On May 30, the world celebrated one of humanity’s most beloved and essential staple foods – potato.
Potato, known botanically as Solanum tuberosum, is one of the world’s major food crops, grown for its starchy edible tubers, according to Britannica.
Boiled potatoes (cooked with the skin but without salt) contain carbs, fibres, protein, potassium, folates and vitamins, especially Vitamin C.
Nigeria’s potato industry is valued at $1.3 billion, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)’s 2025 report.
The nation cultivates 322,500 hectares and produces 830,000 tonnes yearly—about 26 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa’s production area (excluding South Africa). Nigeria’s average yield remains low at 3.8 tonnes per hectare as the nation imports N80 billion worth of the crop annually.
The potato chips market is booming, projected to reach $470 billion–$690 billion by 2031, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8 percent, according to 6Wresearch.
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Profitability, investment potential
Experts are spotlighting the often-overlooked profitability of potato farming and processing.
Samuel Deshi, an Irish potato farmer based in Plateau State, sees significant investment potential in potato farming. “With proper agronomic practices, potato farming is a highly profitable venture,” he said.
“Demand is consistently high, and current supply isn’t enough to meet even local needs,” he added.
Daniel Okafor, president of the Potato Farmers Association of Nigeria (POFAN), emphasised the value of investing in the sector, particularly in processing and value addition.
“I urge all stakeholders in the potato industry—and the agricultural sector at large—to recognise the immense opportunities in developing the potato value chain,” he stated. “It’s a lucrative venture that deserves serious attention and investment,” he added.
Mathew Adewumi and Fatimoh Adebayo, agricultural economists, also emphasised the crop’s untapped potential for investors in a recent article published in the Journal of Rural Development.
“Sweet potatoes offer a particularly significant opportunity for increasing both food production, ROI for investors and income for farmers,” said Adewumi. “The demand far exceeds current supply, making it a promising and underexploited investment option,” the article noted.
Backing their perspective, a recent report by the FAO highlighted the growing investment prospects within the potato industry.
“With ongoing innovations in agricultural technology, Africa presents a fertile ground for expansion in the potato sector,” the report stated. “Investors would do well to recognise and act on this opportunity,” the report argued.
As awareness grows, experts hope more stakeholders will see potatoes not only as a food staple but as a strategic commodity with global economic value.
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Planting methods
Potatoes are often planted in Nigeria between February and April, and harvested between June and August.
Potatoes do better in well-draining, loamy soils with a pH range of 5.5-6.5, according to AgroNigeria.
The ideal temperature for potato growth is between 15°C and 20°C.
Deshi, the local farmer, earlier quoted, highlighted the benefits of dry season farming. “Irrigation or dry season farming is more profitable because there’s scarcity, so demand and prices go up,” he said. “You also use less pesticides,” he stated.
“Right now, a 50kg bag of Irish potatoes sells for over N100,000. That price drops during the rainy season when more farmers are planting,” he noted.
He also noted differences in planting methods: “During the dry season (January to March), we plant in beds, which require more seedlings. In the rainy season (July to September), we use ridges, so less seedlings are needed.”
The FAO data shows that 1.5 tonnes to 2.5 tonnes of seedlings are needed to plant a hectare in Nigeria, while the Sub-Saharan Africa average yield stands at 7.8 tonnes per hectare.
Major production hubs include Plateau—responsible for nearly 90 percent of national output—along with Taraba, Cross River, Kaduna, and Nasarawa states.
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Why invest in potatoes?
Potatoes play a vital role in global food security, contributing to all four key pillars—availability, access, utilisation, and stability—according to the FAO.
Driven by rising urbanisation and the growing demand for convenient, low-calorie, and nutrient-rich foods, potato has become a smart investment.
Products like potato chips, French fries, and Pringles continue to see strong consumer demand.
Major global players such as PepsiCo Inc., Kellogg Company, Kettle Foods Inc., the Campbell Soup Company, Calbee Inc. and Intersnack Group GmbH & Co. KG are already active in Nigeria’s growing potato chips market, according to 6Wresearch.
“Industrially, sweet potato flour is a valuable substitute—used in place of wheat flour in bread-making and maize flour in animal feed,” noted agricultural expert Adebayo, earlier mentioned.
Beyond food, sweet potato starch finds applications in the textile, adhesive, paint, and cardboard industries.
“Sweet potatoes also have notable medicinal properties,” added agricultural economists Adewumi and Adebayo, further underscoring the crop’s broad economic and health potential.
Read also: Can Plateau’s potato bumper harvest soften Nigeria’s food crisis
Challenges
Nigeria has one of the lowest average potato yields globally, producing just 3.8 metric tons per hectare, significantly lower than Ethiopia (15.1 MT), Kenya (15.5 MT), and South Africa (38.8 MT). Farmers point to several systemic issues behind the low productivity.
“Our biggest problem is access to quality seedlings,” said Deshi. “We end up recycling from last year’s harvest, and that’s always a gamble. Sometimes they bear fruit, but other times, it’s just leaves,” Deshi noted.
Beyond poor seed quality, farmers also highlight high transportation costs, deteriorating road infrastructure, post-harvest losses, pests and diseases, limited awareness of the crop’s commercial potential, and a lack of processing facilities as major challenges undermining the sector’s growth.
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Way forward
Deshi emphasised the critical need for research in seedling development. “The production of quality seedlings is essential to addressing the major challenges in potato farming,” he said.
Okafor highlighted the importance of value addition. “Processing potatoes into a range of value-added products is key to boosting profitability,” he noted.
