Agriculture in Nigeria
Agriculture in Nigeria is a branch of the economy in Nigeria, providing employment for about 30% of the population as of 2010.[1] The sector is being transformed by commercialization at the small, medium and large-scale enterprise levels.
Dynamics
The usage of inorganic fertilizers was promoted by Nigerian government in the 1970s. In 1990, 82 million hectares out of Nigeria's total land area of about 91 million hectares were found to be arable. 42 percent of the cultivable area was farmed. Much of this land was farmed under the bush fallow system, whereby land is left idle for a period of time to allow natural regeneration of soil fertility. 18 million hectares were classified as permanent pasture, but had the potential to support crops. Most of the 20 million hectares covered by forests and woodlands are believed to have agricultural potential.
Agricultural holdings are small and scattered, and farming is carried out with simple tools. Large-scale agriculture is not common. Agriculture contributed 32% to GDP in 2001.
Agricultural products
Major crops include beans, sesame, cashew nuts, cassava, cocoa beans, groundnuts, gum arabic, kolanut, maize(corn), melon, millet, palm kernels, palm oil, plantains, rice, rubber, sorghum, soybeans, bananas and yams.
In the past, Nigeria was famous for the export of groundnut and palm kernel oil. But over the years the rate of export of this produce has reduced. A few years back local Nigerian companies has commenced exporting groundnuts, cashew nuts, sesame seeds, moringa seeds etc. Local company such as Lantbruk Global Integrated Services Limited has paved the way for other firms to continue in elevating Nigeria agricultural system.
The country's agricultural products fall into two main groups: food crops produced for home consumption, and exports. Prior to the Nigerian civil war, the country was self-sufficient in food, but increased steeply after 1973. Bread made from American wheat replaced domestic crops as the cheapest staple food.
Cocoa
Cocoa is the leading non-oil foreign exchange earner but the dominance of smallholders and lack of farm labor due to urbanization hold back production. In 1999, Nigeria produced 145,000 tons of cocoa beans, but has the potential for over 300,000 per year. For more productivity, Nigerian Government should give more incentives to cocoa farmers
Rubber is the second-largest non-oil foreign exchange earner.
Ministry of Agriculture
The government office responsible for Agriculture development and transformation is currently the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Primarily funded by the Federal Government, the Ministry currently superintends almost fifty parastatals operating as either key departments or agencies across the country. The Ministry has 2 major departments namely Technical and Service Departments:
- Technical Departments: Agriculture (Trees and Crops), Fisheries, Livestock, Land Resources, Fertilizer, Food Reserve & Storage and Rural Development.
- Service Departments: Finance, Human Resources, Procurement, PPAS (Plan, Policy, Analysis & Statistics) and Co-operatives.
The ministry is headed by Audu Ogbeh who was appointed by President Muhammad Buhari on 12 November 2015 succeeding Akinwumi Adesina who was elected to head Africa Development Bank. Buhari also appointed Heineken Lokpobiri as the new Minister of State for Agriculture, and Shehu Ahmad as the Permanent Secretary under a newly created Ministry of Agriculture And Rural Development.
sesame
Sesame seed, sesamum indicum is a flowering plant. This is seed has a wide variety of relative spread in Africa. Widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and dating as old as man’s existence, it is the oldest known oil seed to man. Sesame seed was domesticated over 3000 years ago for consumption. It is highly tolerant to drought and can grow where other crops fail.
The world over, there are about 4.8 million tonnes of sesame seed produced. While Myanmar is the largest producer, India and China are the largest exporters. The largest importers of this seed are Japan and China. In Africa, Nigeria comes about the seventh largest producer after Ethiopia and Sudan.
As a result of the drought-resistant nature of the plant, it thrives well in the Northern part of Nigeria and some parts of the West. It can also be grown in some part of the South East and South South. It has been successfully grown it in Ebonyi and Northern part of Cross River States. While it also grew in Delta, its hybrid did not yield much seed although the leaves were bigger.
Nigeria currently produces about 300,000 tonnes of Sesame Seed with the largest producing states being Jigawa, Nassarawa, Benue and Taraba. About a total of 26 States grow sesame presently and the production is expected to increase given the good prices obtained by farmers and increased demand worldwide.
Two farming seasons ago were especially good for producers. Farm gate prices started off at N160,000/tonne. Prices then dropped to N140,000/tonne and then it began an upward swing and currently is about N300,000/tonne.
Sesame Seed has many uses. It is a very important source of vegetable oil, which contains no cholesterol. It is used in confectionery, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and other industries. A famous women body lotion Neutrogena is made from sesame oil.
If you want to go into farming Sesame Seed, best to begin by learning best practices and how to get improved seeds. The best state to site your farm would be Taraba State with its two farming cycles a year. The first harvest comes in August while the second usually comes around in October. It is the only state with this unique feature. You may also want to try Jigawa, Niger and Bauchi.
You should also be thinking of space to production ratio. With best practices a hectare of land can produce between 1-1.5 tonnes of sesame seed. While your investment/hectare should fall at about N60,000. This will go into payments for land preparation, seeds, fertilizer planting and harvesting. Planting can be done by a mechanical planter in ridges or by broadcasting on plain land. A hectare of land would require 4kg of seed, 4 bags of NPK and 1 bag of urea.
Too much rainfall reduces the yield of the seed so it is important to obtain the right information for the planting period. For this you can rely on data from the Nigerian Metrological Agency (NIMET). Access to and use of the soil map of Nigeria will also be of great advantage.
As mentioned earlier, you have a ready market for Sesame seeds. About 95% of the production is exported. Major destinations for Nigeria sesame seed are China, Turkey, Japan and India. Other countries like Poland and Netherland also receive Nigerian Sesame in smaller quantities. The Middle East is beginning to be of interest and there is a high likelihood for an increase in demand from UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. This new frontier in sesame exportation market could provide better pricing, culminating in improved rewards for the sesame farmer. A visit to The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) will provide you with the best information to work with.
Policies
In 2011, the administration of President Jonathan launched an Agricultural Transformation Agenda which was managed by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The intended outcome of the agenda is to promote agriculture as a business, integrate the agricultural value chain and make agriculture a key driver of Nigeria's economic growth. To achieve this agenda the government put in place some new measures:
- New fiscal incentives to encourage domestic import substitution
- Removal of restrictions on areas of investment and maximum equity ownership in investment by foreign investors
- No currency exchange controls – free transfer of Capital, Profits and Dividends
- Constitutional guarantees against nationalization/expropriation of investments
- Zero percent (0%) duty on agricultural machinery and equipment imports
- Pioneer Tax holiday for agricultural investments
- Duty Waivers and other industry related incentives e.g., based on use of local raw materials, export orientation
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