The Nigeria agricultural sector has seen its 2020 first-quarter growth rate slowed to 2.2%, an indication that the coronavirus pandemic has affected activities in the sector, data from the country’s GDP report states.
On a year-on-year basis, growth in the sector declined by 0.97 percentage points from 3.17 percent in the first quarter of 2019 to 2.2 percent in the same quarter in 2020.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the sector also declined by 0.11percentage points from 2.31percent in the preceding quarter in the fourth quarter of 2019 to 2.2 in the first quarter of 2020.
The sector’s overall contribution to the country’s GDP in real terms for the period stood at 21.9percent in the first quarter of 2020, slightly higher than its contribution of 21.8percent in the first quarter of 2019.
Quarterly, it declined from 26.09percent recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019.
The agric sector has been largely affected by the disruptions in the food supply systems as Nigeria introduces lockdown and restriction of movement measures to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country.
Key stakeholders across the agricultural value chains have been badly affected from crop production to livestock, and fish.
Farmers have recorded high volumes of post-harvest losses as trucks conveying agric produce from farms to the markets are being delayed at numerous checkpoints as well as extorted by security operatives at these checkpoints.
“There is currently low demand for eggs and birds due to the lockdown and restriction of movement policy across the country,” said Ezekiel Ibrahim, national president, Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) in a telephone response to questions.
“The lockdown has affected businesses such as hotels, restaurants, and eateries that are major buyers of eggs and birds to shut-down or operate skeletal services,” Ibrahim said.
He stated that the situation has forced poultry farmers to sell their products below their production cost owing to the short-shelf life of eggs.
