Potentials of Date Palm Tree to the Nigerian Economy

Date palm tree is an economic crop which is grown in the arid region of Northern Nigeria from latitude 10° N in the Sudan savannah and the Sahel regions. Its role in food production, foreign exchange earnings, raw materials for industries, income and employment generation makes it a crucial asset for National Economic Development. It was observed that Nigeria is not yet listed among the Date producing nations in West Africa and the world. The aim of this paper was to reveal the potentials of date palm tree to the nation's economy. In West Africa Niger was the highest Date producer with total production of 37794MT, in 2009. In Africa Egypt was the highest with 1,350,000MT and world highest producers, followed by Iran with 1,088,040MT and Saudi Arabia with 1,052,400MT all in 2009. Findings also revealed a significant increase in the level of production over the years, indicating a very bright market prospect at the international scene. For Nigeria to reach its full potential, the commercial development of Date products are imperative. Government should establish a Date palm settlement scheme and provide policy that is private sector engineered to increase productivity in all chains of date palm production.