Nigeria runs from semi-arid Sahel in the north to rainforest and swamp in the south, and each belt suits different cash crops. This tool maps crops to the zones where they do well, gives realistic yields, and works out roughly how much land it takes to fill a 40-foot export container — so if you’re planning a farming business, you start with honest numbers instead of hope.
Filter by belt, then read across: realistic Nigerian yield, how much fills a 40ft container, and the land one container needs in a single harvest. All figures indicative — see the notes below.
One of Nigeria’s biggest agri exports. Annual crop, ~90–120 days to harvest — quick return compared with tree crops.
Light and bulky — the container fills on space before weight, so loads are smaller. Strong demand from Mexico, the US and Europe.
Nigeria is a leading exporter; Kaduna is the heartland. ~8–10 months to harvest. Fresh yields are far higher but dry down to ~20–25%.
Tree crop: ~3 years to first nuts, several more to full yield. Land figure assumes bearing trees — budget for the early no-income years.
Tree crop: ~3–5 years to first real yield, then decades of production. Nigeria’s classic export — Ondo, Cross River and Osun lead.
Annual, ~100–120 days. Big and growing domestic demand (feed, oil) as well as export — often the easier crop to sell locally.
Annual, ~90–120 days. Northern staple with export and oil-processing demand. Watch aflatoxin — buyers test for it.
Light when dried, so volume-limited. ~90–150 days. Good drying and grading are what separate export-grade from local-market chilli.
Tree crop: ~3–4 years to bear, peak years 8–15. Needs a mill to extract oil — most domestic demand is unmet, so it often sells at home.
Shea grows on scattered wild trees and is gathered, not farmed in rows — planted shea can take 15–20 years to bear. Export volume is built by aggregating many collectors.
Tapped from acacia trees in the dry north, doubling as a shield against desertification. Trees take ~4–5 years; yields per tree are small but steady.
Pick a crop and enter the land you have (or plan to farm). We’ll estimate the annual output and how many 40ft containers that comes to — and what one container a month would take. Every figure is an indicative planning estimate, shown as a range.
1 hectare ≈ 2.47 acres ≈ 2 to 2.5 standard plots.
No black box — here’s exactly how the land figures are built, so you can sanity-check them against your own numbers.
A 40ft container’s usable payload is about 26–28 tonnes. But for many crops the space fills before the weight limit, so real export loads run from ~10–12 t for light, bulky dried produce (hibiscus, chilli) up to ~24–26 t for dense seeds and grains (sesame, soybean, cocoa).
Most of these crops harvest once (sometimes twice) a year, not monthly. So “one container a month” means producing about 12 containers a year — grown in season and shipped across the year from storage, or aggregated from several farms. It’s a commercial-scale target.
These figures get you to a sensible starting point. They are not a promise — farming outcomes depend on things no calculator can see.
Seed variety, soil, rainfall or irrigation, pests, disease and management can push your yield well below — or above — these ranges. Two farms in the same state can differ two-fold.
Cocoa, cashew and oil palm take 3–5 years before any real harvest. The land figures assume mature, bearing plants — the early years are cost with no income, and must be budgeted.
Commodity prices move with global markets and the season. Growing well is only half the business — you also need a buyer, the right grade, and clean post-harvest handling to reach export quality.
All yields, container loads and land figures on this page are indicative planning estimates drawn from general ranges for Nigerian production, not guarantees or agronomic advice. Actual results depend on variety, soil, climate, inputs, pests, management and post-harvest handling, and can fall outside these ranges. Container loads vary with packing, moisture and shipping-line weight limits. Most crops are seasonal, so “per month” figures represent an annualised target (about 12 containers a year), not literal monthly production. Tree-crop land figures assume mature, bearing plants and exclude the years to maturity. This tool is a starting point only — before investing, get a soil test, consult your State Agricultural Development Programme (ADP), extension officers or a qualified agronomist, and prepare a full budget. Commodity prices and demand change; a buyer is never guaranteed.
The hardest part of a farming business often isn’t growing the crop — it’s finding a buyer, meeting export grade, and moving it. That’s Wigmore’s side of the fence. We buy and export these commodities every day, so a serious grower is a supplier we want to talk to.
We can’t promise a purchase or a price without seeing your crop and agreeing terms — but the conversation is free, and it’s the right one to have before you plant, not after.
Tell us what you’re thinking of growing, where, and on how much land — and we’ll talk through realistic volumes, export grade and getting it to buyers.
