Nigeria’s agricultural sector grew by 1.50 per cent in the second quarter of 2023, an increase of 2.40 per cent from the preceding quarter which contracted to 0.90 per cent, official data released yesterday shows.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) attributed the contraction suffered in Q1 to the adverse effects of the cash crunch experienced during the quarter.
The crunch eased out after the CBN’s directive on March 13, ratifying the Supreme Court’s ruling earlier that month, that the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes should remain legal tender till December 31, 2023.
The agriculture sector bounced back since then, recording a 6.06 percent growth between April and June, compared to the corresponding period/quarter of 2022.
Read also: How agric, industry, other sectors contributed to Nigeria’s GDP in Q2, 2023
“The agriculture sector grew by 1.50 percent, an improvement from the growth of 1.20 percent recorded in the second quarter of 2022,” the NBS said.
The sector contributed 23.01 per cent to overall GDP in real terms in Q2 2023, lower than the contribution in the second quarter of 2022 and higher than the first quarter of 2023 which stood at 23.24 per cent and 21.66 per cent respectively.
“In terms of share to the GDP, agriculture, and the industry sectors contributed less to the aggregate GDP in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the second quarter of 2022,” the report said.
The economy overall also grew in the second quarter of this year, compared to the previous quarter, growing by 2.51 per cent (year-on-year) in real terms in Q2 2023, from 2.31 per cent in Q1 2023.
