Sokoto State Governor, Ahmed Aliyu has said the state contributes approximately 40 percent of the total onions consumed in Nigeria, thus making the state the highest producer in the country.
The governor, who made this submission at the ongoing 6th International Conference On Onion organized by be Regional Observatory of Onion Sector in West and Central Africa and the National Onion Producers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria, (OPMAN).
The conference has its theme as “Onion Sector In the Era of Domestication of Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Pan African Payment Settlement System (PAPS) Challenges and Opportunities”.
While stressing that the agricultural sector plays a crucial role in every effort to revamp the economy, Governor Aliyu appealed to all and sundry to embrace and support agriculture in their respective capacities.
He said: “We have supported farmers in the state with fertilizers and farm inputs freely to make agriculture attractive”.
The governor further affirmed that he is convinced that revival of agriculture will reduce crime in the north especially the job of informants in the local areas.
In his appeal for stronger investment in the state and country, Governor Aliyu urged the well to do business class to invest in agriculture as a deliberate way of reducing unemployment and create job opportunities, adding his administration has ensured a very conducive environment with the existing ease of doing business policy.
On his part, the National Secretary, Onion Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria, Aliyu Isah Maitasamu, said Nigeria is yet to meet its annual domestic consumption demands despite doing well in the onion value chain.
Maitasamu who divulged that, despite the appreciable increase in onion production, nearly 50 to 60 percent of it is lost due to non availability of good preservative and storage facilities.
According to Maitasamu, Nigeria can generate over 151 billion naira from annual onion production if its storage facility is maximized.
OPMAN secretary further noted that on the global scene, over 74 million metric tons of onions is produced annually, with Nigeria rated 6th in the production index and Sokoto leading in the country, followed by Adamawa, Kebbi and others.
Countries that participated in the conference include those from Niger Republic, Togo, Ghana, Benin Republic and Nigeria.