Every day, between eight and 12 trucks loaded with groundnut leave Maihula grain market to various destinations in the country. This is apart from pick up vans and vehicles that transport groundnut to other parts of the country on daily basis.
Maihula town, located along Jalingo-Bali Road in Taraba State, is a hub of groundnut production in the state.
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Most oil millers from across the country source their groundnut from Maihula.
Findings revealed that both small- and large-scale groundnut farmers are making good fortune, which has attracted more farmers into groundnut farming in the area in recent years.
The existing grain market in the town is an advantage to farmers because grain merchants from parts of the country patronize the market.
Gradually, groundnut became one of the major produces traded in the market apart from maize, paddy rice and other commodities.
Farmers from Gashaka, Donga, Kurmi, Ussa and Gassol local government areas bring groundnut for sale on daily basis because of the demand for the commodity.
A farmer, Mallam Hassan Saidu, said ban on importation of cooking oil by the federal government had increased demand for groundnut, which is the main raw material for production of cooking oil.
“You see, the prices of cooking oil and palm oil have gone up, resulting in increase in price of groundnut and demand for it.
“We take advantage of high demand and market for groundnut to embark more on groundnut farming in this area, and farmers and traders are making good fortune in groundnut farming and business,” he said.
Findings revealed that in the 1980s and 1990s, Dananacha town in Gassol Local Government Area was the centre of groundnut production and sales. It was further learnt that the crisis between Tiv and Jukuns in 2021 affected Dananacha town and the grain market was closed down.
Most of the farmers relocated from there to Maihula and other areas in Bali LGA, and gradually, communities in the area embarked on groundnut farming.
A farmer, Sani Rafui, said they started groundnut farming on a small scale but gradually scaled up production because of the good price they were getting from the produce.
He said others were also attracted by high yields recorded recently aside from the prices.
Rafiu explained that the ban on importation of cooking oil has created high demand for groundnut because many people have set up oil mills while those that were not in production are now functional.
He said local groundnut oil producers have also taken advantage of the demand for local cooking oil to join the production line.
A groundnut buyer in the area, Tasiu Adamu, noted that in the past years, price of un-threshed bag of groundnut was between N4,000 and N6,000 but in 2016, the price started going up to N20,000 per 100kg bag.
He said between 2019 and this year, more people have engaged in groundnut threshing business and presently there are about 60 threshing machines in the town, with each threshing more than 50 bags per day.
Findings also revealed that each day, more than 10 trailers transport groundnut to various locations in the country.
Taraba State Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr David Ishaya Kassa, said the state government was happy that farmers are now taking advantage of fertile land to grow groundnut and other export commodities.
He said the government would continue to support farmers to engage more on crops production, especially those that can be exported.
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