Yields of key staple crops in Nigeria
Nigeria: Yields of key staple crops was 1.57 tonnes per hectare in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
1.57 tonnes per hectare
Change on year
down 0.8%
World rank
102nd
of 126 countries
All-time high
3.13 tonnes per hectare
in 2021
All-time low
0.8333 tonnes per hectare
in 1990
Years of data
64
1961–2024
Yields of key staple crops in Nigeria, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes per hectare.
Analysis
The most recent figure for yields of key staple crops in Nigeria is 1.57 tonnes per hectare, measured in 2024.
The figure is down 0.8% on the previous year and up 20.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, yields of key staple crops in Nigeria peaked at 3.13 tonnes per hectare in 2021 and was at its lowest, 0.8333 tonnes per hectare, in 1990.
Nigeria ranks 102nd of 126 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Yields of key staple crops in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | tonnes per hectare | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.78 tonnes per hectare | — |
| 1962 | 1.78 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 1.78 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 1.82 tonnes per hectare | +2.3% |
| 1965 | 1.82 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 1.82 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 1.91 tonnes per hectare | +5.0% |
| 1968 | 1.82 tonnes per hectare | -4.8% |
| 1969 | 1.82 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 1.73 tonnes per hectare | -5.0% |
| 1971 | 1.74 tonnes per hectare | +0.7% |
| 1972 | 1.74 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 1.43 tonnes per hectare | -17.9% |
| 1974 | 1.5 tonnes per hectare | +5.0% |
| 1975 | 1.64 tonnes per hectare | +9.1% |
| 1976 | 1.8 tonnes per hectare | +10.0% |
| 1977 | 2 tonnes per hectare | +11.1% |
| 1978 | 2 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 2.2 tonnes per hectare | +10.0% |
| 1980 | 2.4 tonnes per hectare | +9.1% |
| 1981 | 2.6 tonnes per hectare | +8.3% |
| 1982 | 2.6 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 1.86 tonnes per hectare | -28.6% |
| 1984 | 1.69 tonnes per hectare | -9.1% |
| 1985 | 2.05 tonnes per hectare | +21.7% |
| 1986 | 1.97 tonnes per hectare | -4.1% |
| 1987 | 1.93 tonnes per hectare | -2.0% |
| 1988 | 1.25 tonnes per hectare | -35.3% |
| 1989 | 1.2 tonnes per hectare | -4.0% |
| 1990 | 0.8333 tonnes per hectare | -30.6% |
| 1991 | 1.2 tonnes per hectare | +44.0% |
| 1992 | 1.33 tonnes per hectare | +11.1% |
| 1993 | 2.33 tonnes per hectare | +74.6% |
| 1994 | 2.35 tonnes per hectare | +0.8% |
| 1995 | 2.18 tonnes per hectare | -7.1% |
| 1996 | 2.04 tonnes per hectare | -6.3% |
| 1997 | 2.64 tonnes per hectare | +29.2% |
| 1998 | 2 tonnes per hectare | -24.2% |
| 1999 | 2.01 tonnes per hectare | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 1.4 tonnes per hectare | -30.2% |
| 2001 | 0.9808 tonnes per hectare | -30.1% |
| 2002 | 0.9818 tonnes per hectare | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 1.04 tonnes per hectare | +5.5% |
| 2004 | 1.07 tonnes per hectare | +3.2% |
| 2005 | 1.1 tonnes per hectare | +2.9% |
| 2006 | 1.13 tonnes per hectare | +2.5% |
| 2007 | 1.69 tonnes per hectare | +50.2% |
| 2008 | 1.66 tonnes per hectare | -2.1% |
| 2009 | 1.67 tonnes per hectare | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 1.48 tonnes per hectare | -10.9% |
| 2011 | 1.28 tonnes per hectare | -13.8% |
| 2012 | 1.02 tonnes per hectare | -20.3% |
| 2013 | 1 tonnes per hectare | -1.9% |
| 2014 | 1.3 tonnes per hectare | +30.4% |
| 2015 | 1 tonnes per hectare | -23.3% |
| 2016 | 1 tonnes per hectare | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 1.68 tonnes per hectare | +67.8% |
| 2018 | 1.71 tonnes per hectare | +2.2% |
| 2019 | 1.68 tonnes per hectare | -1.8% |
| 2020 | 1.1 tonnes per hectare | -34.6% |
| 2021 | 3.13 tonnes per hectare | +184.1% |
| 2022 | 2.18 tonnes per hectare | -30.2% |
| 2023 | 1.59 tonnes per hectare | -27.3% |
| 2024 | 1.57 tonnes per hectare | -0.8% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 1.57 tonnes per hectare is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.67 tonnes per hectare, 59% of the median. (28 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 1.57 tonnes per hectare is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.67 tonnes per hectare, 94% of the median. (27 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Yields of key staple crops in Nigeria changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | +184.1% | 1.1 tonnes per hectare | 3.13 tonnes per hectare |
| 1993 | +74.6% | 1.33 tonnes per hectare | 2.33 tonnes per hectare |
| 2017 | +67.8% | 1 tonnes per hectare | 1.68 tonnes per hectare |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.81 tonnes per hectare | 1.78 tonnes per hectare | 1.91 tonnes per hectare | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.78 tonnes per hectare | 1.43 tonnes per hectare | 2.2 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.95 tonnes per hectare | 1.2 tonnes per hectare | 2.6 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.89 tonnes per hectare | 0.8333 tonnes per hectare | 2.64 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.27 tonnes per hectare | 0.9808 tonnes per hectare | 1.69 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.32 tonnes per hectare | 1 tonnes per hectare | 1.71 tonnes per hectare | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.91 tonnes per hectare | 1.1 tonnes per hectare | 3.13 tonnes per hectare | 5 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More agriculture & rural data for Nigeria
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 2.38 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2298 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 281.32 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.1218 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3622 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 23.0% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 23.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.4% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.6% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is yields of key staple crops in Nigeria?
- Yields of key staple crops in Nigeria was 1.57 tonnes per hectare in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest yields of key staple crops recorded in Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 3.13 tonnes per hectare in 2021.
- What is the lowest yields of key staple crops recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8333 tonnes per hectare in 1990.
- How does Nigeria rank for yields of key staple crops?
- Nigeria ranks 102nd out of 126 countries with data for 2024.
- Is yields of key staple crops rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nigeria data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Yields of key staple crops. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Yield is the amount produced per unit of land used, measured in tonnes per hectare.