The Federal government of Nigeria has inked a Memorandum of Understanding with Poland on Agriculture to strengthen collaboration between both countries in the sector.
President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) and his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda inked the deal and both agreed it was necessary in the light of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and the consequent food crisis.
Describing Russia’s aggression as “unjustified” Duda noted that his country is supporting affected states and its partner countries to boost agricultural yield. In the energy dimension, he noted that Nigeria, being rich in gas, will ensure a steady increase of supply to Poland and the rest of the European Union.
Agriculture sector in Nigeria
“I hope we’re going to see some fruit in this memorandum we have signed,” he said.
On his part, Buhari thanked the Polish Government for opening its arms to Nigerian students whose studies were truncated by the Russia-Ukraine crisis; offering them opportunities for continued education.
Agriculture is broadly divided into four sectors in Nigeria–crop production, fishing, livestock and forestry. Crop production remains the largest segment and it accounts for about 87.6% of the sector’s total output. This is followed by livestock, fishing and forestry at 8.1%, 3.2% and 1.1% respectively. Agriculture remains the largest sector in Nigeria contributing an average of 24% to the nation’s GDP over the past seven years (2013 – 2019). In addition, the sector employs more than 36% of the country’s labour force, a feat which ranks the sector as the largest employer of labour in the country.
