Although sesame cultivation is on the increase in terms of areas cultivated, its full potential is yet to be explored in Nigeria due to a lack of local farmers’ adherence to best farm practices suitable to its growth. Sesame ranks eighth in the world production of edible oil seeds, with higher oil content than other oilseed crops.
Can Nigeria tap into a huge Sesame global market?
It has also affected the pricing of the two variants. Hence, for Nigeria to tap into the huge sesame global market, there is a need for both public and private sectors to engage in massive sesame production and processing; as well as creating an organized market structure for the value chain leveraging on prevailing government policies.
Which country produces the most sesame seeds in Africa?
Nigeria is the largest producer of sesame seeds in Africa, and the third largest in the world, with about 580,000 tonnes produced in 2017. 90% of sesame seeds produced in Nigeria are exported. In Q1’18, it was the most exported non-oil commodity, contributing 0.57% to the total export value and 36.39% of agricultural exports.
What is the yield per hectare of sesame seeds in Nigeria?
Despite increasing awareness and global demand for Sesame seeds, yield per hectare in Nigeria is 0.5 ? 1.0 tonnes; this is small compared to 1.4?1.6 tonnes per hectare in China. This under-performance in yield is due to the knowledge gap and poor crop management practices adopted by small-holder farmers in Nigeria.