Serial Nigerian entrepreneur and innovator, Itoro Etetim, has drawn attention to what he describes as one of Nigeria’s most significant missed industrial opportunities with fluted pumpkin, popularly known as Ugu.
In a detailed post on his Facebook account, Etetim argued that the crop is currently undervalued and sold in markets across Uyo, Aba, Onitsha, and other cities in the traditional form of tied bundles, which become worthless within 72 hours.
He noted that alongside Ugu is waterleaf, which is even more perishable and cheaper, yet together they represent a major unexploited industrial feedstock on the continent.
Etetim, a Materials Science graduate of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana, explained that the value of Telfairia occidentalis goes far beyond its current use as a leafy vegetable. He outlined a ladder of potential derivatives starting with the seed oil, which contains 30 to 50 per cent oil content suitable for the growing global nutraceutical and speciality oil market.
He pointed out that the global pumpkin seed oil market was valued at about USD 1.14 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow at 10.5 percent annually. Nigeria grows the plant abundantly but has no large-scale crushing industry to tap into this premium market.
After oil extraction, the press cake yields high protein content that could feed into the rapidly expanding plant-based protein market, currently valued at USD 22.5 billion and expected to reach USD 38 billion by 2033. He noted that Ugu seed protein shows competitive amino acid profiles.
Etetim further highlighted opportunities in the leaf itself, from basic preservation methods such as freezing and drying to higher-value extraction of bioactive compounds like quercetin, kaempferol, and ferulic acid used in supplements and cosmetics.
He stressed that the entire system could function as a near-zero-waste industrial process. However, he identified two major challenges: the need for proper agronomy focused on seed yield rather than just leaves, and the critical importance of cold chain and processing infrastructure located near farms.
Etetim concluded that Nigeria has the raw material advantage and domestic market to industrialise fluted pumpkin successfully, questioning whether the eventual company that achieves this will be Nigerian-owned.
The post has generated considerable discussion online about agricultural value addition and the need to move beyond selling raw crops in their most basic form.
