Despite the potential to share from the $30 billion global nuts industry, Nigeria’s groundnut production is fast going into extinction owing to low seeds and disease, both of which have combined to reduce farmers’ productivity in recent years.
“The biggest challenge confronting groundnut farmers is low yielding seed varieties. If farmers have access to improved technologies including seeds of improved varieties they will produce more and profitably, “said Hakeem Ayinde Ajeigbe, country representative, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in an email response to questions.
“We need to continue to invest in researches, extension, and seed systems as these activities will help increase production and productivity,” Ajeigbe said.
Groundnut which use to be one of Nigeria’s major cash crops in the 80’s was not among the top five agricultural commodities exported in 2016, data from the National Bureau of Statistics Shows.
According to the Nigeria’s foreign trade data, a total of N45.5 million worth of ground was exported in Q4 2016.
Ever since the neglect, groundnut production fell from the country’s export list and as such small holder farmers, too, began to suffer economic hardship while the diseases infecting the crop aggravated over the years, occasioned by severe drought, experts say.
Samuel Sando who farms seven hectares of groundnut in Benue state, said that his production of groundnut has been on the decline owing to poor seed varieties and diseases affecting production.
“There are no good groundnut seeds in the market. Most of the ones we purchase are of low quality which gives us lower yield per hectare. Groundnut disease is also another big issue as we have been recording it yearly,” Sando said.
Nigeria is the largest groundnut producer in Africa accounting for 30 percent of the total Africa’s production.
Despite it neglect, the industrial crop continues to remain an important food component in the country as it serves as raw material for vegetable oil and source of protein for both humans and animals, experts say.
A 100kg bag of groundnut now sells for N40, 500 as against N28, 000 sold a year ago, showing a 31 percent increase in price. While a paint bucket of groundnut now sells for N1, 500 as against N900 a year ago.
Prices all food items have increased in recent months owing to dollar scarcity that has thrown Africa largest economy into recession and increasing the country’s food inflation to an all time high of 18.5 percent.
Josephine Okojie
