There have been concerns among economic and financial experts over Nigeria’s paltry agricultural exports revenue despite the country’s huge and fertile land mass with good weather conditions.
Nigeria’s total agricultural exports in 2022 was N598.2bn, accounting for 18.5 per cent increase when compared to the figure recorded in 2021.
However, The Netherlands’ economy earned an estimated N4.9trn (€49.6bn) from agricultural exports in 2022 alone.
In 2020, Nigeria’s agro exports valued N321.54bn, while in 2019, the export value was N269.83.bn.
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Similarly, the sector accounted for 7.29 per cent of total imports, amounting to N1,865.53bn, a 5.43 per cent decline from N1,966.89bn in 2021.
The sector accounted for 4.7 per cent of the country’s total exports for the period.
Cocoa beans, sesame seeds and cashew nuts topped the list of the exported agricultural commodities, earning Nigeria N442.95bn for the period.
The Netherlands, which is about 22 times smaller than the size of Nigeria, has a much bigger agricultural exports earnings than Nigeria.
The Netherlands is approximately 41,543 sq km, while Nigeria is approximately 923,768 sq km, making Nigeria 2,124 per cent larger than The Netherlands.
Similarly, six of Nigeria agrarian states are bigger than The Netherlands, individually. The six states, all located in the Northern part of the country, are Niger (76,383km²), Borno (70,898km²), Taraba (54,473km²), Kaduna (46,053km²), Bauchi (45,837km²) and Yobe (45,502km²).
Speaking with Daily Trust, an economic expert, Lekan Musa, said it was a shame that Nigeria’s agricultural exports earning was lower than that of The Netherlands.
Musa said, “Let me say our government officials should feel ashamed that this is happening to our country. They should invest more in agriculture so that we can earn big from it.”
Another expert, Ogochkwu Onuora, said too much attention on the oil and gas sector made the FG to neglect the agricultural sector.
Onuora said the FG should prioritise agricultural exports so that it could give Nigeria much more earnings.
