region ’ s employment and 75 % of its domestic trade .
With a rising population – estimated to top 250 million by 2030 , an expanding labor force and the near-constant uncertainty of the crude oil market , it is more than obvious that agriculture will be critical to Nigeria ’ s future and that increasing agricultural production and trade – domestic and international – will be key to reducing both hunger and poverty , providing better living conditions for citizens and setting Nigeria on a true path to sustainable economic prosperity in the medium and long-term .
Even though agriculture accounts for a significant part of Nigeria ’ s Gross Domestic Product ( GDP ), the sector as it currently operates does not have the capacity to create the quantum of jobs necessary to significantly impact unemployment and offer the Nigerian people better opportunities and better living conditions .
Of course , significant progress has been made , but there is huge potential for more .
To unlock that potential , we have to look beyond going “ back to the farm ”. We have to look at transforming agriculture from a largely subsistence enterprise to a profitable commercial venture . That means integrating smallholder farmers effectively into wider agricultural value-chains ; it means working with smallholder farmers to improve quality and quantity of their yield ; it means encouraging micro-enterprises in food processing and retail to the extent that they are market-oriented ; it means building effective linkages between farm-level production and downstream activities , such as processing and marketing .
In short , Nigeria has to develop its Agribusiness value chain ( upstream and downstream ).
Agriculture is the present but Agribusiness is Nigeria ’ s future .
As the population rises and with urbanization increases , Nigeria faces a race against time to secure its food supply . As is largely the case with most of sub-Saharan Africa , Nigeria is a farm lover ’ s dream : over 70 million hectares of uncultivated arable land – land that can support a wide variety of crops ;
8 The Export Brief | MAY 2018 | IEOM-NG . ORG