Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) recorded a lower real growth rate of 3.10 percent in 2022 on reduced productivity in the nation’s agriculture and manufacturing sectors. In 2021, the nation’s real GDP growth rate was 3.40 percent growth.

Economic performance started on a high optimism in 2022 with a real GDP growth rate of 3.11 percent at the end of the first quarter of the year, and 3.54 percent in the second quarter, while projection for the remaining half of 2022 was expected to be consistent with the first half of the year.

However, productivity slowed when the third quarter GDP growth rate fell to 2.25 percent, before managing a 3.52 percent growth at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, culminating in an annual real growth rate of 3.10 percent.

The annual productivity data by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that economic growth slowed in the agriculture sector which posted a 1.88 percent annual real growth rate in 2022, lower than 2.13 percent in 2021. Crop production sub sector, recorded a lower growth of 2.01 percent in 2022, compared with 2.27 percent in 2021. This is the sub sector where most of the productivity in the nation’s agriculture sector takes place, Also, productivity in the fishing sub sector was 0.47 percent in 2022, lower than 1.16 percent in 2021.

On the other hand, productivity in the livestock and forestry sub sectors at 0.61 percent and 1.62 percent in full year 2022, were higher than 0.58 percent and 1.43 percent in 2021. While these two subs sectors grew marginally over the corresponding period of 2021, their contributions to the nation’s agriculture sector is minute compared to crop production, explaining why growth in these subsectors failed to lift the entire agriculture sector.

Agriculture sector contributed a quarter of Nigeria’s GDP in 2022. The lower productivity in 2022 was attributed to the severe flooding that affected almost all the states in Nigeria.

“The number of people affected by widespread flooding across Nigeria has risen to over 3.2 million, with over 600 fatalities. Over 1.4 million people are displaced. Thirty-four of the country’s 36 states have been affected.

“Over 569,000 hectares of farmland have been destroyed or damaged by floods ahead of the October harvest season and may aggravate already alarming food insecurity,” relief web stated.

The manufacturing sector recorded a lower growth in 2022 compared with 2021, as some crucial subsectors witnessed lower productivity in 2022 when compared to 2021. The manufacturing sector contributed 19.02 percent of the nation’s GDP in 2022.

In terms of real growth, it recorded a real GDP growth of 2.35 percent in 2022 as against 3.35 percent in 2021. Subsector such as the cement industry grew by 5.65 percent in 2022 in contrast to 6.64 percent in 2021 just as the food and beverages sub sector grew by 3.86 percent in 2022 as against 5.73 percent in 2021.

The oil refining sub sector is still in a recession, owning practically to the nation’s three refineries that are not producing as some are undergoing repairs. Activities in this sub sector fell by 41.93 percent in full year 2022. In 2021, productivity declined by 47.94 percent.

Other manufacturing sub sectors that saw a decline in productivity include textile, apparel and footwear, -2.23 percent in 2022 compared to -1.27 percent in 2021, and the pulp, paper and paper products, -1.47 percent in 2022 versus -0.32 percent in 2021.

The manufacturing sector was rattled by consistent rate hike in 2022 as the CBN moved the benchmark interest rate, the Monetary Policy Rate(MPR) from 11.5 percent at the beginning of the year to 16.6 percent in a bid to tame inflation.

Manufacturers also contested against high volatile exchange regime where naira to dollar moved from about N450/$ in the parallel market to about N800/$ before speculations about further forex scarcity began to cool down.