Groundnut is a legume with grains that are very nutritious and contain much protein (23-25%) and oil (45-52%). The grains can be used directly for food, or processed for cooking oil and a range of other products. Groundnut grain has a good market demand. The crop residues are also rich in protein and are good feed for livestock or form a good basis for compost manure.
Together with bacteria from the soil, groundnut forms root nodules. The bacteria are called rhizobia and can fix nitrogen from the air into a form that groundnut can use for growth. This explains why groundnut can grow and yield very well in soils poor in nitrogen. Part of the fixed nitrogen is used to make protein in the grain, but some of the nitrogen is also left behind in the field and improves soil fertility. This makes groundnut a good crop to grow as intercrop or in rotation with other crops, because these other crops then also benefit from the nitrogen. With good practices and the right varieties, grain yields can be as high as 4000 kg/ha.