Nigeria’s most important crops

According to Taiwo Oyaniran, an associate director at PwC Nigeria, agriculture is a key sector in Nigeria, contributing around 22% to the country’s annual GDP and employing about 36% of the workforce.

Despite the size and importance of the sector, more than 80% of farmers in Nigeria are smallholders, and they grow around 90% of the country’s agricultural produce.

Investment in the sector remains fairly low, with only about R7,37 billion of the budget in 2020 apportioned to the sector. This is short of the 10% specified in the AU’s 2003 Maputo Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security.

Crop production is the largest segment of agricultural production in Nigeria, accounting for 87,6% of total output. This is followed by livestock (8,1%), fishing (3,2%) and forestry (1,1%). Sesame seeds, cashew nuts and cocoa