The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has said despite 2022 being a tough year for the agriculture sector, it still contributed 23 per cent to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the third quarter (Q3) of the year.
The NGF noted that excessive rainfall and flooding in 2022 further worsened the challenges facing Nigerian farmers. The forum stated this in a statement titled, ‘Nigerian Agriculture In 2022: The Ups And Downs,’ signed by the senior agricultural adviser to the NGF, Prof Abba Gambo, on Tuesday.
The governors explained that the challenges occurred despite the amount allocated to the agriculture sector which ,according to them, gave high hopes to farmers and stakeholders in the sector.
The NGF described the 2022 farming season as a serious nightmare for most farmers in the country due to the challenges in the sector, adding that the losses suffered by farmers were partly due to the flooding occasioned by excessive rainfall. “The rains came much more than NiMET’s forecasts, leading to serious flooding across the country, affecting 34 out of the 36 states, with the FCT least affected.
The floods led to massive loss of lives, livestock, properties and farmlands. The much-expected harvest in most states became a mirage. Jigawa State, being the most affected.” Also, the Governors said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s announcement of a redesigned naira note, which makes the current naira in circulation cease to be a legal tender by January 31, 2023, greatly influenced the commodities market.
The statement read in part, “Almost immediately, huge sums of money entered all the major markets of the country. Grains, most especially, were mopped up to the last grain in the markets. “A bag of millet selling for N8,000 rose to N35,000, sorghum from N12,000.00 to N40,000, rice rose to N45,000.00 per 50kg, even for the locally-produced and milled. “The year 2022 was a great nightmare for most farmers in Nigeria.
To feed three times a day became a huge challenge to most families and new cuisines entered Nigerian homes. “Indeed, 2022 was a tough year for the agricultural sector, but yet the sector contributed 23 per cent to the national GDP in the Q3 of the year, surpassing oil and gas, manufacturing and telecommunications.
We pray for a most benign and pleasant rainy season in 2023 and an increment in the agricultural budget of all the three tiers of government.”
