Nigeria is one of the largest producers of potatoes in Africa. The potato was introduced to the country in the 19th century by Christian missionaries and is largely cultivated in the central region of the country in Plateau State.
Nigeria is one of the largest producers of potatoes in Africa. The potato was introduced to the country in the 19th century by Christian missionaries and is largely cultivated in the central region of the country in Plateau State.
The Irish potato was first brought into Nigeria in the 19th century by Christian missionaries. During World War II, the colonial government encouraged Nigerian farmers to grow potatoes to feed British troops stationed in West Africa. [1] A handful of European potato varieties, including pinepernel, ackersegen, dekema, and roslin eburu were introduced to Nigeria afterwards to little success. In the early 1970s, the State Ministry of Agriculture in Benue took in another set of varieties including ajax, mirka, spunta, Nicola, desiree, diamant, dan-Cameroon, alpha, cardinal and Baraka. [2] In 1976, the Potato Research Programme of the National Roots Research Institute was established in Kuru, to look into ways of improving potato production in the country. In 1986, yet another set of varieties was imported into Nigeria: kondor, bertita, delcora, vento, famosa and romano. [3]
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 321 kJ (77 kcal) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
17.47 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Starch | 15.44 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dietary fiber | 2.2 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
0.1 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other constituents | Quantity | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Water | 75 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| †Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults, [4] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies. [5] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[6] The potato is a tuber crop which has high nutritional value. It has protein, calcium, and vitamin C. One potato of medium size contains 50 percent of the daily vitamin C needs of an adult. Its protein content is reported to be very high compared to other tubers and roots. [7]
According to a 2013 study, Nigeria ranks seventh among potato-producing countries in Africa and fourth in Sub-Saharan Africa, [8] with an annual production yield of around 843,000 tonnes (830,000 long tons; 929,000 short tons) and an actual planted area of 270,000 hectares (670,000 acres). [9] In spite of that, the average yield in Nigeria of 3.1 tonnes/ha is among the world's lowest. [10]
Potato production in Nigeria predominantly occurs in small farms whose farmers still rely on traditional tools such as machetes and hoes as opposed to tractors. [11] According to a 2012 study, an estimated 300,000 households in Nigeria engage in potato production, which translates to an average planted area of 1 hectare (2.5 acres) per household each year. [12] The country's main potato-planting region is the Plateau State (Barkin Ladi, Bokkos, and Mangu) which accounts for almost half of the national potato yield. [13] [12] Other potato-producing areas include Kaduna and Benue. Potato production takes place in both the wet season (April till August) and the dry season (September till March). Additionally, a low level of production occurs from October till January in Kano. [12]
The potatoes are then graded by the Potato Research Programme. On average, some 200,000 tonnes (200,000 long tons; 220,000 short tons) of locally farmed potatoes are sold within the country each year while another 100,000 tonnes are unofficially sold across the West African borders. [14] Potato production in Nigeria faces many constraints, including the unavailability of good-quality potato seeds, poor storage methods, insufficient education on farming methods and pest control, inadequate research and development, and inadequate farming equipment. [15]
French fries and potato crisps are widely consumed in Nigeria, with locally produced potatoes being used to make Monties and The Kings potato crisps. [16] However, the majority of potato-based snacks in the country are still imported. [17]
Nigeria is a country in West Africa. It shares land borders with the Republic of Benin to the west, Chad and Cameroon to the east, and Niger to the north. Its coast lies on the Gulf of Guinea in the south and it borders Lake Chad to the northeast. Notable geographical features in Nigeria include the Adamawa Plateau, Mambilla Plateau, Jos Plateau, Obudu Plateau, the Niger River, Benue River, and Niger Delta.
The potato is a starchy root vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are tubers of the plant Solanum tuberosum, a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
The cowpea is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus Vigna. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few inputs, as the plant's root nodules are able to fix atmospheric nitrogen, making it a valuable crop for resource-poor farmers and well-suited to intercropping with other crops. The whole plant is used as forage for animals, with its use as cattle feed likely responsible for its name.
Vigna subterranea is a member of the family Fabaceae. Its name is derived from the Bambara ethnic group. The plant originated in West Africa. As a food and source of income, the Bambara groundnut is considered to be the third most important leguminous crop in those African countries where it is grown, after peanut and cowpea. The crop is mainly cultivated, sold and processed by women, and is, thus, particularly valuable for female subsistence farmers.
Jos is a city in the North-Central region of Nigeria. The city has a population of about 900,000 residents based on the 2006 census. Popularly called "J-Town", it is the administrative capital and largest city of Plateau State. The city is situated on the Jos plateau which is embedded in the Guinea Savannah of North-Central Nigeria. It connects most of the North-Eastern capitals to the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, by road. Driving in and out of Jos, traffic encounters very steep sloppy bends and breathtaking mountainous sceneries typical of the plateau landform. The name of the state was coined from its affiliation to this landform.
Benue State is one of the North Central states in Nigeria with a population of about 4,253,641 in the 2006 census. The state was created in 1976 and was among the seven states created at that time. The state derives its name from the Benue River initially called Ber-nor, a compound word in Tiv language which means river or lake of hippopotamus the name Ber-nor was corrupted to BENUE by colonial masters, the river is the second largest river in Nigeria after the River Niger. The state borders Nasarawa State to the North; Taraba State to the East; Kogi State to the West; Enugu State to the South-West; Ebonyi and Cross-Rivers State to the South; and has an international border with Cameroon to the South-East. It is inhabited predominantly by the Tiv, Idoma and Igede people. Minority ethnic groups in Benue are Etulo, Igbo and Jukun people etc. Its capital is Makurdi. Benue is a rich agricultural region; common crops cultivated in the state include oranges, yams, mangoes, sweet potatoes, cassava, soya bean, guinea corn, flax, sesame, rice, groundnuts and palm trees.
Macrotyloma geocarpum is also known as the ground bean, geocarpa groundnut, Hausa groundnut, or Kersting's groundnut. In French, it is often called la lentille de terre. M. geocarpum is an herbaceous annual plant and a crop of minor economic importance in sub-Saharan Africa, tolerant of drought, with a growth habit similar to that of the peanut.
Yam is the common name for some plant species in the genus Dioscorea that form edible tubers.
The University of Jos, abbreviated as Unijos, is a federal university in Jos, Plateau State, central Nigeria.
Agriculture is a major sector of the Nigerian economy, accounting for up to 35% of total employment in 2020. According to the FAO, agriculture remains the foundation of the Nigerian economy, providing livelihood for most Nigerians and generating millions of jobs. Along with crude oil, Nigeria relies on the agricultural products it exports to generate most of its national revenue. The agricultural sector in Nigeria comprises four sub-sectors: crop production, livestock, forestry, and fishing.
Agriculture is the largest employment sector in Bangladesh, making up 14.2 percent of Bangladesh's GDP in 2017 and employing about 42.7 percent of the workforce. The performance of this sector has an overwhelming impact on major macroeconomic objectives like employment generation, poverty alleviation, human resources development, food security, and other economic and social forces. A plurality of Bangladeshis earn their living from agriculture. Due to a number of factors, Bangladesh's labour-intensive agriculture has achieved steady increases in food grain production despite the often unfavorable weather conditions. These include better flood control and irrigation, a generally more efficient use of fertilisers, as well as the establishment of better distribution and rural credit networks.
Agriculture in Ghana consists of a variety of agricultural products and is an established economic sector, providing employment on a formal and informal basis. It is represented by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Ghana produces a variety of crops in various climatic zones which range from dry savanna to wet forest which run in east–west bands across Ghana. Agricultural crops, including yams, grains, cocoa, oil palms, kola nuts, and timber, form the base of agriculture in Ghana's economy. In 2013 agriculture employed 53.6% of the total labor force in Ghana.
Agriculture in Kenya dominates Kenya's economy. 15–17 percent of Kenya's total land area has sufficient fertility and rainfall to be farmed, and 7–8 percent can be classified as first-class land. In 2006, almost 75 percent of working Kenyans made their living by farming, compared with 80 percent in 1980. About one-half of Kenya's total agricultural output is non-marketed subsistence production.
Lawrence Anebi Onoja was the military governor of Plateau State, Nigeria from 1986 to July 1988 and then of Katsina State until December 1989 during the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida. He later became Principal Staff Officer to General Sani Abacha, before being arrested for alleged involvement in a coup attempt. He retired from the army in 1998, and after the return to democracy in May 1999 with the Nigerian Fourth Republic entered into politics.
Nigeria is by far the world’s largest producer of yams, accounting for over 70–76 percent of the world production. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization report, in 1985, Nigeria produced 18.3 million tonnes of yam from 1.5 million hectares, representing 73.8 percent of total yam production in Africa. According to 2008 figures, yam production in Nigeria has nearly doubled since 1985, with Nigeria producing 35.017 million metric tonnes with value equivalent of US$5.654 billion. In perspective, the world's second and third largest producers of yams, Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, only produced 6.9 and 4.8 million tonnes of yams in 2008 respectively. According to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Nigeria accounted for about 70 percent of the world production amounting to 17 million tonnes from land area 2,837,000 hectares under yam cultivation.
In North Korea, the cultivation of potatoes is an important aspect to the livelihood of the country's population. The crop was introduced into the country in the early 1800s. Since the famine of the 1990s, a potato revolution has taken place. Over ten years, the area of potato cultivation in North Korea quadrupled to 200,000 hectares and per capita consumption increased from 16 to 60 kilograms per year.
Cassava production is vital to the economy of Nigeria as the country is the world's largest producer of the commodity. The crop is produced in 24 of the country's 36 states. In 1999, Nigeria produced 33 million tonnes, while a decade later, it produced approximately 45 million tonnes, which is almost 19% of production in the world. The average yield per hectare is 10.6 tonnes.
Agriculture is the main part of Tanzania's economy. As of 2016, Tanzania had over 44 million hectares of arable land with only 33 percent of this amount in cultivation. Almost 70 percent of the rich population live in rural areas, and almost all of them are involved in the farming sector. Land is a vital asset in ensuring food security, and among the nine main food crops in Tanzania are maize, sorghum, millet, rice, wheat, beans, cassava, potatoes, and bananas. The agricultural industry makes a large contribution to the country's foreign exchange earnings, with more than US$1 billion in earnings from cash crop exports.
China is the world's largest producer of potatoes, generating more than 22 percent of global potato production. The potato is the only crop that can be grown in all regions of China, although cultivation predominantly takes place in the northern and southern regions of the country.
Zimbabwe has a well-established history of potato cultivation, although production levels have been declining since the 20th century due to a lack of knowledge of cultivation methods and the rising costs of farming.
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