Agriculture - Intelpoint

Over one-fourth of Asia’s forests were in legally established protected areas as of 2024

Asia leads globally with 26% of its forests in legally protected areas.
The global average stands at 20%, meaning that one-fifth of all forests are under some form of legal protection.
Africa and Europe are tied at 23%, both above the global average.
South America has only 17% of its forests protected, despite being home to the Amazon rainforest.

Russia has the world's largest forest area at 832.6 Mha, accounting for a dominant 20.1% global share

Global forest cover is 4.1 Bha, according to the latest FAO assessment.
At 832.6 Mha, 20.1% of the global total, Russia has the world’s largest forest area.
Brazil (486.1 Mha; 11.7%) and Canada (368.8 Mha; 8.9%) rank second and third, respectively.
The United States (7.5%) and China (5.5%) complete the global top five.
Africa’s top contributor is the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 139.2 Mha, 3.4% of the global total.
Other African countries in the top 20 include Angola, Zambia, Tanzania, and the Central African Republic, each accounting for approximately 1% of the global forest area.
Together, the top ten countries account for over 78% of the world’s total forest area, highlighting the global concentration of forest resources.

Yams produced in Nigeria in 2023 were valued at $25.4b, the highest among major reported commodities

After yielding 61.9 million tonnes, yams were valued at $25.4 billion in 2023, the highest among reported commodities.
With 62.7 million tonnes produced, cassava generated $9.1 billion, making it the second most valuable crop.
Okra ($818/t), tomatoes ($808/t), and pineapples ($753/t) earned the highest returns per unit despite smaller volumes (1.6–3.8 million tonnes).
Maize ($3.7 b, 11.1 m t), rice ($3.1 b, 8.9 m t), sorghum ($2.3 b, 6.4 m t), cowpeas ($1.2 b, 4.3 m t), and groundnuts ($0.9 b, 4.3 m t) form the backbone of production.

Nearly one in six of Africa’s goats are in Nigeria, the continent’s leader since 1998

Africa’s goat population grew from 94 million in 1961 to 522 million in 2023 — more than a fivefold increase.
The continent’s share of the world’s goats rose from 27% in 1961 to 46% in 2023.
Nigeria leads with nearly 89 million goats in 2023, holding the top spot since 1998.
Ethiopia, Chad, Sudan, Niger, and Mali consistently rank among the largest goat producers.
Around 70% of Africa’s goats are concentrated in the top ten countries each year.

Netherlands, US, and Germany dominated cocoa imports from 1961 to 2023

Netherlands imported the most cocoa beans — 25.48 million tonnes (1961–2023)
US (21.1M) and Germany (16.8M) followed in total volume
These three countries dominated the top 5 nearly every year
Malaysia, UK, France, and Belgium also ranked high over time
USSR stayed in the top 10 despite dissolving in 1991
Global cocoa imports grew from 1M tonnes in 1961 to nearly 4M in 2023

Between 1961 and 2022, African wine production decreased by 43%, with recent years’ production levels falling below the volume in the 1960s and 1970s

Key Takeaways:

African wine production peaked in 1965 at 2.39 million tonnes, the highest level recorded during the entire period.
The most dramatic single-year drop occurred between 1965 and 1966, when production fell by 40%, from 2.39 to 1.44 million tonnes.
A gradual recovery began in the early 2000s, with production consistently exceeding 1 million tonnes from 2003 onward.
The most recent peak occurred in 2021, with production reaching 1.23 million tonnes, a 48.5% decline from the 1965 high.
Despite this partial recovery, current production levels remain well below the highs of the 1960s.
As of 2022, African wine production stood at 1.16 million tonnes, representing a 43% decrease from 1961.

Egypt produced over 10.2 million tonnes of tomatoes at its 2009 peak, topping Africa for 63 straight years

Egypt led every single year from 1961 to the most recent year — 63 years of dominance.
Egypt peaked at over 10.2 million tonnes in 2009, no other African country came close.
As of 2023, Egypt ranked 5th globally, just ahead of Italy and behind the US.
Nigeria hit its highest level in 2015, with 4.2 million tonnes.
Nigeria was the only country that got within 1.5 million tonnes of Egypt in 13 different years.
Countries like Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia remained consistent but far behind Egypt and Nigeria.
Egypt’s lead is backed by large-scale irrigation and strong export systems.
In 1987, Africa supplied 11.7% of the world’s tomatoes. But by 2023, its share dropped to 8.8%.

How Africa’s cotton production moved: Egypt’s long rule and West Africa’s rise

Egypt dominated African cotton production for decades, from the 1960s to the early 2000s, standing far ahead of other African countries in both volume and quality.
The early 2000s marked a major turning point, as West African countries — especially Burkina Faso and Mali — began to overtake Egypt in total production.
Burkina Faso emerged as the new cotton leader between 2005 and 2015, topping production in key years like 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2012–2015, and later reclaiming the top spot in 2020 and 2022.
Mali built its cotton strength after 2015, becoming Africa’s number one producer multiple times, peaking at over 334,000 tonnes in 2019.
Benin and Côte d’Ivoire quietly closed the gap throughout the 2010s, consistently ranking in the top three, even though they didn’t dominate the number one spot.

13 northern states, including the FCT, produced a combined 56% of the nation's corn output on average in 2 years

Key Takeaways:

Kaduna led national corn production on average, contributing 8% of total output, between 450,000 and 947,000 metric tons.
Niger, Gombe, Borno, Plateau, and Taraba followed closely, each accounting for 5–6% of the total output on average.
Corn production is heavily concentrated in the North-Central and North-East regions.
Kaduna and Niger together accounted for 14% of Nigeria’s corn output on average.
The top 10 corn-producing states, all located in northern Nigeria, on average contributed 47% of the national total.
Southern states such as Osun and Ondo contributed modest but notable shares, each representing 3% of national production on average.

India has led global cashew production for 35 of the past 62 years

Nigeria held the top spot in global cashew production from 2001 to 2010. This highlights a period of strong agricultural output, though the country has since been overtaken by India and Côte d'Ivoire. In recent years, Côte d'Ivoire has emerged as the world’s leading cashew producer, holding the top spot for three consecutive years as of 2022. This shift highlights the country's growing role in global cashew production. India and Mozambique once dominated global production, with India leading for 35 of the past 62 years.

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