MIL-OSI Global: Why the cost of food is not yielding to Nigeria s government policies foreignaffairs.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from foreignaffairs.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
SPECIAL REPORT: Despite huge spending over decades, Nigeria unable to produce enough cassava
Farmers, experts and data explain why cassava, one of Nigeria’s most iconic foods, perennially remains insufficient and expensive.
Grace Ebit, a farmer in Ibogo, Biase Local Government Area of
Cross River State, recalls her childhood with nostalgia. After her father lost his job in the mid-1960s, she dropped out of school and the family struggled to get food.
Her distraught father began to grow cassava and processed garri. That became the turning point.
“The business became big to the extent that we barely had free time to rest. Traders came from different states to buy garri in large quantities from us,” Mrs Ebit said.
5 min read
Agriculture was the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy upon which the country’s nationalists founded their agitation for independence.
Prior to this, Nigeria was a leading agricultural economy in the 50s, being the largest producer of palm oil, groundnut, cotton and cocoa globally.
The sector employed over 70 per cent of the labour force, accounted for as much as 62.3 per cent of the nation’s foreign exchange earnings.
Data obtained from the World Bank show that the sector contributed over 60 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
However, the discovery of crude oil in the 1950s progressively led to the neglect of the sector, which has made Nigeria to fall in the global market rankings for which it was taking the lead.