The Federal Government has stated that the country produces about 2 million metric tonnes of onions yearly.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Muhammad Abubakar, at the 4th Regional Onion Annual Conference and General Meeting in Kano.
The event was hosted by the Regional Observatory on Onions for West and Central Africa, in partnership with the National Onion Producers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (NOPPMAN).
The minister also noted that Nigeria is one of the major producers of the cash crop globally.
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“One of the commonly consumed vegetable crops in Nigeria is onion.
“In fact, Nigeria is among the largest producers of onions in the world with over two million tonnes produced annually.
“The crop is grown mostly in Kano, Sokoto, Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Bauchi, Borno, Plateau and Kebbi States, however, there are challenges, which include a shortfall in meeting national demand, especially during the wet season,” he said.
The National President, NOPPMAN, Aliyu Isah-Maitasamu, stated that the conference is intended to offer them the opportunity to review their activities after the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that Nigeria needs 2.5 million metric tonnes of onions yearly.
Meanwhile, it would be recalled that the Federation of Agricultural Commodity Association of Nigeria (FACAN) in September revealed that Nigeria had agriculture exports of N127 billion in Q1 2021, noting that Sesame topped the list of exported agriculture commodities at N41.9 billion.
It added that Sesame could contribute $1.5 billion to Nigeria’s agriculture exports, if maximized and also called for the support of the State governments and collaboration of the private and organized sectors with FACAN in boosting agriculture exports in Nigeria.
