Despite growing concerns over food security and a food import bill that gulps $5 billion annually, Nigeria has failed to make appreciable efforts in increasing its farm yields, as Africa’s most populous nation still records the lowest yields per hectare amongst its peers.
Data from the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) shows that Nigeria has the least average yield per hectare of five selected crops, among its African peers like Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and Ethiopia.
For tomatoes, the average yield per hectare in Nigeria is 7 metric tons (MT), Kenya’s average yield for the crop is 20MT, Ghana tomato yield is 8.6MT and South Africa’s average yield for the crop is 86.8MT.
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Similarly, for maize, which is the most consumed grain on the continent, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana have a same average yield of 2MT per hectare, while Ethiopia’s average yield for the crop is 3.8MT per hectare and South Africa’s average yield is 6MT per hectare.
Also, for groundnut, which is widely grown on the continent, Nigeria’s average yield for the crop is 1.2MT, Ghana groundnut average yield is 1.4MT, South Africa is 1.6MT, Kenya’s average yield is 1.8MT and Ethiopia with the highest average groundnut yield among countries compared of 2.4MT.
For potatoes, which is the most well rounded and nutrient root in all of Africa, Nigeria’s yield per hectare for the crop is 3.7MT, Ethiopia potatoes average yield is 15.1MT, Kenya average is 15.5MT and South Africa average yield for the crop is 38.8MT.
Nigeria’s average yield per hectare for soybeans is 1.1MT, Ethiopia’s soybean average yield is 2.3MT, Kenya average is 1.6MT and South Africa’s average is 2.1MT per hectare.
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“Nigeria has the lowest yields per hectare globally. We abandoned agriculture for a very long time when other countries were developing theirs. It is now we are coming back to it and there is still a lot that has to be done,” Emmanuel Ijewere, vice president, Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG) said during a recent CEO’s breakfast meeting in Lagos.
“In tomatoes, for instance, only one per cent of Nigerian farmers plant their tomatoes using hybrid seeds and seedlings. In Ghana 40 per cent of their farmer’s farm with hybrid seeds and Kenya it is 68 per cent of their farmers that use improved seeds and seedlings,” Ijewere said.
Owing to the low crop yields, Nigeria now records huge demand-supply gaps in most of its staple foods, even as the population growth rate stands at 2.6 per cent per annum and projected to surpass the 300 million people mark by 2050, according to The World Population Prospects 2017.
“How can we improve our yields when research institutes that are supposed to develop improve seeds and seedlings are poorly funded?” asked a principal researcher in one of the country’s research institute who does not wants his name mentioned on print.
“Six per cent was just released from the total research funding allocated to our institute for 2017. You can imagine that we are just getting 6 per cent in November. What research can we achieve with such amount?” he asked again.
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Research institutions in the agriculture ministry in Nigeria got an average of N28 billion ($77.7 million) yearly in the last four years, compared with India’s $2 billion, Brazil’s $1 billion and China’s $700million, BusinessDay findings show.
Experts have attributed low crops yields to the scarcity of quality seeds and seedlings in the country, which they stated has forced farmers to buy cheap and adulterated varieties that produce low crop yields.
Nigeria seed industry potential stands at N777.38 billion, while what is locally available is estimated at N252.35 billion, leaving a gap of N525.04 billion, according to the Ministry of Agriculture data.
The total national seed requirements for eight major crops, including maize and rice, in Africa’s most populous country, stood at 388,690.64 metric tons (MT) in 2015, while the quantity available was 126,173 MT, leaving a yawning gap of 262,518 MT.
“We are not producing enough currently because our yield per hectare is still very low, compared with other nations of the world,” said Abiodun Olorundenro, chief executive officer, Green Vine Farms.
“Our population is growing very fast and we are yet to increase our productivity. This is even making the available food items more expensive for consumers and that is the cause of the recent rise in food prices across the country,” Olorundenro said.
Josephine Okojie
