tonnes of cassava, 55.8 million tonnes of yams, 11.4 million tonnes of maize and 9.4 million tonnes of rice10. On FAOSTAT data Nigeria was the largest producer of yams and cassava in the world in 2024 (own ranking), on values that FAO estimated11. In 2023/24 the average plot measured 0.5 hectares and the average landholding 1.3 hectares12.

Nigeria was a net importer of agri-food products in 2025. On UN Comtrade data Nigeria exported US$3.68 billion of agri-food products in 2025 and imported US$5.59 billion6. Cocoa and cocoa products made up US$2.37 billion of exports, while cereals (US$1.41 billion) and sugar (US$0.85 billion) led imports6.

Banks directed 6.30% of their loans to agriculture at the end of 2025. Commercial banks held NGN 3,608.1 billion of loans to agriculture at the end of 2025, about US$2.51 billion and 6.30% of sectoral credit (own calculations)54. In the 2023 EFInA survey 36% of adults living from farming were banked and 30% were financially excluded13. The CBN raised its policy rate from 11.5% in early 2022 to 27.50% in November 2024 and reset it at 23% on 21–22 September 2026714.

Floods and food insecurity affected millions of people in 2022–2026. In the six states surveyed after the 2022 floods, 64% of households were affected and 67.9% of affected households lost crops15. The Cadre Harmonisé update of July 2026 counted 36.3 million people in Nigeria in food crisis or worse for June–August 202616.

Out of every 100…
Agriculture's weight in jobs, output, credit and finance
30.1
employed persons worked in agriculture, forestry and fishing (2023, NBS)9
23.53
naira of GDP came from agriculture, forestry and fishing (2025, current prices)1
6.3
naira of bank loans went to agriculture (December 2025)5
36
adults living from farming were banked (2023, EFInA)13
65.4 Mt
of cassava estimated for the 2025 wet season10
11.4 Mt
of maize estimated for the 2025 wet season10
US$2.37 bn
of cocoa and cocoa product exports in 2025 (HS 18)6
40.2 m
agricultural households counted in the 2022 census3
Agriculture's share of GDP on the 2019 base
Agriculture, forestry and fishing, % of GDP at basic prices, current and constant 2019 prices, 2019–2025
Source: NBS — NBS rebased series. The current-price shares for 2020–2024 are own calculations from the NBS levels at current basic prices in the 2019–2024 rebased workbook (2023–2024 identical in the Q4 2025 workbook), and the 2025 share (23.53%) is printed by NBS. The constant-price shares are printed by NBS. In 2025 nominal agricultural value added grew by 5.18% and nominal GDP at basic prices by 18.25% (own calculations from the Q4 2025 workbook).
Agriculture's share of bank loans
% of the sectoral distribution of commercial bank loans and advances, December 2010–2025
Source: CBN — Own calculations from CBN Table A.10, whose total includes credit to government. The CBN Financial Stability Report prints 4.8 per cent for December 202418. The share was 6.62% in June 2026 (own calculation)19. Agriculture produced 23.53% of nominal GDP in 20251.
1.2

Key issues for agricultural finance

23.53% of GDP and 6.30% of bank loans

Agriculture produced 23.53% of GDP in 2025 and received 6.30% of commercial bank loans at the end of the year (own calculation)15.

Policy rate of 23% in September 2026 after 27.5% in 2024–25

The Monetary Policy Rate stood at 27.50% from November 2024 to July 2025 and was reset at 23% in September 2026, and the average maximum lending rate was 29.73% in 202575.

End of central bank development finance

The CBN disbursed NGN 1,067.29 billion under the Anchor Borrowers' Programme by October 2022, and recorded no new disbursements in July 2024–June 2025 after announcing in 2023 that it would end direct quasi-fiscal interventions202122.

Naira at 1,332.94 per US$ at end-August 2026

The naira moved from 460 per dollar at the end of 2022 to 1,535.82 at the end of 2024 after the market segments were unified in June 2023, and stood at 1,332.94 at the end of August 2026423.

Insurance premiums of NGN 1.23 billion (2023) and guarantees of NGN 10.44 billion (2024)

The state agricultural insurer wrote NGN 1.23 billion of premiums in 2023, and the ACGSF guaranteed 35,227 loans worth NGN 10.44 billion in 20242425.

Bank recapitalisation and an appropriation for the Bank of Agriculture

Banks raised NGN 4.65 trillion of new capital under the recapitalisation programme, whose conclusion the CBN announced on 1 April 2026, and the 2025 repeal and enactment appropriation bill carries NGN 1.5 trillion for the recapitalisation of the Bank of Agriculture2627.
Notes on the data. National accounts are NBS figures on the 2019 base published in July 2025, and World Bank series break between 2018 and 2019 because earlier years stay on the old 2010 base. The CPI was rebased to 2024 = 100 in February 2025, so inflation for 2024 and 2025 is on different bases. Crop production is shown from two sources, FAOSTAT, whose recent Nigerian values are mostly estimates, and the NAERLS wet-season surveys. Bank credit by sector is from CBN Statistical Bulletin Table A.10 (end-December). US$ values before and after the June 2023 unification of the foreign exchange market rest on different exchange rate regimes. Trade by partner is UN Comtrade data reported by Nigeria for 2025. CBN PDF documents were read from Internet Archive copies of the official files.

Sources cited on this page

  1. Nigerian Gross Domestic Product Report Q4 2025, February 2026 (PDF and workbook) — National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)verified
  2. World Development Indicators – Agriculture, forestry and fishing value added (current US$), NV.AGR.TOTL.CD (API, JSON) — World Bankverified
  3. National Agricultural Sample Survey (NASS) 2022/2023 Report (PDF) — National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)verified
  4. IMF, Exchange Rates (ER) dataset – Nigeria, domestic currency per US$ (end of period and period average) — International Monetary Fund (IMF), Statistics Departmentverified
  5. 2025 Statistical Bulletin, Financial Statistics, Tables A.10-A.13 (XLSX, September 2026) — Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)verified
  6. UN Comtrade – Nigeria, agri-food trade (HS chapters 01–24) by partner, 2025 (public preview API, JSON) — United Nations Statistics Divisionverified
  7. Monetary Policy Decisions, key decisions of the Monetary Policy Committee (web page) — Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)verified
  8. Rebasing of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Key Highlights (PDF, 2025) — National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)verified
  9. Nigeria Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2023 (PDF, September 2024) — National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)verified
  10. 2025 Wet Season Agricultural Performance in Nigeria, presentation to the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, 7 October 2025 (PDF slides) — National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS)verified
  11. FAOSTAT Production: Crops and livestock products, bulk download all countries (CSV, release of 23 December 2025) — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nationsverified
  12. Nigeria General Household Survey-Panel (Wave 5) 2023-2024 report (PDF, November 2024) — National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)verified
  13. Access to Financial Services in Nigeria (A2F) 2023 Survey Report (PDF) — Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA)verified
  14. Monetary Policy Communiqué No. 155, 26 November 2024 (PDF, Internet Archive copy of the CBN file) — Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), via the Internet Archiveverified
  15. Nigeria Flood Impact, Recovery and Mitigation Assessment Report 2022-2023, Final Report (PDF) — National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and UNDP Nigeriaverified
  16. Results of the updated projected situation of acute food and nutritional insecurity (June-August 2026), Sahel, West Africa and Cameroon, 2 July 2026 (PDF) — Cadre Harmonisé (CILSS / AGRHYMET)verified
  17. 2019-2024 rebased GDP figures (Excel workbook) — National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)verified
  18. Financial Stability Report, December 2024 (PDF, Internet Archive copy of the CBN file) — Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), via the Internet Archiveverified
  19. Quarterly Statistical Bulletin Vol. 15 No. 2, June 2026, Tables A.10.2 and A.13 (XLSX) — Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)verified
  20. Communiqué No. 146 of the Monetary Policy Committee, 23-24 January 2023 (PDF, Internet Archive copy of the CBN file) — Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), via the Internet Archiveverified
  21. Financial Stability Report, June 2025 (PDF, Internet Archive copy of the CBN file) — Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), via the Internet Archiveverified
  22. Keynote address by Olayemi Cardoso, Governor, at the CIBN 58th Annual Bankers' Dinner, 24 November 2023 (PDF, Internet Archive copy of the CBN file) — Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), via the Internet Archiveverified
  23. Press release, Operational Changes to the Foreign Exchange Market, 14 June 2023 (PDF, Internet Archive copy of the CBN file) — Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), via the Internet Archiveverified
  24. Audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2023 (PDF) — Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC)verified
  25. 2024 Statistical Bulletin, Real Sector, Tables C.3.1 and C.3.6 ACGSF operations (XLSX, December 2025) — Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)verified
  26. CBN press releases, document listing (JSON behind the CBN press release page) — Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)verified
  27. Appropriation Act, 2025 (Repeal and Enactment) Bill 2025 (PDF) — Budget Office of the Federationverified
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AI-assisted content, human-reviewed: This page was generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by a human editor. (last review: October 2026) Despite review, errors or outdated values may remain; please verify critical figures against the linked primary sources before relying on them. Nothing here is investment, legal or financial advice.
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