Hello everyone, I hope this post meets you well.
Nigeria is a country that is blessed and flows with milk and honey in the form of natural resources of which Agriculture (Cash Crops) is included. Nigeria occupies a large land mass measured and recorded to be 923,768kmsquare and lies along latitudes 4°1' and 13 9°N and longitude 2°2' and 14°30'E. It is surrounded by the sahelian countries of Niger and Chad in the North pole and Attartic ocean in the South pole. Agriculture is one of the economic sustaining sector of Nigeria and accounts for 45% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs up to half of the work force in Nigeria.
On the other hand, cash crops are crops grown mainly or primarily for economic purposes as they give high income return on investment over a long period of time they may be annual crops, biannual crops or perennial crops, these crops are planted and produced in commercial quantities so as to meet the high demands by individuals and industries. The major cash crops in Nigeria are; Oil Palm, Cocoa, Cotton, Groundnut, Sesame, Cashew but to mention a few.
1 Oil Palm: Elaeis guineensis is a specie of palm commonly referred to as oil palm or sometimes referred to as African oil palm or macaw-fat. According to statistics, Nigeria is the fifth largest palm oil producing country, with 1.5% or 1.03million metrics tonnes of the world's total output.
[source] (https://images.app.goo.gl/LAMKNvw7T3QBvsHPA).
Oil palm can be described as mother nature's gift to mankind and it is a special tree in that every part of the tree is useful and can be processed and sold to make large profits and some products from oil palm can also be exported. Oil palm has different products and uses which makes it number one on my list of cash crops. These uses are but not limited to; Palm oil obtained from the fruits, is used in making soaps, candles, biofuels and lubricating grease and in processing of tinplates and coating iron plates.
download.jpeg source
The oil produced from the kernel from the seed is used in the manufacture of several products such as edible margarines, ice cream, pharmaceuticals, chocolate confections and bread etcetera. The residue after kernel oil extraction is called palm kernel cake and is used as animal feed or for feed formulation.
IMAGE OF JUST HARVESTED RIPPED OIL PALM FRUITS STILL IN BUNCHES AND YET TO BE PROCESSED
source
In commercial production, the outer fleshy portion of the fruit is steamed to destroy the lipolytic enzymes and then it is further processed by pressing the fruit. Its reddish colour is due to the presence of carotene. It gives great returns on investment and sometimes double the capital and can be used by just anybody as means of livelihood.
- Cocoa: Thiobroma cacao, known to us as cocoa is a highly marketable crop in my country Nigeria without an iota of doubt. The seeds are contained in pods and are usually green in colour when unripe but the colour varies from bright pink to yellow when ripped depending on the species.
source
Cocoa is also exported to other countries with better technologies for the production of various produce and maintain high income value at every production chain. Some farmers harvest the cocoa and export directly to other countries while others make products out of the cocoa before taking it to the market or exporting them. Some products that can be manufactured using cocoa are; fluid paste, liquor, cocoa powder, chocolate, cookies, ice cream etcetera. The fruit grows all year round but mainly in two periods from October to February and from May to August.
Steps in processing the seeds of cocoa are as follows;
Harvesting (when ripped)
|
opening of the pods/ separation(removal) of seeds from the pods
|
Storage of the seed in perforated boxes to drain the heat (juice) during fermentation
|
Sun dry/oven dry after 1-7days of fermentation
|
Depending when the seeds are properly dried(crispy to feel and dark brown in colour) other processing such as cleaning,roasting and grinding can also be done. Cocoa seeds can be bagged for exportation or used in manufacturing various products.
- Cashew: This cash crop has huge export potential to Asia, Europe and Us. Nigeria is described as a natural habitat for cashew tree, Nigeria is the fourth largest producer of cashew and the nuts in Africa and sixth in the world. Cashew is used in chemical production, also the production of paints, varnishes, insecticides and fungicides, oil can also be extracted from the cashew.
[source](https://images.app.goo.gl/xu8Bb9rHQpLSfWTJ8.
Export of cashew in Nigeria, made $300million in 2016 and $350milliin in 2017 according to research. Not yet fully harnessed, Nigeria still exports cashew about 95% of the nut is unprocessed despite the huge investment opportunity in value addition.
source.
Other cash crops grown or farmed in Nigeria are but not limited to; sesame
source
Others are, timber, fruits, coconuts etcetera.
Thank you everyone for reading my post.
Congrats on your win, well written article for the contest