In the pursuit of helping Nigeria’s economic recovery drive, after the Covid-19 pandemic, the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) has taken a step to increase the production of sesame to boost the economy. BINTA SHAMA reports.
The production of sesame in Nigeria
Study shows that Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is a diploid 2n = 26 plant belonging to the family of Pedaliaceae. Sesame is widely adopted as an early crop, because it has the ability to grow under hot and dry conditions. Sesame is presently mostly cultivated around the dry tropics between the latitudes of 40° N and S.
Worldwide, in 2018, sesame was cultivated on an estimated area of about 11.7 million hectares with Sudan, India, Myanmar, United Republic of Tanzania and South Sudan contributing 29.6, 14.7, 12.5, 6.8 and 5.3% of the world total area harvested of sesame. According to FAOSTAT, the top 5 world sesame seed producers were Sudan (981 000 tons), Myanmar (768 858 tons), India (746 000 tons), Nigeria (572 761 tons) and United Republic of Tanzania (561 103 tons). FAOSTAT, shows that the main sesame seeds importers in the world include China, mainland (828 211 tons), Japan (157 170 tons), Turkey (152 237 tons), Republic of Korea (72 063 tons), and Viet Nam (63 761 tons). In 2018 Sudan (451 177 tons) was the largest exporter followed by India (326 828 tons).
26 states growing sesame in Nigeria
There are two types of sesame seeds produced in Nigeria. These are the white/raw food-grade used in bakery industry which contains 98-100% white grade seeds and the brown/mixed type primarily used for oil production. Currently, there are 26 sesame-growing states in Nigeria; Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Nassarawa, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, and Abuja. Jigawa has the highest area of production and total production in the country followed by Benue State. Experts believe that Nigeria can produce up to 1.5 million tonnes per annum. The major challenge is the lack of capacity to extract the sesame oil at industrial scale as most sesame farmers are only able to harvest, thresh, clean, and put in bags for sales. Production statistics shows that 60-70% of the sesame seed produced in the country is exported abroad. As a result, industrial processing and utilization of sesame have not been fully developed in Nigeria. However, the product is locally processed and utilized in various forms in the states where the crop is cultivated. Principal among the products are kantun ridi and kunun ridi. At the local level, the oil is extracted from the seed and the cake is made into kulikuli which together with the leaves are used to prepare local soup known as miyar taushe. Experts believe that for Nigeria to maximize its potential, it has to first increase production, and secondly set up dehauling plants for value-addition, and thirdly to set up a sesame oil processing plant.
Sesame: Very nutritious for health with high market value
Sesame is cultivated for its seeds which are very nutritious and confer numerous health benefits. The seeds contain a very high oil content (32.8–62.7%). Sesame oil contain high unsaturated essential fatty acids made up of 37-47% linoleic acid, 34–43% oleic acid and low saturated fatty acids, mostly, 8-11% palmitic acid and 5-10% and stearic acid. The seeds also contain 14.1–29.5% proteins, 4.3–20.5% carbohydrates, 4.2–6.9% ash, and 2.7–6.7 fiber content, along with vitamin E, minerals, lignans most especially, sesamolin, sesamin, and tocopherols. The monounsaturated fatty acids such as oleic and polyunsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic acids are the two most important and predominant fatty acids in sesame seeds. In addition, sesame seed mineral composition includes K (349–851 mg/100g), P (50–890 mg/100g), Mg (305–79 mg/100g), Ca (80–1263 mg/100g) and sodium (123 mg/100g. The anti-oxidant substances sesamin and sesamolin, makes sesame seeds a health food. In addition, sesame oil is very resistant to oxidative deterioration due to tocopherols whose bioavailability can be increased by sesamol, which can only be found in sesame seeds, making it a very special oil crop. These functional ingredients in sesame protect against hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, cancers, and for managing atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus, obesity, chronic renal failure, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease as well as dermatological diseases.
Global markets
The global sesame seeds market was valued at $6.67 billion in 2019. It is anticipated to reach $7.56 billion by 2027, growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 1.5% during the period. The market drivers include the rising number of patients with high cholesterol and blood pressure problems who are adding the seeds to diets. Coupled with this, the increasing number of diabetic patients is anticipated to boost the growth of the sesame seeds market in the forecast period. Also, amidst the coronavirus pandemic, people have been including nutritional food in their daily life. Even though the pandemic has disrupted the supply and chain, the rapid growth in digitization has increased the sales of sesame seeds across the globe. In addition, the growing adoption of sesame seeds in personal care products such as skin cleansers and hair products is expected to boost the growth of the market.
RMRDC promoting the production of sesame
The Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) has taken giant strides in promoting sesame seed production and processing in Nigeria. In its efforts to promote increased sesame seed production the Council in collaboration with National Cereal Research Institute (NCRI), Badeggi, Niger state boosted the production of sesame through the provision of improved sesame variety (2 tonnes of kenana 4 from Sudan) to Sasakawa Global 2000 and Sesame Seed Associations of Nasarawa, Niger, Kaduna, Kebbi and Jigawa states.
Sesame seed production was also promoted in Abaji Area Council of FCT with the distribution of 2.5 tonnes of improved sesame variety. Likewise, RMRDC organized and hosted a stakeholders’ meeting on Sesame at Lafia, Nasarawa state to sensitize farmers on global best practices in sesame production and investors on economic and industrial potentials of sesame. To promote value addition to sesame seed, the Council has established a sesame processing plant at the Technology Incubation Centre, Agege, Lagos for oil and cake production. Establishment of the plant catalyzed the establishment of other sesame seed processing plants across the country.
Bakery & confectionery products
In 2019, the bakery & confectionery products segment contributed a significant market share which is expected to grow at a healthy rate during the forecast period. The increasing adoption of sesame seeds in the bakery and snacks is driving the growth of the market. Moreover, the rising inclination towards healthier products is boosting the market growth. The cosmetics segment is expected to grow at a robust rate owing to the growing demand for organic/natural cosmetics across the globe.
Also, in order to improve sesame seed quality, reduce processing time and increase output, local utilisation and export, the Council deployed multi grains thresher and winnowing machines to Nagari Ridi Cooperative Society, Dakin Gari, Kebbi State. The Multiple Grains Thresher has the capacity of threshing 1.5 tonnes of grains (sesame, sorghum, millet, maize, groundnut, beans) per hour while the Winnowing Machine has the capacity to process 500 kg of grains per hour. This effort has catalyzed investments in sesame processing in Kebbi State with production rising to about 2000 tonnes per annum.
Partnership with Dantata Group
RMRDCRMRDC in partnership with the Dantata Group of Companies is establishing a sesame seed processing factory at Abaji Area Council, FCT. The processing factory would comprise 1 tonne/hour sesame seed dehulling plant, 8,000 tonnes/annum multi- purpose grains cleaning machine, 4.5 tonnes/hour mini-sesame seed oil extracting machine and 100 tonnes/day sesame seed oil refinery. In line with the project agreement, RMRDC has met its obligations, if not for some challenges beyond its control. Danata Group of Companies would also have fulfilled its responsibility of providing the infrastructure and installing all the equipment for the process plant. RMRDC has continued with its programme of boosting improved sesame seed production.
