Sorghum (Guinea Corn) Production in the Sub-Saharan Africa

This research reviewed the problems, prospects and trends of sorghum production and consumption in Africa (Evidence from Nigeria) between 2015/2016 to 2017/2018 projected production period, with specific reference to Nigeria (1961-2016). Sorghum is regarded as a major food security crop in Africa. Out of the global production of 61.70 million metric tonnes of sorghum that was produced from 42.60 million hectares, Africa alone accounted for 20.36 million metric tonnes (37.04%) and 24.81 Million ha (58.24%) respectively. Though sorghum productivity in the continent has not kept pace with increasing demand, the area under cultivation in almost all African countries has remained same over the period. Egypt, South Africa and Ethiopia ranked highest in terms of yield per hectare. Nigeria, Sudan and Ethiopia lead the continent in terms of total production within the period under review. These statistics account for Africa's contribution of about 37% of the global sorghum production out of which, Nigeria alone accounts for 10.5% of global sorghum production. It uses spanned from a variety of dishes for human consumption, animal feed, industrial usage and ethanol production in Africa.