Alfalfa production in Nigeria is experiencing a revolutionary shift from importation to domestic cultivation, driven by the need to transform the country’s livestock industry and address its decades-long farmer-herder crisis, writes Josephine Okojie-Okeiyi.
On a Tuesday morning in Akuyurya village, nestled in Jigawa State’s Mallam Dori Local Government Area, a long-range pivot irrigation system sweeps across a lush alfalfa field, showering the vast land with precision-coordinated water droplets.
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The thirsty crops drink deep, soaking up the nourishment under the rising sun’s warm gaze. This 50-hectare farm, owned by Matura Agro, is dedicated to cultivating alfalfa – a crop that dries into high-protein hay, prized as premium feed for livestock.
Matura Agro’s venture into alfalfa cultivation marks a significant shift in Jigawa State’s agricultural landscape. The farm’s focus on this protein rich crop is driven by growing demand for high-quality livestock feed, particularly from the gulf region and farmers in Nigeria’s burgeoning dairy sector.
“We’re tapping into the huge potential of alfalfa production for export and a sustainable feed and fodder industry,” Abdulsalam Umar, chief executive of Matura Agro, says.
“Alfalfa is known as the Queen of forage as it is more nutritious than any other grass available because of its high protein content. It makes livestock healthy and increases their milk production,” Umar adds.
The farm which grows alfalfa on 150 hectares of land also has a processing unit where the dried leafy legumes are shredded and processed into pellets and bales of hay.
Each month, Matura Agro loads 100 metric tons of these bales of hay onto several hulking metal shipping containers for exports and local markets. “We export 40 tons to the gulf countries and 60 tons for local markets on a monthly basis,” he says.
“The thing about alfalfa is that it is a perennial crop – it grows all year and there is always a new crop of the grass ready to be cut,” he explains. “Once it’s cut, it keeps growing, and you can cut it again and again for up to five times in a year,” he notes.
According to Umar, the alfalfa grown by Matura Agro has 23 percent protein content and it is of supreme quality, the best in the industry. “We have tested our alfalfa and we can boast of 23 percent protein content,” he states.
Alfalfa cultivation, which has historically been in non-existence in Nigeria, is beginning to gain momentum and relevance in the face of growing demand in domestic and international markets.
The growing demand from countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iraq – driven by their scarcity of natural resources for agriculture — has been contributing to this encouraging growth in Nigeria.
Improving livelihoods and empowering women
Alfalfa grass production and processing is making big impacts in several rural communities in Jigawa State. It is also empowering women.
Umar explains that since his organisation introduced cultivation of Alfalfa grass in Akuyurya village, cattle owners around the community are reporting significant improvements in their livestock.
He adds that it has also created a local livestock feed and fodder markets across the communities where other forage grasses are traded.
Salah Adamu, an aggregator and head at a village about three kilometer from Matura Agro, says the farm injects about a million naira into the local economy of several communities in both Kuagama and Mallam Dori Local Government Areas.
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He notes that the proceeds from the farm has helped lots of people across these communities improve their livelihoods as they now have a steady source of income aside from farming.
The farm has also empowered over 200 women who are involved in the weeding of the alfalfa grass. They also help the farm in sourcing Bamonia – a raw material added to the grass for the production of pellets.
With little or no education, these women handpick weeds from the grasses to prevent the fresh legumes from being choked by other foreign bodies.
Laraba Ahmed, a widow and mother of 10, says with the daily income from the farm, her livelihood has improved as she is able to feed her children and invest in goat business.
“Things have been difficult for my family since I lost my husband. We couldn’t feed properly,” she says. “But since I started working for Matura Agro, my children now feed properly and I have also invested in a goat business,” she explains.
Gaining popularity
Alfalfa cultivation is gaining momentum in Jigawa, Nigeria, riding on the success of Matura Agro’s pioneering efforts.
The state government has taken notice of the grass’s potential and has signed a landmark deal with El-Meena Farms to cultivate 100,000 hectares of Alfalfa.
The move is expected to transform the state’s agricultural landscape, boost livestock productivity and create thousands of jobs.
“Feed is the most fundamental in animal production and in Jigawa, we are focused on how to improve pasture production in different categories,” says Abdurrahaman Lawal, commissioner, Ministry of Livestock Development, Jigawa State.
“Globally, dairy farmers are looking for alfalfa with high protein content and we are blessed that we can produce that.” “We have abundant water to irrigate our alfalfa.”
To support boosting the production of the grass in the state, the Jigawa government gave Matura Agro 100 hectares of land to aid their expansion of alfalfa cultivation.
Aisha Mujaddadi, director general, Invest Jigawa, explains that the state has received several proposals for dairy production in the state, noting that addressing issues around feed and fodder is priority for the government before these investments kick-start operations.
Apart from Jigawa, Niger and Plateau states are also considering venturing into the production of the grass. “The Niger state government is currently speaking with us on the cultivation of the grass in the state,” Umar says.
In May 2025, a public-private partnership in Plateau State – led by The Alternative Bank and Plateau State University – unveiled a landmark alfalfa cultivation project that has yielded stunning results.
Why it matters
The prospect of readily available grass to feed cows across the country has the potential to reduce open grazing, one of the key triggers of clashes between farmers and herders.
It will also see the value of cattle improve as better feed implies improved beef and milk quality. Feed alone accounts for over 70 percent of production costs in livestock production and is a key factor in the recurring farmer-herder clashes.
With the local cultivation of alfalfa rising, Nigeria will boost its feed and fodder availability and reduce pressure on grazing lands.
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“High nutritious fodder and feed is what we need in Nigeria if we want to improve cattle, dairy and beef production as well as address the farmer/herder clashes,” says Lawal.
“We have the land required and many places in the north can be used to produce adequate high-quality grass,” he notes.
SBM Intelligence, in a September 2025 report, says between January 2019 and June 2025 alone, 287 violent incidents involving farmer/herder clashes have left at least 2,185 people dead.
A win for environment
Alfalfa, scientifically called “medicago sativa” has a high yield outcome and capacity for tolerance toward extreme environmental fluctuations.
It is a deep-rooted and drought-tolerant grass that helps improve soil fertility by fixing nitrogen. This makes it a valuable crop for semi-arid regions prone to erratic rainfall, providing a more reliable fodder supply compared to other grasses that wilt in drought.
Alfalfa cultivation also rehabilitates degraded land and enhances farm sustainability by serving as green manure in crop rotations. This fits well within Nigeria’s push for climate-smart agriculture.
“Alfalfa grass is actually a climate-smart initiative. The roots can go deep up to about four metres down and it helps with soil erosion,” Umar says. “It can be used to fight desertification,” Umar adds.
Not without challenges
Matura Agro faces several hurdles in cultivating this lucrative crop. One major challenge is accessing high-quality seeds as the grass cultivation is relatively new. Farms have to rely on imports for seeds.
Also, limited access to modern farming technology and expertise also hampers large-scale alfalfa cultivation.
“It’s the first time it’s been done commercially so we faced a lot of agronomic challenges. Some basic simple negligence mistakes and we are documenting all of that,” Umar says.
Intervention supporting the shift
Through Propcom+, an FCDO-funded Market Systems Development initiative transforming rural markets, Matura Agro received a critical grant to ramp up its alfalfa production. The support is also helping to enhance local feed availability and strengthening the livestock value chain.
Umar explains that the cultivation of the grass is highly capital-intensive as it requires heavy machinery, mechanisation and top-notch irrigation facilities.
He notes that the support he got from Propcom helped in restructuring the business and venturing into alfalfa production. The business was mainly into the aggregation and processing of African Love Grass then.
“We did the heavy lifting for alfalfa production in Nigeria and with the help of Propcom+ we’ve scaled from 50 hectares to 150 hectares.”
“They helped us provide the centre pivot irrigation system, 100 kilowatts solar systems, Electric Vehicles (EVs) for off-taking from farmers and others.”
Mujaddadi applauds Propcom+ for their support in boosting local production of alfalfa, noting that the transformation of Nigeria’s feed and fodder sector is vital for food security, economic growth, and the nation’s prosperity.
She pleads that the intervention should also extend to other business operators in the livestock sector, saying that inadequate access to cheap capital is hampering productivity in the industry.
“Apart from having the grant, the support also came with a lot of capacity building, which even right now is ongoing for them to be able to access more funds from other places.”
“I’m pleading to Propcom+, if it is possible, apart from Matura Agro, they should also reach out to other investors, because it’s not really easy for them to access funds.”
Ahmad Nuhu, senior portfolio manager with Propcom+, explains that after awarding the grant to Matura Agro, the programme co-created a commercial fodder production model focusing on alfalfa grass.
We created a model where the programme supports Matura with catalytic funding to enable it to install irrigation equipment, secure seeds and agronomical expertise to really test the model, he says.
Describing the journey so far, Nuhu notes that the two-year journey with Matura Agro has been successful. “We are seeing crowding-in by other private sector actors trying to copy the model.”
“The Jigawa state government is venturing into its production in response to the success because Matura has already provided a proof of concept that commercial alfalfa production is commercially viable in Nigeria.”
