By Ruramiso Mashumba, in conversation with Stella Thomas

Across Africa, maize is more than a crop. It is food security, livestock feed, industrial raw material, and rural livelihoods. In Nigeria, the largest economy in Africa and the biggest agricultural market in West Africa, maize plays an especially central role in feeding people and powering the country’s rapidly expanding poultry and food industries.

Nigeria today stands as Africa’s second-largest maize producer after South Africa and the largest producer in West Africa, producing over 12 million metric tons annually in recent years. Globally, the country ranks among the leading maize-producing nations. Yet despite this impressive production scale, Nigeria’s maize sector remains constrained by low yields, production inefficiencies, and widening demand pressure.

In a conversation with Nigerian farmer Stella Thomas, we examine the realities of maize production in Nigeria—its strengths, its constraints, and the opportunities that lie ahead.

Maize: Nigeria’s Most Widely Planted Crop
Maize is one of the most widely cultivated crops in Nigeria and accounts for the largest hectarage under cultivation across the country. The crop is grown in virtually every agro-ecological zone, from the savannah belt to parts of the middle belt and southern regions.

However, production is concentrated in several key states including Kaduna, Borno, Niger, Plateau, Katsina, Gombe, Bauchi, Kogi, Oyo, and Taraba. Together, these states account for roughly 60% of the country’s maize output.

Beyond being a staple food, maize plays a critical role in Nigeria’s rapidly growing livestock industry. Between 45% and 60% of maize produced in Nigeria is used for animal feed, particularly for poultry production. The remaining share is used for human consumption and industrial processing, including maize flour, cornflakes, brewing, and starch production.

Despite this strong demand, production growth has struggled to keep pace with consumption. Nigeria’s annual maize demand ranges between 12 and 15 million metric tons, driven largely by feed mills and food processors. This places the country’s demand gap at roughly 2–4 million metric tons annually.

The Yield Problem
While Nigeria produces large volumes of maize, its productivity remains significantly below global standards. Average maize yield in Nigeria has remained relatively stagnant at around 1.7 to 1.8 tons per hectare since 2017. In comparison, South Africa averages about 4.9 tons per hectare, more than double Nigeria’s yield.

Seed Genetics: The Missing Engine of Productivity
One of the biggest drivers of yield differences between Nigeria and higher-performing maize producers is seed genetics. According to estimates from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), less than 10% of Nigerian farmers currently use hybrid maize varieties. The majority rely on farmer-saved seed, which often suffers from declining genetic vigor and reduced resistance to pests and diseases.

Hybrid seeds offer significantly higher productivity potential. Experts estimate that if Nigeria increased hybrid seed adoption from 10% to over 50%, national maize yields could double from about 2 tons per hectare to over 4 tonnes per hectare. Such a shift could increase national production to approximately 20 million metric tons annually, more than enough to close the country’s current supply gap.
Improved maize varieties also offer resistance to major threats such as Striga weed infestation and the devastating Fall Armyworm, which has caused yield losses of up to 50% in some regions.

Soil Fertility and Input Underutilization
Another major contributor to Nigeria’s maize yield gap is low input utilization. Many farmers apply little or no fertilizer due to high costs and limited access to credit. Crop protection products are also underutilized, leaving crops vulnerable to pests and diseases.
Equally important is the issue of soil productivity. Many maize fields in Nigeria suffer from poor soil structure, shallow soil depth, nutrient depletion, and declining organic matter. Few farmers conduct soil testing. As a result, fertilizer is often applied using blanket recommendations that rarely match the specific nutrient needs of the soil.

Correcting this challenge requires a shift toward regenerative soil management practices, including soil testing, organic matter restoration, balanced nutrient application, and crop rotation systems that rebuild soil health over time.

Mechanization Gaps
Mechanization represents another major bottleneck in Nigeria’s maize sector. Approximately 70% of Nigerian maize farmers still plant by hand using hoes, resulting in irregular spacing, poor plant populations, and inconsistent crop establishment.

Precision planting is critical for maize productivity. Achieving the right plant population—often between 53,000 and 66,000 plants per hectare depending on the variety—is essential to maximizing yield potential. Without mechanical planters, achieving this level of precision is extremely difficult.

Post-Harvest Losses
Post-harvest losses also remain significant. Losses are estimated at 20–30%, largely due to poor storage infrastructure, pest infestation, and inadequate drying systems. Improving storage technologies, expanding grain aggregation systems, and strengthening value chain infrastructure will be essential to protecting farmer income and national food supply.

Nigeria and the Global Maize Trade
Despite its large domestic production, Nigeria remains a minor player in international maize trade. Exports are limited and largely occur through informal cross-border trade into the Sahel region. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, Nigeria exported approximately 50,000 metric tons of maize in 2019.

At the same time, the country occasionally imports maize during supply shortages. Imports doubled from 0.5 million metric tons to 1 million metric tons between October 2019 and October 2020, with shipments coming from Argentina, Brazil, the United States, and China.

Financing and Agronomic Knowledge Gaps
Access to finance remains another structural constraint. Many smallholder maize farmers struggle to obtain loans from commercial banks due to lack of collateral and formal credit history.

Programs such as the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers Program were designed to address this gap, but challenges in implementation have limited their long-term effectiveness.

The Path Forward
Despite these challenges, Nigeria’s maize sector holds enormous potential. Closing the country’s maize production gap will require coordinated action across the value chain: expanding hybrid seed adoption, improving soil health, increasing access to mechanization, strengthening farmer training and extension systems, reducing post-harvest losses, and improving agricultural finance systems.
Nigeria does not lack farmers. What it needs are the tools, knowledge, and systems that allow farmers to reach their full productivity potential.

Report by – Ruramiso Mashumba, Zimbabwe, Global Farmer Network Regional Lead: Africa Ag