Business Economy Plateau

Business Economy Plateau State

Plateau State state is best known for its mining production, agriculture is the major occupation of the people. Acha (a grain known as “hungry rice”) and millet are the chief cash crops; yams, sorghum, corn (maize), potatoes, cowpeas, rice, fruits, and vegetables are the staple crops.

Fulani herdsmen graze their cattle on the tsetse-free plateau and supply milk to the dairy at Vom. Among the major exports of the state are hides and skins.

Plateau state is the most important mining area in Nigeria and is a major exporter of tin and columbite. The tin is smelted just outside Jos, the state capital and its largest town.

The metals are shipped by rail to Port Harcourt for export. Other minerals, notably tantalite, kaolin, tungsten (wolfram), zircon, and thorium compounds, are also exploited on the plateau. Lead, zinc, and silver are mined on a small scale in the eastern part of the state around Wase, Zurak, and Kigom.