Best Cash Crops in Nigeria
In this article, we will be writing about the top 10 best cash crops for farming in Nigeria, If you are into the farming business in Nigeria and you are looking for profitable crops to plant stay tuned while I list the top 10 best crops to plant and make money in Nigeria.
Farming in Nigeria is one of the best investments one can make as the weather is condusive and also the lands are fertile.
While the Federal government is still yet to fully dive into Nigeria’s farming sector, despite Nigeria’s agriculture still being practiced at a substantial level, Nigeria still remains one of the highest producers of some major cash crops in the world today.
1) Sesame
Sesame is a flowering plant in the genus Sesamum, also called benne or Beniseed.
Over 15 states in Nigeria are actively involved in the production of this cash crop (Sesame), Nigeria is said to be the fourth-highest producer of Beniseed in the world, behind Myanmar with 785,038.00 Metric Tons, India with 755,346.00 Metric Tons, and Tanzania with 663,935.00 Metric Tons, Nigeria produces up to 588,334.00 Metric Tons.
2) Cocoa
Cocoa is another highly profitable cash crop to plant in Nigeria, in fact, Cocoa is Nigeria’s number 1 leading export crop.
Before the exploration of Crude Oil in Nigeria, Cocoa used to be the most exported commodity, the Western part of the country is said to be the highest producer of Cocoa with states like Ekiti, Ondo, Oyo, Osun, and Ogun accounting for about 80% of Nigeria’s Cocoa production. Other states like Edo and Cross River are also actively involved in the production of the Cocoa.
3) Rubber
Rubber is also Nigeria’s most exported crop, with Nigeria said to be the 9th largest producer of Rubber in the world.
Delta state is the highest producer of Rubber followed by other states like Bayelsa, Cross River, Edo, Ekiti, Kogi, Ondo, Ogun, Rivers, and Abia.
4) Groundnut
Nigeria is the 3rd most producer of groundnuts in the world just behind China and the USA.
The Northern part of the country is the highest producer of groundnut, Sokoto, Katsina, Kaduna, Adamawa, Yobe, Borno, Taraba, Gombe, and Bauchi are some of the states actively involved in groundnut production in Nigeria.
5) Soybeans
Among the West and Central part of Africa, Nigeria happens to be the largest producer of Soybeans.
The middle belt, with Benue state, in particular, accounts for the majority of soybean production in Nigeria, with over 70% of Nigeria’s soybean produce coming out of his region.
There are still other states which are actively involved in the production of this soybean, they include Kwara, Kogi, Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Nassarawa, Kaduna, Niger, Bauchi, Ogun, and Taraba states.
6) Palm Oil
Before now Nigeria is said to be the largest producer of Palm Oil, but presently at the time of writing Nigeria is only behind Indonesia and Malaysia.
Palm Oil is produced in the Eastern, the South-east, the North-central, and the South-South region of the country, with the Niger Delta accounting for over 57% of the country’s palm oil production.
7) Tobacco
Tobacco will continue to thrive in Nigeria thanks to the top Tobacco companies in Nigeria companies as British American Tobacco (Nigeria) Limited, Interfoods Distribution Company Limited, and more.
In 2013 Nigeria’s tobacco production increased from 2,088 tons to over 2,500 tons, and about 10,000 people are actively involved in tobacco production in Nigeria.
8) Kolanut
Kolanut is an important crop in Nigeria as it’s been used by major traditional celebrations in the country, as well as its nutritional value.
Ogun state is said to be the highest producer of Kolanut but other states like Cross River, Delta, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Kogi, Lagos, Gombe, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Rivers, and Anambra are also top producers of this best Cash crop.
9) Cashew
Cashew is one of the best cash crops in Nigeria, majorly because of its nutritional value, Its is Nigeria’s most profitable exports.
According to a 2019 report, Nigeria is the 14th country with the highest production of this best cash crop producing 100,000 tons of Cashew.
Enugu, Oyo, Anambra, Kogi, Osun, Abia, Ondo, Benue, Cross River, Imo, Ekiti, Ebonyi, and Kwara are among the states actively involved in cashew production in the country.
10) Cotton
The importance of Cotton in the clothing industries made Cotton one of the best cash crops in Nigeria.
The North and South-west regions of the country are the major producer of cotton today, with Oyo and Ogun taking the lead while in the Northern part, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Zamfara, Jigawa, Sokoto and Kebbi are the leaders in cotton production in Nigeria.
list of cash crops in Nigeria
- Sugar cane
- Maize
- Cassava
- Yams
These are the list of the Best cash crops in Nigeria, you can contact me if you have farming ideas to share.