Cassava and yam were Nigeria’s dominant root crops in global production

In 2022, Nigeria led global production of root crops like yam, cassava, and taro, alongside nuts such as kola and karite, as well as grains like sorghum, with 61.2 million tonnes of yam and 60.8 million tonnes of cassava.

Source:

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Period:

2022
HTML code to embed chart
Want a bespoke report?
Reach out
Tags
Related Insights

More chickens are killed for meat than any other animal in Nigeria
  • In 2023, over 324 million chickens were slaughtered in Nigeria, making them the dominant source of meat.
  • Goats and sheep followed at 28.23 million and 19.45 million, respectively, but their slaughter numbers were far lower than poultry.
  • Pigs accounted for 8.11 million slaughters, while cows were the least slaughtered at 3.32 million, likely due to their higher economic value.
  • The disparity in slaughter numbers highlights Nigeria's preference for poultry over red meat, aligning with global trends in cost-effective protein consumption.

Top ten African countries by arable land in hectares as of 2024
  • Nigeria leads Africa in total arable land with 36,872,000 hectares, more than twice that of Niger, the second-ranking country.
  • Niger ranks second with 17,700,000 hectares.
  • The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) ranks third with 13,680,000 hectares, revealing the role of Central Africa in agricultural land availability.
  • Other notable countries include Chad (5.3M hectares), Zambia (3.8M hectares), and Guinea (3.1M hectares).
  • The countries at the bottom of the top ten list, such as Congo (550,000 hectares), Liberia (500,000 hectares), and Mauritania (450,000 hectares), have relatively limited arable land compared to leading nations.

Between 2019 and 2022, DR Congo saw the largest forest loss, with its forest area shrinking from 1,272,566 km² to 1,239,524 km²
  • DR Congo holds the largest forest area in Africa, but it declined by nearly 33,000 km² from 2019 to 2022.
  • Angola lost over 16,000 km² of forest, decreasing from 671,624 km² to 654,972 km².
  • Tanzania, Zambia, and Mozambique forests recorded declines, though at different rates.
  • Mozambique has the smallest forest area among the top countries, standing at 362,673 km² in 2022.

Nigeria Leads in Forest Area but Faces Decline, While Ghana Sees Growth from 2019 to 2022
  • Nigeria remains the largest forest owner in West Africa, despite a steady decline in forest area from 217,902.5 km² in 2019 to 213,003.5 km² in 2022.
  • Ghana is the only top forest-owning country with increasing forest area, growing from 79,784.8 km² in 2019 to 80,001.6 km² in 2022.
  • Liberia, Senegal, and Burkina Faso all experienced gradual declines in forest area over the period.
  • Burkina Faso has the smallest forest area among these countries, with 61,164 km² in 2022.

Nigeria's Agriculture Sector Contributes ₦19.3 Billion to GDP in 2023
  • Nigeria’s agricultural GDP reached ₦19.3 billion in 2023, showing minimal growth.
  • From 2013 to 2023, agriculture played a key role in Nigeria’s economic growth, averaging 24.43% of the total annual GDP.
  • Agriculture's share in the total GDP in 2020 (25.90%) dropped to 24.76% in 2023.
  • Post-pandemic recovery in the agricultural sector has been robust, with consistent growth from ₦18.3 billion in 2020 to ₦19.3 billion in 2023.
  • Agriculture remains a critical driver of Nigeria’s economy, ensuring food security and supporting livelihoods across the country.

South Africa and three others dominated Africa's apple production in 2022, accounting for a combined 96%
Many African countries can't grow apples naturally due to unfavourable climate and the required chilling hours. Despite this, Africa's share of global apple output has grown from 0.66% (1962) to nearly 4% in 2022, averaging 2.3% over 60+ years. South Africa has been the biggest contributor, but Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria also play key roles, with the top four countries making up 96% of Africa's total production in 2022. Since 1961, South Africa has led Africa in apple production, consistently topping the charts.

POPULAR TOPICS
SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
Get periodic updates about the African startup space, access to our reports, among others.
Subscribe Here
Subscription Form

A product of Techpoint Africa. All rights reserved