The Export Brief 1 | Page 14

Inadequate mechanization can be directly linked to low agricultural production In the area of fertilizer production and consumption, the country’s total production still lags behind its estimated fertilizer consumption significantly. Mechanization is another area of deficiency. In 2017, it was estimated 50, 000 tractors were grounded or abandoned across the country. Estimates put the number of Crop Yield (1) Maize Rice Sorghum Cassava Millet Yam Soya bean Actual Yield on Farmers’ Field (2) 1.78 1.98 1.50 13.40 1.10 11.80 0.93 functioning tractors in Nigeria at less than 30, 000 available for use by 14 million farming households and farmers’ group. While tractor imports are free in Nigeria, high tariffs charged on spare parts import constitute a major impediment to the effective mechanization of agriculture in Nigeria. Potential Yield (3) Yield Gap (4) 5.0 6.0 5.0 28.4 2.4 18.0 2.0 3.22 4.02 3.50 15.0 1.3 8.2 1.07 Actual as a % of potential yield 35.6 33.0 30.0 47.2 45.8 65.6 46.5 Table 1: Potential and actual yield per crop. Source: World Bank report on Agribusiness Indicators in Nigeria, 2014 14 The Export Brief | MAY 2018 | IEOM-NG.ORG Yield Gap in % 181 203 233 112 118 69 115