Modern Nigeria is an economically backward agricultural country. However, it has a large industrial and agricultural potential. Let’s discover the past gains and problems which appeared on the way of its development as well as possible solutions.
Agriculture in Nigeria
Let’s start from the information about the current state of the Nigerian economy. As per the recommendations of the IMF and the World Bank, Nigeria has undertaken on the implementation of market reforms. However, economic parameters indicated a decline in the consumption of production capacity, the backlog in the financing of key sectors, reducing the purchasing power of the population.
The inability of the Nigerian agriculture industry to provide the domestic market with consumer goods, including sugar, salt, soap and oil, became another feature of the economy. The lack of foreign exchange for the purchase of raw materials and spare parts has led to the fact that the major businesses do not operate at full capacity.
Agriculture in Nigeria
Agriculture, which employs over 80% of the working population of Nigeria, is the foundation of the economy. It gives not less than 90% of export value and more than 50% of the national income of the country.
Working farmers
The diversity of natural conditions allows cultivating in Nigeria almost all cultures distributed in West Africa. However, there are a lot of problems of agricultural development in Nigeria.
In the Southern forest zone with its long wet seasons and heavy rainfall, in addition to root crops – yam and cassava – cacao and oil palms, bananas and coke are grown. In the Northern zone of the country where the dry season lasts six months or more, the natural conditions are favorable for the cultivation of sorghum and millet, peanut and cotton. In the “middle belt”, the transition from the Southern to the Northern zone, in addition to root crops and grains, sesame is grown.
Agriculture in Nigeria today, the dominant sector of the economy, has been divided into two areas: production of food crops for consumption in the country, and the production of export crops.
Nigerian agriculture
The staple food items are yams and cassava. It occupies huge territories in southern Nigeria. These root crops are undemanding to soil, produce a significant harvest, but they are very demanding to moisture. It serves as a staple food for the poorest segments of the population. Long tuberous roots contain much starch. They are eaten boiled and fried.
In contrast to cassava, yam is more exacting to soil and dislikes shade. It grows best on loamy soils of the southern part of the “middle belt” and in the valley of the Niger and Benue. It has large and tasty tubers which are valued higher than the cassava. Usually, cuttings of yams are planted at the beginning of the rainy season. In January – February they are put into the upper layers of a rather high ridge. Between the beds, as a rule, maize is sown.
Millet is cultivated everywhere in the Northern Nigeria. Sandy soils on the Jos plateau are suitable for growing in nutrient-poor varieties of millet, here called Acha and Tamba. Residents of plateau sow it on elaborately terraced hillsides. The usual time of sowing of millet – “under the rain” – April – May. Two weeks later appear the first shoots. The crop is harvested in October – November. Annual fee 960 thousand tons.
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The principal corn crops are concentrated in Western Nigeria. An important role in the diet of Nigerians plays the legumes – beans, peas, and sugar cane, all kinds of vegetable crops and tropical fruits.
Rice growing
The importance of rice is also increasing, it is cultivated in the valleys of the Niger and its tributaries – Sokoto, Kaduna, Benue. In the province of Niger, the country’s first experienced irrigation system was established to irrigate rice fields in the area of about 400 ha. An important rice-growing area becomes Eastern Nigeria, where the highest yield of rice. Rice production in the country is 200-250 thousand tons.
The importance of agriculture in Nigeria can’t be overestimated. The main export crops are oil palm, cocoa and groundnuts. Take out also cotton, rubber and sesame seeds.
In the late nineteenth century, cocoa seeds were imported in Nigeria. Soon, a few small cocoa plantations were laid in the vicinity of Lagos, Calabar and Benin. However, by the early twentieth century, these plantations were abandoned, as on light, sandy soils common here, the trees grew poorly.
More suitable for cocoa was loamy soil of the Western provinces (Ibadan, Abeokuta, Ondo). Due to the fact that these soils retain moisture well, cacao trees can easily tolerate the local short dry season. In Eastern Nigeria, climatic conditions are more suitable for the cultivation of cocoa, but there are acidic soils, which the plant does not like. The three provinces included in the main zone of cocoa production, stretching from the border with Dahomey on the West to Benin in the East.
Cocoa plantation
Cocoa is the main source of income of the inhabitants of the Western part of the country. Over 20% of the population of Western Nigeria is directly employed in the cultivation of cocoa, not counting the army of intermediaries who buy cocoa, and operators of transportation of the goods to the main port of the country to Lagos.
The cacao trees on the fifth to the seventh year of life bring the first fruits in the form of pods brown. They contain 20-40 beans or beans. These trees can fruit up to 20-30 years. The main crop is harvested in October – February. The gathered beans are put in heaps and covered with banana leaves. Within a few weeks, there is the so-called fermentation process, during which the bitter taste of the fruit fades. Then the beans are sun dried and sorted, after which they are ready to be shipped.
The entire collection of Nigerian cocoa is exported. In 2015 the country had exported about 145 thousand tons of beans. Nigeria is the
Agriculture in Africa
Of export crops in the forest zone, it should be noted the rubber. From their juice – latex – at the factory in Benin employees get sheets of rubber that are exported. They grow the Brazilian hevea – rubber tree, the productivity of which is much higher than wild rubber tree. Plantations of Brazilian rubber trees are also around Calabar. Some plantations are laid to the East of Calabar, near Oban.
Everywhere in the Northern Nigeria, you can see crops of small plants with oval leaves and bright yellow flowers. That’s peanuts or groundnuts. Peanut crops are concentrated in the provinces of Kano, Katsina and Sokoto. A peanut grows well in local sandy soils. It is enough from 600 to 1000 mm of precipitation and it is not afraid of a long dry period. Peanuts are usually planted in May – June. In September and October the lower leaves of the plant become brown and begin to fall. This means that the nuts are already ripe.
After gathering the nuts stacked to dry in piles. Each nut has two reddish cores that contain peanut butter. Packed in bags of nuts they are sent to local buying points, and from there to the main distribution center – Kano. Railway stations in Kano can be always recognizable – huge pyramid of bags of peanuts waiting to be sent to Lagos. Part of the peanuts is taken along the river to the Benin ports. Exports of groundnut Nigeria ranks one of the first countries in the world. It accounts for two-fifths of total world trade in peanuts.
Cotton production in Nigeria
Cotton was cultivated in the country since very old times. Most favorable for its cultivation climate and soil conditions are in Northern Nigeria.
The main producing areas of cotton intended for export are located in the province of Zaria, in the southwestern part of the province of Kano, and the South-Eastern part of the province of Sokoto. For local needs the cotton is grown in the region of Lokoja, at the confluence of the Niger and the Benue, and the Western Nigeria. Cultivated kinds make it possible to produces coarse fiber only.
The export of cotton is increasing every year. However, a significant part of it is used domestically. Cotton is exported from Lagos and Burutu. In Lagos, it goes by rail, in Burutu by the Niger River.
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Sesame is grown in the “middle belt” along the banks of river Benue, it gives the major part of West African exports of sesame seeds. In the consumer countries, sesame oil is used for making margarine and soaps, as well as in the confectionery industry.
Problems of agriculture in Nigeria
Problems of agricultural development in Nigeria
In this country, small farms play the dominant role. Plantation form of the economy here has been extended considerably weaker than in the countries of Eastern and southern Africa.
Problems of agricultural development in Nigeria and solutions are very easy and complex at the same time. Farming machinery everywhere is very primitive. The main tools are the hoe to work the land, small knives and sickles used for reaping rice and cutting of reeds. The way to solve this problem is quite simple – attract investments and introduce new technologies.
The farmer has to spend a lot of time and effort to clear the land for crops. They have to cut and throw the trees, burn the grass and then dig up the soil. The plot is usually divided into small pieces, each of them is sown with a certain culture: yams, corn, squash, beans, manioc. In this farming, the soil is quickly exhausted, and the harvests become less and less. So, the farmers should leave this site for a few years at the ferry and go to the new one. Such a system of shifting cultivation is very useful and can help to solve the problem with soil impoverishment as well as problems of rural development in Nigeria.
Challenges of agricultural development in Nigeria
Problems of rural development in Nigeria
We decided to provide some examples for better illustration of the situation.
Cocoa is very labour-consuming culture. These tender plants are exposed to various viral diseases, which often lead to the death. Diseased trees are cut down. Sometimes disease of the cacao tree has a flurry of activity. There should be some measures to prevent the progress of this in order to secure the whole sector of agriculture.
The future of cocoa production is largely dependent on whether it will be possible to prevent the spread of these diseases in important areas of cocoa production around the cities of IFE, Abeokuta, Ijebu. One of the reasons for the low harvest of cocoa is the considerable age of the plants. This is also should be taken into consideration.
Another example is that export of rubber varies considerably from world market prices. The situation is the same with oil production in the country.
Problems of agriculture also include financial frauds of public officials which worsen the economic situation in the country. Such atmosphere discourages investments. All in all, each country has its own problems. The problems of agriculture in Nigeria are obvoius, all we need is to solve them wisely. The main thing is not to leave this at the mercy of fate.
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