Business
PHOTOS: Groundnut Pyramids, Kano – Northern Nigeria’s Cash Crop Symbol
Peanuts, bagged and stacked in pyramid-like structures, await transport in Kano, Northern Region, Nigeria.
Circa: 1955
Photo Credit: Pictorial Parade/Archive Photos/Getty Images
The groundnut pyramids stood as monumental symbols of Nigeria’s agricultural wealth in the mid-20th century. Built from thousands of groundnut sacks, they rose higher than surrounding buildings and became both an economic landmark and a tourist attraction.
By the 1950s, Nigeria produced 41% of West Africa’s groundnuts, with Kano at the heart of the trade. Farmers either sold to local agents or carried their produce directly to Kano, where the marketing board fixed prices. From there, produce was transported by rail to the port of Lagos for export.
Production peaked at over 1.6 million tonnes by 1973, but later declined sharply to less than 0.7 million tonnes by the mid-1980s.
The collapse of organized marketing boards, coupled with farmers’ shift to other crops (cowpea, millet, sorghum), marked the decline of the pyramid era.
Industries dependent on groundnut oil and by-products also suffered, with many closing or adapting to alternative raw materials.
Today, the once-famous pyramids are remembered as relics of Nigeria’s agricultural golden age, with the lingering question: can the pyramids be revived?
Source: asirimagazine
Peanuts, bagged and ready for transport, are stacked in pyramids at Kano, Northern Region, Nigeria, 1955. (Photo byPictorial Parade/Archive Photos/Getty Images)
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