Agric growth hits 5-yr high on youth entrants, cash crop boom

Nigeria’s agricultural Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanded to a five-year high in 2025, driven partly by increased youth participation and rising investment in mechanised farming.

A BusinessDay’s analysis of the latest GDP report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025, the agric sector grew by 4 percent, up from 3.58 percent in the same period of 2021 — the highest quarterly rise in over five years. 

It maintained the same momentum in the full year, growing by a total of 2.92 percent in 2025, up from 2.13 percent in 2021. On a year-on-year basis, it grew above 1.69 percent in 2024. 

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Experts interviewed by BusinessDay tied the growth to increased entrants of youths into the food sector and their utilisation of mechanised farming equipment.

Adesina Laja, an agribusiness expert, told BusinessDay that the growth is expected because of a rise in youths’ involvement and drive towards agriculture. According to him, after many years of predominantly older population in agricultural activities, the story is changing. 

“There has been huge participation by youths in agriculture in the last six months. Young men and women are not waiting for the government. They are pooling resources and confronting the challenges in the food sector,” said Laja.  

This growth comes amid years of insecurity and attacks in farming communities that have plunged the agric sector into some of its lowest growth in decades. 

“A lot of young people are making strides in agriculture, especially people from the private sector. They are pooling resources together to tackle the challenges in the sector,” Laja continued. “They are the ones driving this growth.”

One challenge in Africa’s most populous nation’s food system has been a lack of youth involvement in agribusiness. This has led to slow food production and continued use of crude farming methods. 

Further analysis of the NBS report indicates that agric turnover rose to N101.46 trillion in 2025, compared to N18.74 million in 2021, driven by heightened investor confidence. Year-on-year, it is above N96.46 trillion in 2024.

Read also: Agric sector contributes 51.29% to Cross River GDP, others trail

The agric sector was also a leading contributor to overall GDP in 2025, accounting for 27.55 percent, following Services’ significant contribution of 55.66 percent. 

Abiodun Olorundero, managing partner at Prasinos Farms, attributed the growth to an improvement in cash crops output. He noted that there has been a rise in raw cocoa exports in 2025. 

He added that: “There has been a rise in exports of processed vegetables and palm to the United Kingdom and the Middle East. This is why we see this much growth in Q4.”

Nigeria exported an average of N2.43 trillion worth of cocoa (standard, superior cocoa beans and natural cocoa butter) in the first nine months of 2025, according to the NBS. 

Crop production sustained its winning streak, contributing the highest to agriculture at 20.44 percent in Q4 2025. This was followed by livestock at 6.05 percent, forestry at 1.15 percent, and fishing, contributing the lowest at 1.02 percent in the period. 

However, in terms of real growth, forestry experienced the largest growth in Q4 2025 at 6.52 percent. While livestock, crop production, and fishing expanded by 4.07 percent, 3.94 percent, and 2.15 percent, respectively.  

Projections for Q1 2026

Analysts project a stable momentum in agric growth in Q1 2026. “We can sustain this growth in Q1 2026. If investment in other sub-sectors grows, agric growth could rise above four percent,” Olorundero said. 

Similarly, Laja echoed the same sentiments. According to him, since the beginning of the year, more people have gone into agribusiness, and this, he notes, can push the sector into further growth in Q1.

“Since the beginning of the year, a number of people have continued to invest in agriculture,” he said. “And from April, we are going to see a lot of investments in feed to the cultivation and growing of crop production.”