Smallholder Farmers Contribution to Food Production in Nigeria

Abstract

Several studies have shown that smallholder farmers produce most of the food in low-income and developing countries and form the backbone of the country’s food supply. This study examines the extent these smallholder farmers in Nigeria can put the country on the path to self-sufficiency and ensure satiety for household food consumption through their local production. The study also examines food production and their resulting yield based on crop production and harvested area, as well as the percentage of crops produced for food or other purposes. The results show that production of rice, sorghum, soybean, cassava, and yam is low; and their corresponding yields are declining, with the exception of maize, although the harvested area increased from 2015 to 2018. As it is, the findings are a clear indication of inadequate per capita food supply due to low food production, especially for cereals. The study suggests closing the yield gap specifically for cereals, limiting post-harvest losses, and finding a sustainable balance between the uses of major food crops for animal feed to reduce pressure on land resource use. The different states production performance requires special attention to harness the agricultural potential of each geopolitical zone. Lastly, dry-season cultivation should be encouraged through irrigation to enable harvesting two-times in a year. The study offers useful approaches to assess the contribution of local farmers to the food supply of a growing population and provides suggestions for the government, stakeholders, and the international community willing to collaborate and invest in the agricultural sector.

Untangling Intercropping in Heterogeneous Smallholder Maize-Cassava Farming Systems with Remote Sensing

“…These thresholds are larger than the very small (<0.64 ha) and small field (0.64 -2.56 ha) classifications where the majority (87%) of Nigeria's fields were captured, according to Lesiv et al (2019). The occurrence of larger field sizes in our study region can be attributed to the emergence of step-up farmers, i.e., smallholder farmers who expanded their farming operations from small to medium-sized fields and the influx of step-in farmers, i.e., diaspora investments in the agricultural sector associated with increasing agri-businesses (Chiaka et al, 2022). Chiaka et al (2022) found a proportional increase in medium-and large-sized farms in Nigeria between 2015 and 2018.…”

“…Despite intercropping being the dominant agricultural practice among smallholder farmers in Nigeria, as elsewhere in Africa where small-and large scale commercial monocropping systems using mechanization are emerging (Muyanga et al, 2019; Omotilewa field size is increasing (Ibrahim et al, 2021;Chiaka et al, 2022). Using the classes in the global study of field size distribution (Lesiv et al, 2019), Nigeria has 56% of very small fields (<0.64 ha), 31% small fields (0.64 -2.56 ha), 11% medium fields (2.56 -16 ha), 2% large fields (16 -100 ha) and 1% very large fields (>100 ha).…”

Smallholder Farmers' Use of Indigenous Knowledge Practices in Agri-food Systems: Contribution of Food Security Attainment Drive

“…The food system represents an interdependent chain of activities involving production, processing and distribution, and consumption which aim to bring satisfaction to human needs [1,2] . Smallholder farming plays a pivotal role in the food systems and agrarian landscape in Nigeria [3] , especially in south-west Nigeria. The region, consisting of states such as Osun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo and Lagos, is characterized by a predominantly agricultural economy with a significant portion of the population engaged in small-scale farming activities (smallholders) [4,5] .…”

Farm Labour Preferences among Small-scale Arable Crop Farmers in Akwa Ibom State, Southern Nigeria

“…The small-scale farmers in sub-Saharan region of Africa produced the bulk of the food consumed in the region (Chiaka et al, 2022;Okou et al, 2022;Baptista et al, 2022;Akpan & Effiong, 2022). The technique of production used by these farmers in the region is far remoted compared to the methods of production employed in other regions of the World (Ogunkoya et al, 2015;Baptista et al, 2022).…”