It was Soil before Oil!
Farmers paved the way for the Oil & Gas industry 🛢️
Nigeria is often called the giant of Africa owing to its large population and fast-growing economy. Nigeria’s economy is currently the largest in Africa, and 27th in the world by nominal GDP. Nigeria has the largest population in Africa with about 206 million and rising, a population that is largely diverse with more than 250 ethnic groups speaking over 500 distinct languages.
The Gross Domestic Product in Nigeria was worth 432.30 billion dollars in 2020, according to the official data from the World Bank. This GDP represents 0.38 percent of the world’s economy with oil being the main export. In 2019, total exports relative to crude oil accounted for 76.5% of Nigeria’s total export earnings, however, it was not always so.
Before the discovery of crude oil, the agricultural sector accounted for an average of 57.0% of GDP and generated 64.5% of export earnings. Amazing right! Though that was before 1970 when Nigeria was completely food-sufficient.
Many people have heard stories about the groundnut pyramids, they were actual bags of groundnut stacked up in pyramid-like structures. The sights of the groundnut pyramids in northern Nigeria were hard to miss traveling past cities such as Kano, they represented a key part of the economy acting as a symbol of wealth. Today, the pyramids are stories just like this one.
Cocoa was also a top foreign exchange earner in Nigeria. Before 1970, Nigeria was the second-largest producer in the world and was well recognized, providing 18% of the world’s cocoa. However, Nigeria’s share of the world output declined rapidly. In 2010, cocoa production only accounted for 0.3% of the agricultural GDP.
Nigeria also used to produce 65% of Africa’s tomatoes. The Growth and Employment in States (GEMS4), has said that Nigeria remained the largest importer of tomatoes with over $360 million import annually. Nigeria also ranks as the 13th largest importer of tomato paste globally. Nigeria dominated in exports such as rubber, cotton, tobacco, to name but a few, but they have not been what they were before the discovery of oil.
There is no doubt that the discovery of oil has contributed greatly to export and revenue generation which has been used to develop the nation thus far, but it has also led to neglect of other sectors of the Nigerian economy like agriculture which would have positively impacted the economy. The recent fall in crude oil prices has put the economy at high risk which in turn has triggered conversations around agriculture, as well as economic diversification.
It is apparent that Nigeria was hit by the Dutch disease, the revenue generated from oil was not used to strengthen the agricultural sector enough. The land used for agriculture has increased in the past few years, but Nigeria still remains a net importer of food.
There is a pressing need to revisit the agricultural sector, Nigeria needs larger mechanized farms to produce more, as well as a good supply chain network. Nigeria focuses mostly on food production neglecting the challenges of processing, manufacturing, and transportation which have a great impact on the agricultural value chain. Challenges like this cause opposing impacts such as food waste and hunger to exist at the same time.
Nigeria has good soil and a favorable climate all year round. With the right focus, teamwork, and support, agriculture can thrive like it used to. Let’s hear from you in the comments. We can make Nigeria great again.
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References:
https://www.agriculturenigeria.com/
https://www.ifad.org/en/web/operations/w/country/nigeria
https://www.pwc.com/ng/en/assets/pdf/afcfta-agribusiness-current-state-nigeria-agriculture-sector.pdf
https://tribuneonlineng.com/nigeria-imports-360m-worth-tomatoes-annually/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundnut_pyramids
https://tradingeconomics.com/nigeria/gdp#:~:text=GDP%20in%20Nigeria%20averaged%20134.82,4.20%20USD%20Billion%20in%201960.
