Agricultural Commodity Export and Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product Between 2009 to 2018

Abstract

Agricultural exports have undoubtedly played a crucial role in boosting Nigerian economic growth and other sub-Saharan countries. It has been contributing to foreign-exchange earnings in Nigeria and is used to promote other capital projects. Agriculture has been the main contributor to the Nigerian external sector before the discovery of oil. This study evaluates the linkage between selected agricultural commodity export and Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) between 2009 and 2018. The work is quantitative, it adopts a descriptive research design where data on Sesame Seed Export (SSX), Cashew Export (CAX), Cocoa Beans Export (CBX), Exchange Rate (ER), Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF), Real Gross Domestic Product (RGDP) and Agricultural Commodity Export (AGEX) were sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin and the United Nations’ Commercial Trade Statistics. It employed descriptive statistics, the Ordinary Least Square method of Regression analysis and the Granger Causality test with the aid of Econometric Views (EVIEWS) software version 10.0. The findings revealed that there is no Granger causality between Agricultural Commodity Exports and Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product. It also found that Sesame Seeds Export has a significant effect on Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product within the period under study and Raw Cocoa Beans Export has a significant effect on Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product. It also revealed that there is no relationship between Agricultural Commodity Export and Gross Fixed Capital Formation in Nigeria. The study, therefore, recommends that the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture should support the participation of the private sector in the agricultural industry to increase total output, and also look beyond the production for national use to increase the exportation of the produce.