KEY POINTS

• Nigeria’s agricultural sector grew 3.15 percent year-on-year in real terms to N11.87trn in Q1 2026.
• Crop production led with N8.9trn, accounting for 66.76 percent of the sector’s nominal value.
• Agriculture’s share of real GDP slipped to 23.16 percent, down from 28.66 percent in the previous quarter.

Nigeria’s agricultural sector grew 3.15 percent year-on-year in real terms to N11.87 trillion in the first quarter of 2026, up from N11.51 trillion a year earlier. The National Bureau of Statistics reported the figure in its Q1 2026 GDP report, which covers crop production, livestock, forestry and fishing.

Crop production leads the gains

Crop production again drove the sector, contributing N8.9 trillion in the first quarter, a 3.39 percent rise from N8.6 trillion a year earlier. Moreover, the NBS said crop production accounted for 66.76 percent of the sector’s overall nominal value during the quarter.

The other sub-sectors also expanded, though more slowly. According to the report, livestock grew 2.20 percent to N1.57 trillion, while forestry posted the fastest gain at 4.14 percent, rising to N589.88 billion from N566.42 billion. Meanwhile, fishing grew 1.72 percent year-on-year to N792.92 billion from N779.49 billion.

Sector’s share of GDP slips

In nominal terms, the sector grew 9.93 percent year-on-year, a slight dip of 0.11 percentage points from the same quarter of 2025. However, that nominal rate improved by 3.11 percentage points on the preceding quarter’s 6.82 percent. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, though, nominal output fell 36.37 percent, reflecting the seasonal nature of farming.

Furthermore, the real growth of 3.15 percent marked a 3.08 percentage point jump from the same period in 2025, even as it slipped 0.85 points from the previous quarter’s 4.00 percent. Quarter-on-quarter, real output also contracted 35.24 percent.

Consequently, agriculture’s weight in the wider economy eased. The sector contributed 23.16 percent to aggregate real GDP in the quarter, down from 23.33 percent in the first quarter of 2025 and well below the 28.66 percent it recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025. Similarly, its share of nominal GDP fell to 18.11 percent, against 19.40 percent a year earlier and 25.67 percent in the previous quarter. Ultimately, the data show a sector still growing year-on-year, yet ceding ground to faster-expanding parts of the economy.