page_title: Economy of Nigeria
section_title: Agriculture
hierarchical_section_title: Economy of Nigeria / Economic sectors / Agriculture
caption_attribution_description: Nigerian farmers working in field in Middle Belt
context_page_description: The economy of Nigeria is a middle-income, mixed economy and emerging market, with expanding manufacturing, financial, service, communications, technology and entertainment sectors. It is ranked as the 27th-largest economy in the world in terms of nominal GDP, and the 24th-largest in terms of purchasing power parity. Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa; its re-emergent manufacturing sector became the largest on the continent in 2013, and it produces a large proportion of goods and services for the West African subcontinent. In addition, the debt-to-GDP ratio is 16.075 percent as of 2019.
  Nigerian GDP at purchasing power parity has almost tripled from $170 billion in 2000 to $451 billion in 2012, though estimates of the size of the informal sector put the actual numbers closer to $630 billion. Correspondingly, the GDP per capita doubled from $1400 per person in 2000 to an estimated $2,800 per person in 2012. These figures were to be revised upwards by as much as 80% when metrics were to be recalculated subsequent to the rebasing of its economy in April 2014.
  Although oil revenues contribute 2/3 of state revenues, oil only contributes about 9% to the GDP.
context_section_description: Nigeria ranks sixth worldwide and first in Africa in farm output. The sector accounts for about 18% of GDP and almost one-third of employment. Nigeria has 19 million head of cattle, the largest in Africa. Though Nigeria is no longer a major exporter, due to local consumer boom, it is still a major producer of many agricultural products, including: cocoa, groundnuts (peanuts), rubber, and palm oil. Cocoa production, mostly from obsolete varieties and overage trees has increased from around 180,000 tons annually to 350,000 tons.
  Major agricultural products include cassava (tapioca), corn, cocoa, millet, palm oil, peanuts, rice, rubber, sorghum, and yams. In 2003, livestock production, in order of metric tonnage, featured eggs, milk, beef and veal, poultry, and pork, respectively. In the same year, the total fishing catch was 505.8 metric tons. Roundwood removals totaled slightly less than 70 million cubic meters, and sawnwood production was estimated at 2 million cubic meters. The agricultural sector suffers from extremely low productivity, reflecting reliance on antiquated methods. Agriculture has failed to keep pace with Nigeria's rapid population growth, so that the country, which once exported food, now imports a significant amount of food to sustain itself. However, efforts are being made towards making the country food sufficient again.
caption: Nigerian farmers in the Middle Belt (2006). 30% of Nigerians are employed in agriculture.[63]
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