The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Mohammad Abubakar, yesterday, expressed excitement over the performance of the agricultural sector in the second quarter of 2022.
Abubakar stated this at the opening ceremony of the 45th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Agriculture and Rural Development, NCARD, with the theme ‘Strengthening Agricultural Value Chain Development Process For Food Security and Economic Development’.
According to him, agricultural sector topped the chart in a report released by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, which the sector was ranked ahead of oil and gas, telecommunication, finance, trade, manufacturing and real estate, and insurance.
He also said agriculture was among seven sectors that contributed to the economy in the second quarter of 2022.
The Minister said that Agriculture alone contributed 23.3 per cent to Gross Domestic Product, GDP, (Half Year 2022), which supports positive trend of previous years’ performance of 25.88 per cent (2021), 26.21 per cent (2020), 25.16 per cent (2019), 25.13 per cent (2018), 25.08 per cent (2017), 24.45 per cent (2016), and 23.11 per cent (2015).
He maintained that the report by NBS is a reflection of the effort in implementation of programmes and projects in the agricultural sector despite the insecurity, and other challenges in the country.
He said: “Agriculture is a key sector in the country as it is not only feeding millions of people but also contributes towards the overall development of the economy.
“The Agriculture alone contributed 23.3 per cent to Gross Domestic Product (Half Year 2022), which supports positive trend of previous years’ performance of 25.88 per cent (2021), 26.21 per cent (2020), 25.16 per cent (2019), 25.13 per cent (2018), 25.08 per cent (2017), 24.45 per cent (2016), and 23.11 per cent (2015).
“The report by NBS is a reflection of the effort in implementation of programmes and projects in the agricultural sector despite the insecurity, and other challenges in the country.
“It has been consistently prioritized by successive Administrations towards ensuring food security and attaining national development plans.
“Our task at this meeting is to review and even consolidate the previous resolutions of the Council, so as to provide further guidance on the future directions for the sector and make the desired impact on the economy as a whole.”
Meanwhile, the Minister disclosed that the federal government has approved an intervention fund for the completion of 10 large scale rice mills in 10 States.
“The Mills are located in Jigawa, Kano, Adamawa, Niger, Kaduna, Gombe, Ekiti, Ogun, Bayelsa and Federal Capita Territory, FCT”, he said.
