AgricultureID

Country agriculture profile · Sub-Saharan Africa

Nigeria

Nigeria is Africa's most populous country, and its agriculture is predominantly smallholder and rainfed, spanning a strong north–south ecological gradient. The humid south is dominated by roots and tubers — Nigeria is the world's largest producer of both cassava and yam — alongside tree crops such as oil palm and cocoa, while the savanna north grows sorghum, millet, maize, cowpea and groundnut and supports extensive, often transhumant cattle herding. Despite very large output of staple foods, the country remains a major food importer, notably of rice and wheat, and productivity is constrained by low input use and rainfed dependence. Competition between herders and farmers over land and water is a significant and recurring pressure in the middle belt.

Stable overview + dated statisticsUpdated: 2026-07-12

Farming systems (stable overview)

Climate zones

  • Humid tropical (southern rainforest)
  • Guinea savanna (middle belt)
  • Sudan savanna
  • Semi-arid Sahel (far north)

Agroecological zones

  • Southern forest root-crop and tree-crop zone
  • Middle-belt cereal and root-crop transition
  • Northern cereal and grain-legume savanna
  • Sahelian and Lake Chad margin

Dominant crop systems

  • Smallholder rainfed roots and tubers in the humid south — cassava and yam
  • Rainfed savanna cereals in the north — sorghum, millet and maize
  • Cowpea, groundnut and other grain legumes in the north
  • Oil palm and cocoa tree crops in the south
  • Rice in inland valleys and seasonally flooded fadama land

Major livestock systems

  • Extensive pastoral and agro-pastoral cattle across the northern savanna and Sahel, often transhumant
  • Smallholder sheep, goats and poultry kept throughout the country
  • Growing intensive commercial poultry near major cities

Irrigation: Irrigation is limited relative to the vast cultivated area; smallholder farming is overwhelmingly rainfed, with localised dry-season and fadama (floodplain) irrigation and some large public schemes in the north.

Latest verified data

Each value is the most recent available observation, shown with its own year and unit. Figures are periodically revised — treat them as dated, sourced statistics, not evergreen facts.

Latest available agricultural indicators, with year and unit
IndicatorValueUnitYear
Agricultural land76.2% of land area2023
Arable land40.48% of land area2023
Cereal yield1,558kg per hectare2024
Crop production index120.89index (2014–2016 = 100)2022
Agriculture value added25.87% of GDP2024
Employment in agriculture(est.)34.1% of total employment2024
Rural population37.02% of total population2024
Fertilizer consumption4.24kg per hectare of arable land2023

Source: World Bank Open Data (World Development Indicators) (opens in a new tab) · dataset version 2026-07-01 · retrieved 2026-07-12

Commodity market data

4,652 official observations across 53 commodities. Figures are shown on each commodity page with the unit, status and release its source published.

Commodities with official market series for this country
CommodityMetrics recorded
AlmondsImports, Import value
AvocadosImports, Import value
BananasArea harvested, Production, Yield, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Barley GrainImports, Import value
Black PeppercornsExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Brown RiceImports, Import value
Cashew NutsArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Cassava RootsArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value
ChickpeasExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Cocoa BeansArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Cotton LintProduction, Beginning stocks, Ending stocks, Exports, Imports, Index value, Export value, Import value
CottonseedProduction, Beginning stocks, Domestic use, Ending stocks, Exports, Imports, Index value, Export value, Import value
CowpeasArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value
CucumbersImports, Import value
DatesExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Dried ChilliesArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Dried Tobacco LeafArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Dry BeansExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Dry Bulb OnionsArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Dry PeasExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
FlaxseedImports, Import value
Fresh ApplesImports, Import value
Fresh BlueberriesImports, Import value
Fresh OrangesExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Fresh PineapplesArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Fresh StrawberriesImports, Import value
Fresh SweetcornArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Fresh TomatoesArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Green CoffeeArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
GroundnutsArea harvested, Production, Yield, Beginning stocks, Domestic use, Ending stocks, Exports, Imports, Index value, Export value, Import value
Head CabbageExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Hen EggsProduction, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Jute FibreExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
LentilsExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Maize GrainArea harvested, Production, Yield, Beginning stocks, Domestic use, Ending stocks, Exports, Feed use, Imports, Index value, Export value, Import value
Milled RiceBeginning stocks, Domestic use, Ending stocks, Imports, Exports, Export value, Import value
Millet GrainArea harvested, Production, Yield, Domestic use, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Oat GrainExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Pigeon PeasExports, Export value
PistachiosExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Raw Cow MilkProduction, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Rice PaddyArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Sesame SeedArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Sorghum GrainArea harvested, Production, Yield, Beginning stocks, Domestic use, Ending stocks, Exports, Feed use, Imports, Index value, Export value, Import value
SoybeansArea harvested, Production, Yield, Beginning stocks, Domestic use, Ending stocks, Exports, Imports, Index value, Export value, Import value
SugarcaneArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value
Sunflower SeedExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Sweet PotatoesArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Tea LeafExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Vanilla BeansExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Ware PotatoesArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Wheat GrainArea harvested, Production, Yield, Beginning stocks, Domestic use, Ending stocks, Exports, Feed use, Imports, Index value, Export value, Import value
YamsArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value

How these figures are recorded

Cereal yield over time

201320192024
Nigeria — Cereal yield (kg per hectare). Bars start at zero.
Show data table
Nigeria — Cereal yield in kg per hectare by year
Yearkg per hectare
20131,297.3
20141,555.4
20151,527.1
20161,596.9
20171,506.1
20181,549.3
20191,629.7
20201,619.9
20211,621.9
20221,659.5
20231,548.6
20241,558

Source: World Bank Open Data (World Development Indicators) (opens in a new tab) · dataset version 2026-07-01 · retrieved 2026-07-12

Derived indicator

Arable land as a share of agricultural land: 53.1 % of agricultural land (2023)

Derived value — formula arable-share-of-agricultural-land v1.0.0 (calc v1). Inputs: AG.LND.ARBL.ZS (40.5) ÷ AG.LND.AGRI.ZS (76.2). A derived ratio, not an observed statistic. Sensitive to rounding and to differing revision cycles of the two source series; omit rather than extrapolate when a common year is unavailable.

Documented crops & livestock

Agricultural institutions

  • Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN) — Coordinates and supervises the national agricultural research system.
  • International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) — CGIAR centre headquartered in Ibadan, working on roots and tubers, legumes and maize.
  • National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) — National institute at Umudike mandated for cassava, yam and other root and tuber crops.

Agricultural authorities

Official public bodies verified against government sources. AgricultureID is independent and not affiliated with them.

All agricultural authorities

Data coverage & limitations

Covered by the World Bank WDI snapshots for land, production, yield, economy, inputs, and environment indicators.

What AgricultureID has indexed for Nigeria
LayerStatusWhat is held
Agricultural authoritiesCovered1 record
Official registriesNot yet indexed—
Compliance requirementsNot yet indexed—
Support programmesNot yet indexed—
Biosecurity listingsNot yet indexed—
Variety registrationsNot yet indexed—
Input authorisationsNot yet indexed—
Extension resourcesNot yet indexed—
Market statisticsCovered327 records
Soil survey observationsNot yet indexed—
Border requirementsNot yet indexed—
Farm economics figuresNot yet indexed—
Climate, drought and water valuesCovered29 records

This page describes what AgricultureID has indexed, not what exists. A layer shown as not yet indexed means nobody has looked, and never that the thing is absent in that country. How coverage is worked out.

  • Statistics are dated, versioned and periodically revised as new surveys and censuses are released.
  • National definitions differ, and the very large informal smallholder sector makes official production figures uncertain.
  • Production estimates carry wide uncertainty given the scale of informal, dispersed smallholder farming.
  • Output is rainfed and therefore sensitive to both drought and flooding.

Sources

This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.

  1. [1]World Bank Open Data — World Development Indicators (opens in a new tab)

    World Bank

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Agricultural statistics (WDI)

    Type:
    Intergovernmental organization
    Jurisdiction:
    Global
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  2. [2]FAO — Food and Agriculture Organization (opens in a new tab)

    Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Production, land use and food-balance context

    Type:
    Intergovernmental organization
    Jurisdiction:
    Global
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12