Former Abia State Commissioner for Finance and Director of the Agribusiness Incubation Centre at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Dr. Philips Nto, has described Nigeria’s recently announced 3% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate as disappointing and far below expectations, given the country’s vast economic and agricultural potential.
Reacting to the rebased GDP figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which put Nigeria’s GDP at ₦205 trillion (approximately $250 billion), Dr. Nto stated that the new valuation represents a significant decline from the country’s 2014 GDP figure of $574 billion.
“Compared to South Africa and Egypt, whose economies are each valued at over $380 billion, Nigeria’s $250 billion GDP is a serious concern,” he stated.
Dr. Nto noted that a country endowed with over 70 million hectares of arable land, abundant water resources for irrigation, and a population exceeding 230 million should be experiencing much stronger economic growth. He emphasized that the current 3% growth rate is not reflective of the country’s true potential.
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He attributed the underwhelming performance to the federal government’s continued neglect of value addition in agriculture and inefficiencies in post-harvest management. According to him, Nigeria loses over $30 billion annually due to poor post-harvest handling, which significantly affects overall economic output.
“The modest GDP growth being celebrated is largely driven by the services and non-oil sectors, while agriculture recorded only a 0.7% increase. That is unacceptable for a nation with our agricultural capacity,” Nto said.
He added that with the right policies and investment in agricultural value chains, Nigeria could have surpassed South Africa by now and reclaimed its place as Africa’s largest economy.
Dr. Nto called on both the federal and state governments to urgently prioritize strategic investments in agriculture, especially in value addition and infrastructure, as a sustainable pathway to national economic growth and stability.