Sep 6, 20212 min read

Berom Culture: Farming Potatoes in Jos

Deciding to go to Jos wasn’t exactly an easy decision for me. We’ve all heard about the fighting in Jos over the years. However, one thing I’ve learnt is that whenever they report something is happening somewhere, usually it’s not in every part of the city and all the time. So since I hadn’t heard anything in a while, I decided to take a leap of faith and go. Even though that has changed in recent weeks, I’m so glad I took this trip.

One of the first things people always say about Jos is how cold it is there. During the day, it was 23 C and at night, the temperature dropped to 17 C. I made sure to take my windbreaker but I didn’t need it. The weather was just a perfect cool. I wasn’t cold and I didn’t sweat once. Loved it!

The second thing people usually mention about Jos is the farming. Jos is considered Northern Nigeria on the map but the topography and the way of life of the ethnic groups in Plateau state is more similar to Central Nigeria than Northern Nigeria.

Like I mentioned when talking about the Gbagyi people in Abuja, farming is a big deal for Central Nigeria because they have such fertile land so of course, it’s the same for the Berom people and other ethnic groups there.

Berom is the ethnic group I will be covering this week. There are over 20 ethnic groups in Plateau state but the Berom are one of the most popular with an over 90% majority in Jos.

Anyway let’s go farm! Do I know anything about farming? Not a thing. But am I always willing to try something new? Of course, yes!

So I told my guide, I wanted to visit a local farm. He said potatoes were one of the many crops grown in Plateau state. So we went to a potato farm. Funny thing is when we got to the farm, he told me the woman in charge of the farm was his WIFE!

In the video below, you see me trying my hands at harvesting potatoes. Side note: There are A LOT of soya beans farms in Jos and strawberries as well but they are ripe for harvesting at the beginning of the year.

Later that day, we visited a garden where they sell roses grown in Jos. Yes, you can grow roses in Jos and that’s just so cool to me.