Economic Potential of Nigeria’s Indigenous Stimulants

Abstract

The most predominant stimulant plants in Nigeria are tea, coffee, kola, cocoa, bitter cola and Moringa oleifera.  The status of development of the different plant species differs considerably in the country.  Tea is produced mostly in Adamawa and Taraba states. The total land area under tea production in Nigeria is 1200ha.  While Mambilla tea is among the best in the world, tea production is bedevilled with several problems among which are poor yield and high cost of production.  Coffee is grown in eleven states of the federation.  The states cuts across different ecological regions in Nigeria. The most predominantly planted species is Coffee arabica.  Nigeria produced 35,000 bags in 2014 which represents 16.67% increase over the 30,000 bags produced in 2013.  Incompatibility problem is a major factor limiting coffee yield to 600-800kg/ha, making investment in coffee production less profitable. Cola acuminata and Cola nitida are the only two species of cola grown in Nigeria.  Nigeria produces 120,000 tons of cola mostly from southwest states.  The major factor limiting the development of kolanut in Nigeria is the small holding nature of faming activities and old age of kola trees.  Likewise, the current production of Garcinia cola in Nigeria is about 130,000 tons.  Most of these are consumed locally while about 10% are exported.  Annual cocoa production in Nigeria is about 210,000 tons. Most of these are exported in raw forms with very little processing activities going on.  Moringa oleifera on the other hand is a widely cultivated species in Nigeria. It is a useful medicinal plant with significant health benefits.  Products development from moringa is an area of strength that is being developed in Nigeria.More recently, efforts are being made to promote plantation establishment of most of the stimulants locally.

Keywords: stimulants, production, processing, plantation, small scale.