NIGERIA'S LONG LOST GROUNDNUT PYRAMIDS,OUR VERY OWN EGYPTIAN PYRAMID.

Kano was famous for its magnificent groundnut

pyramids during Nigeria’s period of agricultural

boom in the 1960s and early 1970s. Its groundnut

pyramids became synonymous with the country’s

agricultural wealth, and Kano was regarded as an

economic hub in West Africa.

A pyramid could be built with as much as 15,000

full bags of groundnut. Invented by the late Alhaji

Alhassan Dantata, a prominent groundnut trader,

the groundnut pyramids were a tourist attraction

and symbol of wealth. late

Alhaji Alhasan Dantata, a business

magnate who was also a merchant

of kolanuts, based in Kumasi,

Ghana, from where he shipped his

goods to Nigeria by sea.

In 1919, late Dantata returned to

Kano at the height of the

groundnut boom and became the

most prominent Hausa trader to

benefit from its commercial

success and in five years of his

involvement, he became a major

supplier of groundnuts to the Royal

Nigerian Company (RNC).

Kano State became famous in the

world commerce following the

magnificent groundnut pyramids

during the Nigerians period of

agricultural boom, especially in

50s, 60s and 70s and it

contributed 70 per cent to the

region’s export earnings.

The pyramids came about because licensed agents

would go to rural areas, buy up groundnut

harvests and bring everything to Kano for eventual

evacuation by train to the export facilities in

Lagos. Curiously, as groundnut production

declined in the 1970s, the pyramids disappeared

and were replaced by buildings and roads.

However, the Kofar Mazugal location of the

pyramids at Dala remains intact till today.

What happened?

Several factors led to the rapid decline in

groundnut production in Nigeria. The major

causes were drought, rosette virus, and

general neglect of agriculture due to oil boom,

lack of organized input and marketing and

dissolution of groundnut marketing boards.

There have been adverse changes in rainfall

pattern in the last thirty years. Average annual

rainfall has reduced

drastically from

800 mm to 600

mm and

consequently the

length of the

growing season has become shorter (from 4

to 3 months). Drought spells have become

more frequent than ever before. This

undoubtedly has led to the failure of

groundnut, which requires more than 4

months with the currently available cultivars

to reach maturity. Drought has also been

associated with outbreaks of diseases and

insect pests such as aphids. Aphids are

carriers of the groundnut rosette virus, which

is a devastating disease. It wipes out the

entire crop during epidemic outbreak. For

example, in 1975, an epidemic of rosette virus

destroyed nearly three quarters of a million

hectares of the crop in Nigeria and wiped out

regional trade worth estimated at US $ 250

million. Subsequent epidemics in 1983, 1985

and 1988 had a major impact on farmers’

decisions. Many of the farmers who suffered

financial ruin have stuck to other crops such

as cowpea, sorghum and pearl millet. As a

consequence, groundnut production has not

yet returned to the pre-1970 levels of 1.8

million t.

Research on fertilizer use in northern Nigeria

began in 1925. Experiments have shown that

groundnuts respond to added

superphosphate. Seed for planting was freely

distributed to growers and cash subsidy was

later introduced. This encouraged farmers to

use high quality seeds and fertilizer. With the

economic structural adjustment program,

subsidies for agricultural inputs were

removed. The decline in production and

dissolution of marketing boards led to the

collapse of the marketing structure that had

been established. Farmers are no longer

assured of a ready market for their produce.

This has led to the diffused sales of

groundnut and therefore, no single collection

center to build he pyramids. There was

complete neglect of Agriculture in Nigeria after

the discovery of petroleum oil in early

70s.The consequence of this development

was a more complex problem militating

against effective agricultural productivity.

There was a high cost of labor resulting from

the exodus of young people from rural areas

into urban centers in search of employment.

Such people considered agriculture a poor

man’s job.

With the devastating effects of the groundnut

rosette disease, many farmers abandoned

growing the crop. Even with the inception of

Agricultural Development Programs (ADPS)

and other externally funded projects, adaptive

research on groundnut was not given high

priority. Emphasis was placed on other crops

such as cereals and cowpea.