Brewers in the country are said to be using more of sorghum, a crop that is widely grown in Nigeria in place of barley in beer and malt making.
According to a report by BusinessDay, Adamu Batur, Secretary, Sorghum, Millet Farmers Association of Nigeria, said that “The brewery industry is buying so much from sorghum farmers now than before.”
Producers of beverages in the country have been urged to explore the use of cocoyam as an alternative to sorghum.
The recommendation came from the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), which said it had discovered that cocoyam can be used in beer production and other beverages.
The President of MAN, Dr. Frank Jacobs, who stated this through the Director, Corporate Communications, MAN, Mr. Ambrose Oruche, noted that this discovery came out of the partnerships that the group had formed with indigenous researchers while on the quest to increase local sourcing of raw materials.
Nigeria’s agricultural production of sorghum has leaped to the second place, now trailing only the United States in annual production.
Data obtained from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecasts world sorghum production at 59.34 million metric tonnes for 2017/2018.
Of this number, USA’s output is projected to reach 8.4m metric tonnes while Nigeria is second with 6.4m metric tonnes, and Mexico comes in the third position with 6.0m metric tonnes.
