Cassava and yam were Nigeria’s dominant root crops in global production
In 2022, Nigeria led global production of root crops like yam, cassava, and taro, alongside nuts such as kola and karite, as well as grains like sorghum, with 61.2 million tonnes of yam and 60.8 million tonnes of cassava.
Source:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
In 2023, over 324 million chickens were slaughtered in Nigeria, making them the dominant source of meat.
Goats and sheep followed at 28.23 million and 19.45 million, respectively, but their slaughter numbers were far lower than poultry.
Pigs accounted for 8.11 million slaughters, while cows were the least slaughtered at 3.32 million, likely due to their higher economic value.
The disparity in slaughter numbers highlights Nigeria's preference for poultry over red meat, aligning with global trends in cost-effective protein consumption.
Nigeria leads Africa in total arable land with 36,872,000 hectares, more than twice that of Niger, the second-ranking country.
Niger ranks second with 17,700,000 hectares.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) ranks third with 13,680,000 hectares, revealing the role of Central Africa in agricultural land availability.
Other notable countries include Chad (5.3M hectares), Zambia (3.8M hectares), and Guinea (3.1M hectares).
The countries at the bottom of the top ten list, such as Congo (550,000 hectares), Liberia (500,000 hectares), and Mauritania (450,000 hectares), have relatively limited arable land compared to leading nations.
Many African countries can't grow apples naturally due to unfavourable climate and the required chilling hours.
Despite this, Africa's share of global apple output has grown from 0.66% (1962) to nearly 4% in 2022, averaging 2.3% over 60+ years. South Africa has been the biggest contributor, but Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria also play key roles, with the top four countries making up 96% of Africa's total production in 2022.
Since 1961, South Africa has led Africa in apple production, consistently topping the charts.