Agric sector records 3.15% growth in GDP to 11.87trn
Agricultural Sector Reports 3.15% GDP Growth in Q1 2026
By Cynthia Alo
The agricultural sector, which includes crop production, livestock, forestry, and fishing, recorded a 3.15% year-on-year growth in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), reaching N11.87 trillion in the first quarter of 2026. This figure is an increase from N11.51 trillion during the same period in 2025, according to a report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The report indicates that crop production continues to be the primary contributor to the sector, accounting for N8.9 trillion in Q1 2026, reflecting a 3.39% increase from N8.6 trillion in Q1 2025.
Further analysis reveals that the livestock sub-sector grew to N1.57 trillion, marking a 2.20% increase from N1.54 trillion in Q1 2025. The forestry sector experienced a growth of 4.14%, rising from N566.42 billion to N589.88 billion during the same period. Conversely, the fishing sub-sector saw a year-on-year growth of 1.72%, increasing from N779.49 billion to N792.92 billion.
In its GDP report for Q1 2026, the NBS stated, “The agricultural sector grew by 9.93% year-on-year in nominal terms, reflecting a decrease of 0.11 percentage points compared to the same quarter in 2025. However, when comparing to the preceding quarter’s growth rate of 6.82%, there was an increase of 3.11 percentage points. Crop production remains the main driver of the sector, constituting 66.76% of its overall nominal value in Q1 2026.”
The report also noted a quarter-on-quarter growth rate of -36.37% for the first quarter of 2026, with agriculture contributing 18.11% to the nominal GDP. This is lower than the contributions recorded in both the first quarter of 2025 and the fourth quarter of 2025, which stood at 19.40% and 25.67%, respectively.
In summary, the agricultural sector experienced real-term growth of 3.15% in Q1 2026, with a notable increase of 3.08 percentage points from the corresponding period in 2025, despite a decrease of 0.85 percentage points from the preceding quarter’s growth rate of 4.00%. The sector contributed 23.16% to the aggregate GDP in real terms, again lower than its contributions in the first and fourth quarters of 2025.
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