Nigerian and Taiwanese organizations are exploring how technology and expertise from Taiwan could help overcome some of the obstacles holding back Nigeria’s vast vegetable sector.
Nigeria produced almost 16 million tonnes of vegetables in 2020, according to FAO data, making it one of the world’s biggest producers. The country’s population is projected to rise from around 240 million today to 374 million by 2054, meaning it will need to produce substantially more vegetables to meet demand.
But farmers growing crops such as tomatoes, peppers, onions and okra face problems throughout the journey from farm to market – from accessing quality seed and growing healthy crops to keeping highly perishable vegetables fresh until they are sold.
Addressing those challenges were at the heart of the Taiwan-Nigeria VegConnect Forum, held in Lagos last week, organized by WorldVeg in partnership with the Taipei Trade Office in Nigeria. Funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan, it brought together government officials, researchers, universities, agribusinesses and farmer organizations.
Discussions focused on where Taiwanese experience and technology could be useful in Nigeria, including the use of improved vegetable seed, digital tools, irrigation, and covered growing systems, and ways to keep vegetables fresh on their journey to market. The forum also aimed to build business, investment, research and educational links between Taiwan and Nigeria, using vegetables as a starting point for wider economic cooperation.
From better varieties to better seed
One priority was to find ways of getting improved vegetable varieties – for example those bred to be tolerant to heat, drought, pests and diseases and preferred by local markets – into farmers’ hands. Developing them can take years of research and development but farmers only benefit if they can access quality seeds. In Nigeria, as in much of Africa, promising varieties can struggle to reach farmers because there are not always enough companies producing and distributing the seed at the scale needed.
Acknowledging this, WorldVeg Senior Scientist for Pepper Breeding, Derek W. Barchenger, said crop breeding had to be connected from the outset with the systems needed to get new varieties and technologies into farmers’ hands.
“A breeding result becomes impact when farmers can plant it,” Barchenger said. “Improved varieties and technologies must move through effective seed systems, production systems and markets. Delivery must be planned alongside research.”
For Barchenger, that means breeders and research organizations must work closely with seed companies, regulators, seed producers, agrodealers and farmers so that promising varieties can move from research into commercial production.
Taiwan’s well-established vegetable seed industry offers experience in how those links can work, and potential partners for Nigerian companies looking to get improved varieties to farmers. In addition, partnerships like the Africa Vegetable Breeding Consortium, a joint initiative of WorldVeg and the African Seed Trade Association, provide ways for seed companies of all sizes to access improved vegetable breeding lines, hybrids and technical expertise, allowing them to test promising material under local conditions and bring suitable varieties to market.
The effort to forge stronger links between vegetable breeders and seed companies is also at the heart of AfricaVeg, a new five-year initiative launched at the Africa Food Systems Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, recently. Led by WorldVeg, it aims to help improved vegetable varieties move more quickly from research into farmers’ fields.
Reducing losses from farm to market
Getting vegetables to market before they are damaged or spoil is another significant challenge in Nigeria, where fresh produce can travel long distances from farms to markets in major towns and cities, often in difficult conditions. Tomatoes are particularly vulnerable, largely due to poor handling and inadequate storage.
At the forum, participants looked at practical ways to reduce these kinds of losses, including use of better packaging, cooling and storage, as well as options for drying and processing vegetables so they last longer. They also identified the need for better irrigation systems, electricity provision, transport infrastructure and places where produce can be collected and stored.
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Some of these are areas where Taiwanese experience and technology could be useful. Taiwanese institutions and companies could bring expertise in the use of protected cultivation – from screen- and greenhouses to lower-tech options such as row covers, irrigation, digital farming (see below), and improved vegetable storage and handling. Meanwhile, Nigerian partners would determine what is useful and workable in local conditions.
Putting technology to work
Digital technology was identified as an area where Taiwanese experience could benefit Nigeria’s vegetable sector. Taiwan has spent years combining sensors, automated irrigation and other digital tools with greenhouse production of vegetables. These systems can monitor temperature, humidity and soil conditions and automatically adjust irrigation or other equipment, giving farmers greater control over how their vegetables are grown.
More broadly, digital services – well established in Taiwan – could give farmers easier access to weather forecasts, advice on growing crops, warnings about pests and diseases, market prices and potential buyers.
Participants in Lagos discussed how some of these technologies could be adapted to Nigerian conditions. They stressed that equipment would need to be affordable, practical, and tested locally before being introduced more widely.
They also identified training needs, in areas ranging from irrigation and crop protection to protected cultivation, food safety, handling vegetables after harvest and agribusiness management. Clear and efficient policies are equally important for variety registration, seed trade, phytosanitary compliance, equipment importation and private investment.
Connecting expertise across continents
Participants identified several possible next steps, including an assessment of vegetable seed systems in Nigeria, establishing trials of postharvest systems to reduce vegetable losses along key production corridors, demonstrations of protective production approaches, such as the use of screen- and greenhouse technologies, digital services for farmers and professional training.
WorldVeg – from its headquarters in Taiwan and regional offices in West Africa – could make important contributions, including through the provision of improved vegetable varieties and breeding material, as well as expertise in seed systems, vegetable production and storage, and training.
Taiwanese institutions and companies could provide technology and educational experience, while Nigerian partners would bring the local leadership and market knowledge needed to decide what works on the ground.
The forum laid the groundwork for closer links between Nigeria’s vegetable sector, the Taipei Trade Office, WorldVeg and Taiwanese organizations with relevant technology and expertise. The focus now will be on turning those connections into results for farmers – better varieties they can plant, technologies that make growing vegetables easier and more reliable, and more of their harvest reaching markets in good condition.
This work aligns with the Action Areas on Climate Resilience, and Food Safety and Loss Reduction in the WorldVeg Global Strategy 2026-2033. (Download｜Flipbook)
