Agriculture and food in Nigeria

Agriculture in Nigeria – the land of cassava

Nigeria is located in West Africa and has a range of natural environments, from semi-deserts in the north to tropical rainforest in the south. Much of Nigeria is covered with plains and savannas. It has one of the largest river systems in the world, including the Niger Delta, the third largest delta on Earth. Nigeria has a tropical climate with variable rainy and dry seasons, depending on location. It is hot and wet most of the year in the southeast but dry in the southwest and farther inland. In general, the length of the rainy season decreases from south to north. In the south the rainy season lasts from March to November, whereas in the far north it lasts only from mid-May to September. The country has six distinct agro-ecological zones transiting in south-north direction from the Atlantic coast to the arid savanna of Sahel. These are the Mangrove Swamp, Rainforest, Derived savanna, Guinea savanna, Sudan savanna and Sahel savanna zones. Annual rainfall varies from as low as 500 mm per year in the Sahel savanna zone to about 3000 mm in the Mangrove Swamp zone. In 2019, Nigeria had around 70 million hectares of agricultural land of which 33 million hectares is currently under cultivation. About 3 million hectares of the agricultural land is irrigable but only about 220,000 hectares is actually irrigated. Agriculture remains the key activity for Nigerian’s economy after oil , contributing an average of 23% to the nation’s GDP in 2021. Nevertheless, agricultural activities provide a livelihood for many Nigerians, whereas the wealth generated by oil reaches a restricted share of people. Agriculture production employs some 36 percent of people in Nigeria. Agriculture is broadly divided into four sectors in Nigeria–crop production, fishing, livestock and forestry. Crop production remains the largest segment and it accounts for about 87.6% of the sector’s total output. This is followed by livestock, fishing and forestry at 8.1%, 3.2% and 1.1% respectively. The major staple crops in Nigeria are cassava, yam, maize, sorghum, rice and millet. These crops together cover 65% of the total cultivated area. Cassava, yam, cocoyam and maize are the major staple crops in the humid parts of the country, whereas maize, sorghum, millet, cowpea and groundnut are the major staple crops in the sub-humid and semi-arid parts. The major cash crops include cocoa, oil palm, cotton, groundnuts, ginger and sesame. In 2021, the production of milled rice in Nigeria was estimated to amount to five million metric tons. Between 2010 and 2021, the milled rice crop in the country increased overall. Nigeria is currently the largest producer of cassava in the world with an annual output of over 60 million tonnes of tuberous roots (2019). Cassava production has been increasing for the past 20 or more years in area cultivated and in yield per hectare. With improved varieties and production techniques, production is anticipated to futher increase. Cassava is produced largely by small-scale farmers using rudimentary implements. The average land-holding is less than two hectares and for most farmers, land and family labour remain the essential inputs. Land is held on a communal basis, inherited or rented; cases of outright purchase of land are rare. Almost all farmers in the main cassava belts of the southeastern, southwestern and central zones grow cassava, which is typically intercropped as a main or minor crop. Rotation and fallow systems are the traditional systems used by the farmers to maintain soil fertility but population pressure has resulted in reduced fallow, continuous cropping and reduced soil As a food crop, cassava fits well into the farming systems of the smallholder farmers in Nigeria because it is available all year round, thus providing household food security. Compared to grains, cassava is more tolerant to low soil fertility and more resistant to drought, pests and diseases. Furthermore, its roots store well in the ground for months after maturity. Cassava is usually consumed in processed forms. Cassava processing by traditional methods is labour-intensive but the application of improved processing technology has reduced processing time and labour and encouraged further production. Nigeria is also the world’s largest producer of yam contributing to two-thirds of the global yam production each year. Yam (Dioscorea spp.), a vegetatively propagated crop, which is cultivated for its underground edible tubers. Various seed yam production systems exist in Nigeria.The traditional system is to set aside 25 to 30% of the harvested tubers as seeds for the next planting season. This makes the crop not only expensive to produce but also inefficient. Nigeria is also among the main producers of sorghum worldwide. In 2021, the production of sorghum in Nigeria was estimated to amount to almost seven million metric tons. Between 2010 and 2021, the sorghum crop in the country increased overall. In 2021, the production of millet in Nigeria was estimated to be two million metric tons. Between 2005 and 2021, the millet crop in the country decreased significantly. The largest drop in the production was registered in 2011, when the crop volume experienced a decrease by 75 percent compared to 2010, going from 5.2 million metric tons to 1.3 million metric tons. Nigeria uses millions of tones of pearl millet as staple food in many homes, especially among the poor predominantly in Northern Nigeria. he crop is well adapted to some extent to growing areas characterized by drought, low fertility and high temperatures. It could relatively perform better on soils with high salinity or low pH values. Because of its tolerance to difficult growing conditions, it can be grown where other cereals such as maize or wheat would not survive. Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L. R. Br.) known as bajra in Hindu or 'yadi' in Marghi language of north eastern Nigeria is the most important and probably having the greatest potential among the millet varieties. It is a robust, quick growing cereal grass with large stems and leaves which are tall and vigorous, with exceptional grain and fodder yielding potentials Animal production has remained underexploited. As of data from 2017 livestock mostly reared by farm families in Nigeria are the small ruminants like goats (76 million), sheep (43.4million), and cattle (18.4 million). The ecology in the northern part of the country makes it famous for livestock keeping. The contribution of forestry to agriculture and development in general cannot be overstressed. Nigeria’s forest ecosystems are threatened by rapid population growth and economic activities with annual deforestation rate ranging between 0.72 and 2.38percent, according to FAO 2018 report. Agricultural expansion, heavy reliance on firewood and charcoal for energy, unsustainable timber extraction, urbanization, grazing, bush fires, infrastructure development are among the factors behind this trend. Nigeria is the largest fish consumer in Africa and among the largest fish consumers in the world with about 3.2 million metric tons of fish consumed annually. With a coastline of 853km and over 14 million hectares of inland waters, total fish production per year is close to 1 million metric tons (313,231 metric tons from aquaculture and 759,828 metric tons from fisheries). The majority of this fish is consumed domestically, while around 10 percent is exported. Fishing is a vital livelihood for the poor as well as an important protein source at the household level. A variety of species are eaten in Nigeria, including crayfish, sardines (freshwater and saltwater), bonga and mackerel, as well as cultured fish species, such as tilapia, carp and catfish. . The aquaculture sub-sector is considered a very viable alternative to meeting the nation's need for self-sufficiency in fish production and nutritional needs. Aquaculture, which is mostly monoculture of large species like catfish and tilapia, is seen as a pathway through which Nigeria can close its existing fish supply-demand gap. As of 2012, over 13,000 people were employed in aquaculture, though only 2% were women (FAO 2017b). The trend of production from both capture fisheries and aquaculture in Nigeria increased from 441,377 tonnes in 2000 to 759,828 tonnes in 2014. In that same period, aquaculture had a 12 fold increase from 25,718 tonnes to 313,231 tonnes (FAO, 2017). By implication, the increase was significantly due to rise in commercial fish farming in and around rural and urban cities of Nigeria, and the corresponding establishment of fish markets that are accessible to these farmers. In North-western Nigeria, aquaculture production has been found to be rapidly developing across the region to complement the decreased output from the wild resources such as the Lake Chad Basin and increased demand of fish for consumption With the increasing population, estimated to reach 400 million by 2050, enhanced agriculture productivity through adaptation of new technologies and innovations is necessary to ensure food security and nutrition. Nigeria’s agricultural productivity is currently insufficient to meet the food demanded of its growing population. The share of agriculture in Nigeria’s total export earnings remains small compared to crude oil exports. For instance in 2019, agriculture accounted for less than 2% of total exports relative to crude oil (76.5%). Nigeria remains a net food importer —the agricultural trade deficit has widened with imports exceeding exports by N689.7 billion in 2019. Nigeria’s major agricultural imports include wheat, sugar, fish and milk, while the main agricultural exports include sesame seeds, cashew nuts, cocoa beans, ginger, frozen shrimp and cotton. Sesame, cashew nuts and cocoa account for more than half of the nation’s agricultural exports. While wheat dominates agricultural imports. Nigeria has significantly poor transport infrastructure and services (road and rail), particularly in the rural areas. The lack of cold chain logistics also contributes to a decreased trade capacity through losses from spoilage and impinged time to market