$5m
The penchant of Nigerians for rice, that white grain is now legendary. It is estimated that Nigerians consume $5m worth of rice every day, translating to about 7 tons yearly. As the nation’s population rises unstoppably, has any one figured out where the rice they will eat will come from?
1 litre
There appears to have been an explanation why the milk yield from cow in Nigeria is so abysmally lower that what cattle owners around the world are used. An average daily milk yield in Nigeria is a mere litre a day when average yield can rise up to 10 litres elsewhere. A cow needs about 40 litres of water daily but where will a cow in Nigeria get that amount of water. How about the grass they feed on. With the introduction of Napia grass in Kaduna state it is now thought that milk yield can rise to 3-4 litres a day.
5 tons
Still on farm ield. A maize farmer is Iowa in the United States harvests roughly 14 tons of maize per hectare while his counterpart struggles to attain 5 tons per hectare. What are all the research institutes in Nigeria doing you may ask?
N500bn
That is the total value of credit to agriculture in Nigeria yearly. Not enough you might say. However, it is five times what it was ten years ago. It is believed this figure can get even bigger soon if the CBN will facilitate the redefinition of agriculture in its prudential guidelines under which banks must operate.
30m
Brazil boasts about the same population as Nigeria’s but that is where the comparison ends. One state in Brazil has the same land area as Nigeria and boasts 30 million heads of cattle for its 3 million population.
