The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has disclosed that the agriculture sector measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 18.58 per cent year-on-year in nominal terms in the fourth quarter of 2018.
The bureau said four activities of crop production, livestock, forestry and fishing make up the agriculture sector.
The NBS disclosed this in its “GDP Report for the Fourth and Full Year 2018’’ posted on its website.
The report said the 18.58 per cent growth showed an increase of 8.45 per cent points from the same quarter of 2017, and 0.26 per cent points increase from third quarter, 2018.
According to the report, crop production remains the major driver of the sector, accounting for 89.84 per cent of nominal agriculture GDP.
On an annual basis, agriculture GDP grew by 14.27 per cent, higher than 11.29 per cent recorded in 2017.
The sector contributed 23.08 per cent to nominal GDP in fourth quarter, 2018 which was higher than its contribution in the preceding quarter (21.93 per cent) but lower than it was in third quarter, 2018 (25.52 per cent ).
On an annual basis, the sector contributed 21.42 per cent to nominal GDP in 2018.
In real terms, the agricultural sector grew by 2.46 per cent (year-on-year), a decrease by –1.78 per cent points from the corresponding period of 2017, but an increase of 0.55 per cent points from the preceding quarter.
The report said that annual 2018 growth was 2.12 per cent, which was lower than the 3.45 per cent recorded in 2017.
The sector contributed 26.15 per cent to overall GDP in real terms during the further quarter, slightly higher than the contribution in the fourth quarter of 2017 (26.13 per cent ), but lower than the third quarter of 2018 (29.25 per cent).
Agriculture sector contribution to real GDP in 2018 was recorded at 25.13 per cent, up from 25.08 per cent in 2017.
