Agriculture

With the world’s seventh-largest population, which continues to grow rapidly its current 170m, agriculture is key part of Nigeria’s economy. After decades of declining production, trends have been moving in the opposite direction in the past several years as overall food supply rises. Guided by the Agricultural Transformation Agenda, which was launched in 2011 as part of a push to overhaul productivity and output in the sector, short-term goals have included eliminating market distortions and improving transparency while delivering more and better inputs to farmers. The medium-term goal is to achieve self-sufficiency in a number of key staples, such as rice, and to develop the agribusiness sector and export markets. Given the successes achieved so far, the agricultural sector is poised to reinforce its role as a key economic contributor.

This chapter contains interviews with Akinwumi Adesina, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Johan Steyn, Managing Director Middle East and Africa, Cargill.