Why aren’t Nigerians productive in the area of agriculture?

I live in the center of Nigeria (it evens says so on the car license plate: Abuja, center of unity). Everywhere I look there are forests of cashew trees, hillside fields of yams, Mango trees in most compounds, maize stalks poking up among the litter, bananas and plantains and sugarcane by the edges of every stream crossing the city.

Each neighborhood has its own agricultural markets, and most streets and crossings have boys selling produce out of wheelbarrows as well. It’s all fairly locally grown, and purchased daily at large wholesale markets just outside of town.

Young Hausa girls wander most streets selling ground nuts, and young men hawk all sorts of oddities, including eggs, sesame seed biscuits, dates, and other foods at every slow down.

I’ve gone on hikes to nature preserves, remote villages in Kogi and Kaduna, and everywhere one sees small plots of maize, yams, potatoes, onions, and a scattering tree crops, from oranges and grapefruit to local seedpods whose names I don’t know or can’t remember (for a one time wannabe linguist I’m fairly tongue tied). Cows and goats show up the the oddest places, hundreds of feet up granite monolith faces, munching on the odd clump of grass. I’ve carefully traipsed among pepper bushes on the sandy banks of the Niger and Benue rivers, run among the gorgeous flowers of okra, munched on garden egg and spicy peanut butter bought while on a weekend stroll through the neighborhood.

There are garden plots in every half-built, semi-walled compound, even in the city, even in Maitama, among the luxury villas of the politicians, successful business leaders, and wealthy ex-pats.

I suppose there is still a bit of land here and there not being farmed, but often walking in a forest I’ll see furrows of long abandoned yams among the cashew trees.

In short, I question your premise. Nigeria is extremely successful in subsistence agriculture. Farm exports could be raised true enough, but with close to 200 million people to feed on a land 1/6 the size of the USA (but more than half of America’s population), it seems reasonable to use local food to feed the locals.

Source: https://www.quora.com/Why-aren%E2%80%99t-Nigerians-productive-in-the-area-of-agriculture


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