Labor Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has said that cultivating the vast arable lands in Niger State will lead to productivity and ultimately help more people to escape from poverty.
He stated this during the people’s townhall series that aired on Channels Television on Sunday, January 8.
Mr Obi, who was emphatic about maximizing Nigeria’s agricultural potential, said the country has the potential to farm and export produce to grow the economy.
During his speech, Mr Obi went further to state that the biggest inflation Nigeria faces is associated with food insecurity.
Current realities in Niger State: In August 2022, the Niger State Governor, Abubakar Bello, expressed interest in promoting measures to ensure food security in the state. While receiving the leadership of the All Farmers Association Niger State chapter, Governor Bello said:
- “Employing commercial-mechanical-agriculture would lead to food security in the State.”
- “The country’s population is fast growing and unless mechanized agriculture is practised, the country would not be able to feed the nation or its neighbours.
- “We must find a way to marry mechanized-commercial-agriculture and subsistence agriculture with the local people so that they work hand in hand.
- “We have vast land, and good temperature for agriculture but we are not known for best practices when it comes to agriculture, our farmers are suffering.”
Agricultural contribution to GDP: Nigeria’s agriculture sector contributed immensely to the growth of Nigeria’s GDP in Q3 2022.
The latest GDP report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that in Q3 2022, the non-oil sector contributed 94.34% to Nigeria’s total gross domestic product (GDP), of which the agricultural sector contributed 29.67%, an increase from 23.24% recorded in the previous quarter.
Other insights into the agricultural sector: Total agricultural exports between January and September 2022 stood at N427.6 billion.
- 9 billion was earned for the full year of 2021.
- Nigeria imported agricultural goods worth N512.91 billion in Q3 2022, 10.4% higher than the N464.4 billion recorded in Q2 2022 and 6.4% higher than Q3 2021 at N482.21 billion.
