By Nneka Nwogwugwu
Sesame production is leading as the highest non-oil export from Nigeria, as cocoa lost it first position.
Nigeria is the 7th major producer of high quality raw sesame seed worldwide.
The national president of the National Sesame Seed Association of Nigeria, Mr Sherrif Balogun, in an interview by Daily Trust, said, “Export of the Nigerian sesame is doing very well; it is always increasing. And I can tell you right now that sesame seed is the highest non-oil export from Nigeria. Cocoa used to be number one.
“Sesame seed is now number one; it tells you that we are doing well. The figure increases every quarter. In the last quarter released by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, it was number one in terms of non-oil export assets.”
With 10 states currently in production of sesame in Nigeria, there has been new establishment of sesame plants in new states, including the South and East.
Balogun added, “We have taken sesame to Ebonyi, Edo, Cross River and Abia states. These states were not known as sesame producers. The reason we did so was to ensure that we increased the quantity grown in Nigeria and give opportunity to farmers to be able to benefit from the sesame business.”
He said the federal government had taken interest in increasing crop produce as a major asset to increase the value chain, adding that the effort had shown significantly in the sesame sector, where production has increased to about 500,000 tons per annum in the last quota, although the sector is yet to benefit from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrowers Programme.
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