The economy of the Katsina State is basically agrarian with a cultivable 2.4 million hectares of land out of which 1.6million is under cultivation, leaving land area of 800,000 hectares, equivalent to one third of the total cultivable land available for investment in the crop production sector.
Katsina also has over 61 water bodies suitable for irrigation farming with a capacity of 1121CU.m.
The major water bodies with a combined water surface area of 558Cum are located at Sabke, Jibia, and Gwaigwaye.
Farming and rearing of animals constitute the means of livelihoods of about 80% of the population of the state.
The state is a major collection centre for cash crops such as cotton, groundnuts and food crops such as maize, guinea corn, millet, and vegetables.
The range of livestock in the state is cattle, sheep, goat and poultry.
These provides huge opportunities for setting up of large scale agro-allied industries such as sugar processing, rice milling, oil and flour milling, textiles, dairy production, confectioneries, meat processing, tannery, and poultry production, etc.
Katsina has the following ranking in agricultural production and in other business spaces in Nigeria, as at 2023:
The largest producer of cotton;
The second largest producer of sorghum;
Produces 13% of Nigeria’s sugarcane, placing it in second place in Nigeria;
The World Bank ranked the State 7th in ease of doing business ahead of Lagos, Kano, Rivers and Cross Rivers;
The State ranks 12th in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) development and growth;
The State was ranked 17th in Gross State Product with average per capita of $6,022; and
