Foreign direct investment (FDI) into Nigeria’s agricultural sector has surged to its highest level in four years, primarily driven by significant inflows into the livestock subsector.
FDI into the food sector rose by over 1,000 percent to $24.25 million (₦3.7 trillion) in the first quarter of 2025, compared to $1.76 million (₦268.6 billion) in the same period in 2022..
Analysts say the surge underscores the sector’s vast potential and reflects rising investor confidence despite ongoing security challenges.
Findings show that the livestock subsector received several major international investments, totalling at least $11.6 billion. Among the biggest contributors is JBS, a Brazilian meatpacking giant, which invested in a 100,000-hectare cattle ranch in Niger State and the modernisation of a meat processing facility in Ogun State. These projects are part of wider efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s livestock value chain.
“This is a general wake-up call to people that there is a lot of money to be made in agriculture,” said Ibrahim Kabiru, President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN). “With the growing population, Nigerians require more food than ever.”
Kabiru highlighted that foreign agricultural investments have grown significantly this year, citing strong backing from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and increased interest from countries such as Brazil.
Before this recent leap, agriculture attracted just $2.68 million in foreign investment during the same quarter of 2015, a clear sign of the sector’s transformation over the past decade.
Quarter-on-quarter, Q1 2025 investments were up 49 percent compared to Q4 2024’s $16.24 million.
Ayo Teriba, CEO of Lagos-based Economics Associates, believes investors are responding to opportunities created by government policies. “This opens a pathway for future investors who want to explore agriculture,” he said.
Experts say rising investment in the livestock and food value chains could fuel a boom in Nigeria’s ₦33 trillion national livestock market. The federal government established the Ministry of Livestock in 2024 to revitalise the value chain to address persistent farmers-herders clashes and rising meat demand.
Nigeria is home to 58 million cattle, 563 million poultry, and 60 million sheep, yet, according to the Central Bank, it still spends an average of $1.3 billion annually on dairy imports. Stakeholders say this signals an urgent need for greater domestic production.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reports that agriculture was the seventh-largest contributor to total capital importation in Q1 2025, accounting for 0.43 percent of the total $5,642.07 million.
Kabiru, however, cautioned that while growth on paper is promising, food insecurity persists: “We need more. People need to eat more. Many are still hungry in reality.”
Source: Business Day
