Overseas direct funding into the agricultural sector surged to its highest in 4 years, owing to ballooned investments within the livestock subsector.
Overseas direct funding into the meals sector rose by over 1,000 % to $24.25 million (N3.7 trillion) within the first quarter of 2025 from $1.76 million (N268.6 billion) within the corresponding quarter of 2022, in response to a BusinessDay’s evaluation of the Capital Importation Knowledge.
Specialists say the expansion alerts the large potential of the agric sector and the increase in traders’ confidence regardless of worsening insecurity.
Findings by BusinessDay present that the livestock subsector — a element of the agricultural sector — obtained a number of worldwide investments in Q1, amounting to no less than $11.6 billion through the interval, comprising investments from JBS.
Learn additionally: Doorcas Africa uses data to help Nigerian farmers prevent livestock deaths
This Brazilian meatpacking firm poured cash into the institution of a 100,000-hectare cattle ranch in Niger and modernisation of a meat processing facility in Ogun State as a part of efforts to spice up the livestock worth chain.
“This can be a normal wake-up name to folks that there’s some huge cash to be made in agriculture,” stated Ibrahim Kabiru, president of All Farmers Affiliation of Nigeria (AFAN).
He stated, “With the rising inhabitants, Nigerians require extra meals than ever earlier than.”
Kabiru affirms that there have been a number of overseas investments within the agric sector this 12 months on the again of what he calls “a clarion name to eat what we produce and produce what we eat”, which first took impact underneath the late President Buhari via investments from the African Growth Financial institution (AfDB).
He defined that there have been a number of investments by the worldwide governments. “After which these days we all know now we have gained numerous traction in investments from Brazil and different international locations.”
Earlier than this four-year soar in overseas funding, in the identical assessment interval of 2015, agriculture attracted a meagre $2.68 million, reflecting a exceptional shift within the sector in 10 years.
Equally, on a quarter-on-quarter foundation, Q1 investments surpassed This autumn by 49 % ($16.24 million).
Ayo Teriba, chief govt officer of Lagos-based analysis agency Economics Associates, stated he believes “traders are responding to the alternatives created by the federal authorities within the sector,” noting that this opens a pathway for future traders who want to discover agriculture.
Specialists say that the rise in funding within the meals worth chain, particularly into livestock, speaks of a possible increase for the N33 trillion nationwide livestock market.
As demand for cattle meat continues to rise and farmers-herders clashes balloon, disrupting lives and farmlands, the federal authorities inaugurated the ministry of Livestock in 2024 as a method to rejuvenate the worth chain.
Learn additionally: Adamawa government approves N5b supports for livestock, grain markets
With 58 million cattle, 563 million poultry and 60 million sheep, the livestock worth chain improvement holds the important thing to bettering earnings and enhancing larger output.
In keeping with the Central Financial institution, Nigeria spends a median of $1.3 billion yearly on dairy imports, pointing to wish for speedy funding in native manufacturing.
The NBS studies that agric sector was the seventh highest contributor within the assessment interval with 0.43 % to complete capital importation of $5642.07 million.
“However we’d like extra. Folks have to eat extra. Whereas we see progress on paper, we additionally know that many extra individuals are hungry in actuality,” Kabiru (earlier talked about) stated.
