There are several varieties of food products consumed in Nigeria both local and intercontinental foods. But there few food products that are commonly consumed by everyday Nigerians. Almost every household consume theses foods daily. Nigeria, a country of about 226 million people has become one of the largest markets for these food items.
The commonly consumed foods in Nigeria are:
- Rice
- Fish
- Cassava (Garri, Fufu)
- Plantain
- Beans
- Egg
- Yam
Rice
Rice is the most food crop for about half of the human race, in particular for the South and East Asia and now spreading to Africa. In Nigeria, is the most staple food eaten by every household.
Rice can be prepared and eaten in different ways by Nigerians. Nigeria is popular by its jollof rice.
Milled rice production in Nigeria as of 2023 was about 5.2 million metric tons, and Nigeria’s annual rice import is average of 1.5 metric tons. According to report by USDA, Nigeria’s rice import in 2024 may rise to 2.1 million metric tons, making it the highest rice importer in the world.
Nigeria is blessed with suitable ecologies for different rice varieties which when properly harnessed can boost rice production to meet domestic demands. The cultivate able land to rice production covers five major ecologies via upland, lowland or shallow water swamp, irrigated rice, deep water/ floating rice and mangrove. This means rice can be grown in all regions of Nigeria. Potential land area for rice production in the country is 4.9 million hectares but only 3 million hectares is being cultivated.
Fish
Fish a commonly consumed meat in Nigeria. It's a good and cheap source of protein. It’s also recommended for those who have some health issues and aged people. And that has made Nigeria the largest fish market in Africa.
Nigeria consumes about 3.6 million metric tons of fish per year but produces only about 1.2 million metric tons annually, leaving a huge deficit of about 2.4 million metric tons to importation with import bill of $1.2 billion, as at 2022. Even the 1.2 million metric tons produced locally, only about 440,187 are produced through aquaculture, about 759,828 metric tons are through fisheries. Nigeria's local production increased from 1.07 metric tons in 2021 to 1.2m in 2022. Consumption also increased from 2.97 metric tons in 2021 to 3.6 million metric tons in 2022. Consumption is therefore expected to increase annually. This makes fish farming a lucrative business in Nigeria.
Cassava
Cassava is another popular food amongst Nigerians eaten by almost every household. Cassava can be prepared in different forms — garri, fufu etc
Garri
Is a king food in Nigeria as most Nigerian households consume it.
Plantain
Plantain is highly sought after because of its nutritional values and medicinal effects — it is a good source of Iron, Potassium, Magnesium, Protein, Vitamins etc, and it is highly recommended food for diabetic patients, and a good preventive for health conscious individuals.
Almost every household consumes plantain in different forms. Plantain pulp can be eaten by cooking, frying or roasting it. It can as well be processed into flour. When processed into flour, it can be eaten as gruel and used in making biscuits, cakes, puff-puff etc.
Nigeria produces and consumes about 2.8 million metric tons of plantain per yearly.