Agric sector GDP contribution improves in Q3 2020

The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said Nigeria’s Agricultural sector contributed 30.77 per cent to the overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country in the third quarter of 2020(Q3 2020).

The Bureau said this figure is higher than the sector’s contribution in the corresponding quarter of 2019 and the second quarter of 2020 which stood at 29.25 per cent and 24.65 per cent respectively.

This was disclosed in the NBS GDP report published on Saturday.

The report noted that four sub-activities make up the country’s agricultural sector; Crop Production, livestock, forestry and fishing.

It stated that the sector grew by 13.52 per cent year-on-year in nominal terms in Q3 2020, while showing a decline of –1.36 per cent points from the same quarter of 2019.

“Compared to growth in the preceding quarter (19.90 per cent), this represented a drop of –6.38 per cent points,” the report reads.

The Bureau’s report said crop production remains the major driver of the sector, accounting for 92.93 per cent of overall nominal growth of the sector in third quarter 2020.

However, the NBS report said the sector’s quarter- on-quarter growth stood at 36.45 per cent in Q3 2020.

The Bureau’s report highlights that agriculture contributed 28.41 per cent to nominal GDP in the third quarter of 2020, and that this figure (28.41 per cent) is higher than the rates recorded for the third quarter of 2019 and the second quarter of 2020 which recorded 25.88 per cent and 23.92 per cent respectively.

The NBS said in its report that in the third quarter of 2020, the agricultural sector grew by 1.39 per cent (year-on-year) in real terms, with a drop of 0.89 per cent points from the corresponding period of 2019, and a decrease of –0.19 per cent points from the preceding quarter.

“On a quarter on quarter basis, agriculture GDP grew 39.95 per cent,” the report highlighted.