Nestled in the cool highlands of Plateau State, the Jos Plateau is an agricultural gem, home to the largest contiguous potato-growing area in sub-Saharan Africa (Gildemacher, 2025). Its temperate climate makes it uniquely suited for year-round potato production, supplying markets across Nigeria and neighbouring countries. And yet, this vital value chain remains shackled by one persistent constraint: poor access to quality seed.
Despite Nigeria’s status as a regional potato powerhouse, cultivating over 320,000 hectares and producing 1.2 million tonnes annually, average yields barely surpass 3.8 tonnes per hectare, where an average yield of 20 tonnes per hectare is reasonably achievable under smallholder farming conditions. The core problem is simple but systemic: farmers lack the high-quality planting material needed to unlock higher productivity and better incomes.
Turning point for the sector
In a study commissioned by the Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LVVN), the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), and executed by the Sepia Foundation (www.sepiapotato.nl) in partnership with Sahel Consulting, we investigated this seed system challenge. Through a survey among 97 farmers and interviews with key stakeholders, we captured the realities on the ground and charted a way forward.
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The findings were clear:
· Most farmers source seed from informal open markets: small, visually selected tubers that are often infected with viruses and offer poor yields.
· Over 86 percent of farmers surveyed identified late blight, a disease for potato and tomato plants, as their biggest production challenge, despite heavy use of fungicides—suggesting poor application practices, substandard products, or both.
· Nearly half of the farmers renew their seed only every three years or more, unaware of the compounding effects of seed degeneration.
· Awareness of seed quality and access to agronomic training are severely limited, undermining farmers’ ability to make informed investments.
This knowledge gap hinders yields and erodes confidence in paying premiums for certified seed, rendering the market commercially unappealing to both local and international seed companies. It is a lock-in situation that must be broken.
Four Pathways to Seed System Renewal
To meet this challenge, the study outlines four business models representing practical, scalable, and commercially viable approaches to seed system development in Nigeria:
1. Lead local enterprise with imported seed:
A Nigerian agribusiness partner with an international seed company imports certified seeds and multiplies them locally. This ensures high-quality control, but it requires substantial investment in capacity and infrastructure.
2. Decentralised multipliers with imported seed:
A local distributor imports certified seed and works with small-scale seed producers who multiply once and sell locally. This builds on the familiarity of informal systems while formalising quality assurance through certification.
3. Local multiplication using Apical Rooted Cuttings (ART):
Instead of importing tubers, clean in vitro cuttings are grown within Nigeria using tissue culture. This model, currently in pilot stages with the International Potato Centre (CIP) and Fruits & Veggies, offers a domestically anchored seed system with significant potential for scalability.
4. True Potato Seed (TPS) and local multiplication:
The most disruptive model, TPS, involves providing true potato seeds (not tubers) to multipliers, who grow and distribute the seed tubers. The first next-generation TPS varieties, suitable for Nigeria, are currently becoming commercially available and are being tested. It dramatically reduces logistics costs and phytosanitary risks, although the technology is still in its early stages of adaptation in Nigeria.
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Why now?
All four models are estimated to result in a retail seed cost of N650 (€0.36) to N1,480 (€0.82) per kilogram, a competitive price range, especially when paired with awareness campaigns that help farmers understand the return on investment.
But business models alone aren’t enough. For these pathways to succeed, Nigeria’s enabling environment must evolve:
· Regulatory clarity on seed importation, certification, and Plant Variety Protection (PVP) is essential.
· Market enforcement is needed to protect seed quality and prevent the adulteration of certified brands.
· Farmer education on seed degeneration, disease control, and good agricultural practices (GAP) must be scaled through targeted training.
· Additionally, more research is needed to quantify the full extent of virus infestation in the current seed stock, to map farmer demand behaviour, and to assess the economic performance of emerging seed entrepreneurs.
Our commitment
At Sahel Consulting, together with our partners, we believe Nigeria’s potato sector is on the cusp of a transformation that can triple productivity, lower production costs, support the growth of a domestic potato processing industry, create jobs, and improve incomes for rural households. To realise this vision, we are collaborating with Nigerian seed entrepreneurs, Dutch technology providers, government stakeholders, and donor agencies. Our efforts include facilitating seed market pilots, supporting regulatory engagement, and delivering training to empower farmers to become informed, confident seed buyers.
Join the movement
Whether you are a development partner, agribusiness investor, seed company, or government actor, there is a role for you in unlocking Nigeria’s potato potential. Together, we can build a resilient, commercially sustainable seed system that empowers farmers, fosters business growth, and nourishes a nation.
Zayyad Bello, Senior Programme Analyst, and Akaten Victor, Programme Officer, both of Sahel Consulting.
