Agriculture and exports key to Nigeria's diversification, FirstBank CEO says

Agriculture and exports remain critical to Nigeria's economic diversification drive, FirstBank Group Chief Executive Officer Olusegun Alebiosu said in Lagos. He spoke at the fifth FirstBank Agric & Export Expo 2026, held on August 16 and 17 under the theme "From Farm to Global Markets: Building Nigeria's Export Value Chain."

The two-day expo brought producers, processors, exporters, financiers, policymakers and investors together to weigh opportunities and challenges across the agricultural and non-oil export value chains.

"At FirstBank, we recognise that agriculture and exports remain critical to Nigeria's economic diversification agenda. They hold tremendous potential for strengthening sustainable economic growth," Alebiosu said.

He said the expo had grown from an awareness and engagement initiative into a platform connecting players across the ecosystem. "Our objective is not only to showcase opportunities within agriculture and exports but also to facilitate the connections, partnerships, financing solutions, market access opportunities, and knowledge exchange required to transform ideas into thriving enterprises," he said, adding that stronger collaboration among stakeholders would be needed to turn opportunities into tangible economic outcomes.

Trade finance deal signed

FirstBank signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NEXIM Bank and Sapphital Limited to expand trade finance, strengthen value-chain collaboration and support non-oil exports. The agreement was signed by Alebiosu, NEXIM Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Abubakar Abba Bello, and Sapphital Executive Director, Finance and Strategy, Chinedu Ogbeide.

Governors push value addition

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems Abisola Olusanya, called for more efficient value chains to move Nigeria from exporting raw commodities to value-added products. He said Lagos is investing in infrastructure, cold-chain logistics, storage and agro-industrial development, citing the Imota Rice Mill's production of more than 500,000 bags of Eko Rice in one year.

Niger State Governor Mohammed Bago said Nigeria imported more than $3 billion worth of food in 2026 and could reach $4 billion before year-end, stressing the need to strengthen domestic production. He cited a $100 million Saudi-backed irrigation facility in Niger State and plans for export-oriented greenhouses, while calling for more investment in agricultural research and local seed production.

Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa said the state is moving beyond primary production into processing, packaging, traceability and exports, including through the distribution of more than two million cocoa seedlings. He said Ondo has set up a committee to support compliance with the European Union Deforestation Regulation and improve traceability in its cocoa value chain.

Brazil's Consul General in Lagos, Ronaldo Vieira, said collaboration among government, the private sector, research institutions, universities, producers and financial institutions supported Brazil's agricultural development.

Fertiliser use and yields lag

Participants identified low fertiliser use, limited irrigation, poor infrastructure and inadequate financing as major constraints. Vishwajit Sinha, Chief Executive Officer of Greenview Fertiliser Corporation, said fertiliser use in Nigeria stands at about 15kg per hectare, below the 50kg per hectare ECOWAS target. Yields for maize, rice, sorghum, cassava and yam remain at about 20% to 25% of comparable global levels, he said, while poor roads, storage and logistics contribute to post-harvest losses of 40% to 50%. About 78% of farmers are financially included, but only around 2% of total agricultural loans reach farms.

Agboola Zubayr Belgore, Managing Director of Amo Byng Nigeria Limited, said Nigeria produces about 1 million to 1.3 million tonnes of soybeans a year against demand of roughly 2 million tonnes. He warned that rising demand for Nigeria's non-GMO soybeans in export markets could push prices higher for domestic livestock feed producers.

The export numbers

Nigeria's non-oil exports rose to N3.19 trillion in the first quarter of 2026, according to National Bureau of Statistics data. That is up 1.31% from N3.15 trillion in Q4 2025 and 0.60% from N3.17 trillion in Q1 2025. Total non-oil exports stood at N12.36 trillion in 2025 and accounted for about 15.05% of total exports in Q1 2026.

Leading Q1 non-oil exports were sesamum seeds at N153.78 billion, soya beans at N129.27 billion and cashew nuts at N119.76 billion. Photovoltaic products generated N85.79 billion, while electrical products accounted for N75.16 billion. In Q2 2026, the top 10 agricultural export products generated N747.54 billion, led by cashew nuts in shell at N268.62 billion, standard quality cocoa beans at N154.31 billion and sesamum seeds at N96.03 billion.

For Nigerian businesses, the message from the expo is that the earnings are already there in cashew, cocoa, sesame and soy, but financing still barely reaches the farm gate at 2% of agricultural loans. Until irrigation, fertiliser and storage improve, much of the value will keep leaving as raw commodities.