ARMTI Advocates Public-Private Collaboration to Transform Nigeria's Potato Industry

News in Brief

-ARMTI’s Chief Executive, Dr Olufemi Oladunni, has urged government-private sector partnerships to boost Nigeria’s potato productivity, yields and market competitiveness.

-A Gates Foundation-backed CIP programme tests high-yield sweet potato varieties across Nigeria and East Africa, with promising results nearing official release to farmers.

In a bid to reposition Nigeria’s potato industry for growth and competitiveness, the CEO of the Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), Dr Olufemi Oladunni, has called for stronger synergy between government and private investors in the sector.

He argued that better cooperation between the stakeholders would help improve productivity, raise annual yields and accelerate the development of farming communities involved in potato cultivation. 

Oladunni noted that such partnerships could also enhance the industry’s ability to compete favourably in both domestic and international markets, adding that sustainable progress in agriculture depends on aligning public policies with private sector capacity. According to him, a coordinated approach is essential for building a more efficient and market-driven agricultural sector.

Challenging State of Nigeria's Potato Industry

These remarks come amid growing concern among stakeholders who believe that current support measures for the potato value chain are inadequate. Industry players have continued to push for clearly defined and time-bound policies that can strengthen farm incomes, expand processing activities and support export growth.

Nigeria’s potato sector has long grappled with inefficiencies that stifle its potential. Average yields hover around 4-5 tonnes per hectare, far below global benchmarks of 20-40 tonnes, due to poor seed quality, late blight disease and limited access to modern inputs. 

Major producing states like Plateau, Kaduna and Kano bear the brunt, where smallholder farmers dominate but lack the infrastructure for storage, processing or market linkages. Stakeholders argue that without urgent reforms, the sector risks missing opportunities in the growing demand for potatoes in food processing, exports and local consumption.

Continental Push for Sweet Potato Innovation

Amidst the ongoing situation, efforts are underway at the continental level to improve sweet potato production through science and innovation. The International Potato Centre (CIP), working with national research institutions and backed by the Gates Foundation, has launched a multi-country programme aimed at validating improved sweet potato varieties for large-scale adoption. The initiative, introduced at a meeting in Nairobi earlier this year, brings together experts from Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique to test high-performing varieties under real farming conditions.

The project focuses on advanced field trials that allow farmers to directly compare selected varieties based on yield, maturity, resilience and cooking quality. Consumer preference assessments and laboratory analysis are also being used to guide selection.

Preliminary outcomes from trials in Nigeria and other participating countries suggest that some of the new varieties deliver higher yields than widely grown types, alongside improved quality traits and strong consumer acceptance. A number of these candidates are now being prepared for official release following regulatory processes.

This initiative aligns with Nigeria’s broader agricultural priorities, including initiatives like the National Potato Strategy (NPS 2023-2028) and Lagos State’s training of over 300 women and youths in orange-fleshed sweet potato cultivation to combat malnutrition. By emphasising farmer-led trials using Tricot technology, the programme ensures varieties match real-world needs in drought-prone savannas and high-virus areas covering millions of hectares. Beyond breeding, it seeks to strengthen collaboration between research institutions, improve data systems and promote digital tools for decision-making, with demonstration farms set to drive adoption.

ARMTI's Drive for Improved Potato Production

ARMTI is a federal parastatal under the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security based in Ilorin, Kwara State, focused on capacity building in agricultural and rural development. Since its establishment in 1980, it has been providing training, research, and consultancy services in agricultural management, rural development, and agribusiness. 

Dr Oladunni’s advocacy echoes past efforts, such as ARMTI’s partnerships with CIP and state governments like Abia to upgrade subsistence farming into viable businesses. Yet, deeper reforms remain critical to tackle supply chain bottlenecks, from seed systems to export logistics.

For Nigerian potato and sweet potato farmers, these renewed calls for collaboration and regional developments signal a pathway to transformation. Private sector involvement, as seen in soybean exporters’ calls for policy alignment, could unlock significant gains. With food insecurity threatening millions amid rising prices, boosting potato value chains could enhance nutrition, incomes and self-sufficiency.