Bank credit and sectoral growth in Nigeria: An assessment of agriculture, manufacturing and mining contributions to economic growth

Agriculture is Nigeria's largest employer of labour, accounting for about 60 per cent of the workforce, working mainly in small-holdings using basic tools. Alongside livestock farming, it provides a 3rd of gross domestic product. The first goal of agricultural financing policies in Nigeria is to determine an efficient system of sustainable agricultural financing schemes, programs and institutions which could provide micro and macro credit facilities for the small, medium and large scale producers, processors also as marketers. In light of the matter identified above, the study evaluated bank credit and sectoral growth in Nigeria: an assessment of agriculture, manufacturing, and mining contributions to economic growth. The research approach utilized in the study was Ex-post Factor research design which involved dependent and explanatory variables. Secondary data were sourced from various government offices and agencies, and formulated hypotheses were tested using ordinary least square regression. The study showed that agricultural output has both positive and significant impact on real gross domestic product while real gross domestic product, agricultural loans and rate of interest made insignificant statistical impact on economic process. The study recommended that policy makers should intensify efforts towards ensuring that Agricultural Loans obtained are judiciously, effectively and efficiently utilized to supply the economic process enablers also because the government should work to encourage private investment in agriculture and agro-allied industries by providing incentives, including tax breaks, adequate extension services, improved storage facilities and market accessibility to the dominant farming population