Friday 11 December 2009

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS IN LAGOS MARKETS.







By S. Olanrewaju Disu.


ARTICLE THIRTEEN :

PINE - APPLE .

The pine-apple is a very important and highly profitable agricultural product in Lagos area markets. Its botanical name is “Ananas comosus _ Family Bromeliaceae”. The pine-apple is a tropical monocotyledonous plant with rigid leaves and a short stalk. The fruit of this plant [ the pine-apple ] is succulent and fleshy.

The pine-apple is grown commercially in all the southern rain-forest zones of Nigeria, including Lagos State. When in season, i.e. during harvest period, very large quantities of this fruit are available for sale - both for humans and fruit-packaging industries.

The pine-apple fruit is rich in Vitamin C, which is used in the prevention and treatment of scurvy and as an antioxidant for foods. The fruit, ripe and unripe, contains proteolytic enzyme similar to papain found in pawpaw [carica papaya ]. Hence, the rush among the populace to eat pine-apples when in season.

In addition to the above, the unripe fruit of pine-apple is known to be purgative, diuretic, anthelmintic and expectorant. Furthermore, in this part of the world, it is taken by women as an emmenagogue.

Besides conventional market places, so many road-side pine-apples’ markets and sheds spring up when the pine-apple is season. Apart from human consumption, the wastes that come up after its peeling for food are fed to domestic animals and pigs.

In the past, incredibly large percentages of the pine-apple harvests in Nigeria are lost due to lack of good storage facilities and know-how. Nowadays, however, fruit packaging industries have sprung up all over Lagos State. This has considerably reduced post-harvest wastages; and the employment of youths has been enhanced. Pine-apple farming in Lagos area and the whole of southern Nigeria is now carried out in leaps and bounds.




PHOTOGRAPHS :

WHOLESALE AND RETAIL MARKETING OF PINE-APPLE IN LAGOS MARKETS.

1 comment:

  1. Excellent article and great images of the fruits. The pineapple is extremely profitable agricultural farming product in Lagos place market. The pine-apple fruit is full of Vitamin C, which is used in the avoidance and therapy of scurvy and as an anti-oxidant for meals. The unripe fruit of pine-apple is known to be purgative, diuretic, anthelmintic and expectorant. Global Market Research

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