This study investigates the role of agriculture in poverty reduction in Nigeria from 1998 to 2024 using an Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach. The research specifically assesses the long-run and short-run effects of agricultural productivity, credit access, and value-chain development on poverty reduction employing an Autoregressive Distributed Lag bounds testing approach to co-integration. Gross Domestic Product per capita is used as a robust proxy for poverty reduction. The findings confirm a stable long-run relationship among the variables. The results reveal that agricultural productivity, agricultural credit, and manufacturing output have a statistically significant and positive impact on poverty reduction in the long run. Conversely, government expenditure on agriculture and road infrastructure were found to be statistically insignificant, suggesting issues with the efficiency, targeting, or level of this spending. The Error Correction Model indicates a slow adjustment speed of 0.54% from short-run disequilibrium to long-run stability. The study concludes that enhancing agricultural productivity, expanding inclusive financing for farmers, and promoting agro-industrialization is crucial for poverty alleviation. It recommends that policy should not only focus on increasing budgetary allocations but, more critically, on ensuring the strategic efficiency and impact of public expenditure in the agricultural sector.

JEL Classification: O13, I32

Keywords: Agriculture; Role; Poverty Reduction; Nigeria; Perspective