By Mustapha Shettima, Alfaya Jibrilla, Mohammed Umar
In an effort to unlock the full potential of tiger nuts, the Women Entrepreneurs of Borno Agricultural Village, Maiduguri, paid a pivotal visit to the Borno State Coordinating Officer of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) recently. The delegation, led by Mrs. Habiba Zoaka and Mrs. Habiba Ali, engaged with RMRDC officials to discuss the agricultural resource’s untapped potential and its capacity to drive economic growth in the state.
The two women leaders briefed RMRDC on the abundant presence of tiger nuts, along with a variety of related raw materials, across Borno State, emphasizing their significant economic potential. According to Mrs. Zoaka and Mrs. Ali, the state is ripe for the commercial cultivation, processing, and value addition of tiger nuts, which could not only empower local women entrepreneurs but also create sustainable employment opportunities across the region.
“Tiger nuts are grown in all 27 local government areas of Borno State, and we currently have them in commercial quantities,” said Mrs. Zoaka. She further pointed out the existing challenges, including the lack of modern processing and packaging facilities, which hinder the effective commercialization of tiger nut-based products.
She elaborated on the ongoing efforts by the Women’s Group to create packaged, market-ready tiger nut products, but noted that the small-scale, manual methods used by the group had proven to be inefficient and time-consuming. Despite their efforts, the products remain vulnerable to contamination due to poor packaging.
You Might AlsoLike
To address these issues, the group called on the RMRDC to provide much-needed technical expertise and modern machinery for efficient processing and packaging. The goal is to elevate the current production standards, improve product quality, and increase marketability. Mrs. Zoaka stressed that training members of the Women Entrepreneurs group in advanced techniques for processing and packaging would not only empower them but also enable them to pass on these skills to other women in the state.
“The current manual methods are not only slowing us down but are also affecting the quality of the products,” she said. “By equipping us with the right knowledge and tools, we can create more value and increase the economic importance of tiger nuts as a raw material.”
The Women Entrepreneurs of Borno are hopeful that with the support of RMRDC, they can enhance their production methods, create a more attractive and professional product range, and ultimately build a self-sustaining, women-led industry capable of competing in global markets. They envision a future where the entire supply chain, from cultivation to packaging, can be industrialized, making tiger nut-based products not only an economic asset for Borno but also a global commodity.
The Borno State Coordinator of RMRDC, Mr. Mustapha Shettima, stated to the visiting women that the Director General/CEO of RMRDC Prof. Nnanyelugo Martin Ike-Muonso is committed to exploiting, developing and utilizing raw materials in the state and Nigeria in general. He is also pursuing a vigorous agenda to involve key indigenous fabricators in the production of machinery and equipment for processing and packaging of products and to organize Seminars/workshops for trainings on the production, processing and packaging of tiger nuts and tiger nuts products.
He also assured the women that Council will continue to partner with SMEs to eradicate poverty, create business opportunities and boost the use of local raw materials.in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s agenda of boosting agriculture to achieve food security. He also mentioned the many efforts of RMRDC in raw materials development.
