Maize popularly known as corn is the second most cultivated crop in Nigeria in terms of harvest with 5.8million Ha, second to Cassava’s 7.1 million Ha. It will interest you to know that Nigeria is the second largest maize producer in Africa, after south Africa, with an estimated 10.79 million MT produced in 2014. Despite its high production volumes, Nigeria’s average maize yield of 1.8 MT/Ha is one of the lowest among the top 10 maize producers in Africa. It lags behind countries such as Egypt and South Africa where the yields are 7.7 MT/Ha and 5.3 MT/Ha respectively. If we can start by simply addressing this low yield issue, Nigeria could become the largest maize producer in Africa and one of the largest producers in the world without increasing the area currently used for its cultivation.
The largest volumes of maize are produced in the Northern region of Nigeria, particularly in Kaduna, Borno, Niger, and Taraba and the South Western states including Ogun, Ondo and Oyo.
Maize in Nigeria is mainly produced by smallholder farmers, each cultivating an average of 0.65Ha. Cropping systems differ from North to South; maize is usually intercropped with yam, cassava, guinea corn, cowpea, groundnut, and soyabeans.
The production season of maize differs in the North and South. The main season in the North is May-October while the main season in the south is March-August. There is usually a second season (August-January) which is rain fed in the South and irrigated in the North. Harvest is usually done three months after planting. However, the cycles have been affected in recent years by changing weather patterns.
During the growing season the price of dry maize, locally referred to as “old maize”, increase significantly due to demand by processors. Grain merchants in Northern Nigeria store the maize during the peak of availability and sell at higher prices in off-season period to food processors and feed mill operators.
Maize has become indispensible for food security in Nigeria. Much of the maize produced is consumed in a range of commercial sectors. About 50% of the maize produced is consumed by the animal feed sector, with poultry claiming as much as 98% of the total feed produced in Nigeria between 2005 and 2010.
Next week we shall talk about the key Challenges in the Maize Value Chain.
