The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has said agriculture’s contribution to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP, leaped marginally from 23.86 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2014 to 24.18 percent,
The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, made this known during the Nigerian agricultural finance conference with the theme: “Catalyzing the diversification of Nigerian economy through effective agricultural finance.”
Emefiele said the sector was larger than manufacturing and oil sectors combined, adding that it grew from 6.28 per cent to 9.50 in the same year.
The Apex Bank Boss who was represented by the CBN Deputy Governor, Corporate Services, CBN, Adebayo Adelabu, also indicated that over 70 per cent of informal sector jobs created in the economy were related to rural agriculture.
He noted that the CBN’s pro-agricultural policies were geared towards reducing the over N630 annual import bills on foodstuffs and deepening agriculture contribution to GDP and reduce the unemployment rate of 9.9 percent.
