Some experts in agriculture sector on Thursday lamented low industrial utilisation of Cassava in Nigeria despite the facts that the country has worn the crown as the world’s largest producer of cassava.
They disclosed this during the 10th anniversary of the Industrial Cassava Stakeholders Association of Nigeria, ICSAN, Annual General Meeting in Lagos.
They said across villages and farmlands stretching from the South-West to the Niger Delta and the Middle Belt, cassava had remained a dependable crop, feeding homes, supporting rural livelihoods and sustaining millions of small holder farmers.
Speaking on a keynote address titled, “A Decade of Growth, A Future of Policy,” Prof Eniola Fabusoro, the Country Director, IDH Nigeria said “Nigeria does not have a cassava production problem.
“But what we have is a cassava system problem. Despite producing over 63 million metric tonnes annually, Nigeria continues to export raw opportunities while importing refined value.”
Fabusoro lamented that while Nigeria leads in volume, countries in Southeast Asia have moved far ahead in value addition, exports and industrial processing.
“We are a global leader, but yet not a global leader in value. We export jobs and then import value from a crop that we produce more than any country in the world,” he said.
“The future of cassava must move beyond farming alone. Policy must shift from how we produce more cassava to how we connect cassava to market and value,” he stressed.
He said the next phase of growth requires Nigeria to abandon fragmented interventions and embrace coordinated value-chain development driven by infrastructure, logistics, storage, energy and private-sector leadership.
He warned that without traceability, standardisation and supply-chain reliability, multinational industrial buyers would continue to look elsewhere.
“The next decade will not be led by those who produce cassava, but by those who organise the system around it,” he declared.
Also speaking, Mr Segun Ladele, the President, ICSAN, admitted that while the association had recorded significant milestones within its first decade, major structural gaps still threaten the industry’s future.
Ladele noted that Nigeria’s cassava production rose from about 50 million metric tonnes to over 63 million metric tonnes within the last 10 years, but industrial utilisation remains painfully low.
“About 80 per cent is consumed locally as food, five per cent goes into industry and about 15 per cent for export.
“So when we are talking about industrialisation, there is still a lot of room for improvement,” he explained.
He pointed accusing fingers at weak inter-ministerial coordination, especially following recent tariff adjustments that opened the floodgates for imported starch products.
According to him, the absence of synergy between the ministries of Agriculture, Industry, Finance and Economic Planning contributed to the current glut devastating local producers.
“The Ministry of Trade and Industry just felt there was a demand gap and opened the border, but because there was no proper coordination, far more products came in than necessary,” he said.
Mrs Oluyemisi Iranloye, the Vice President of ICSAN and founder of Psaltry International Company Limited, warned that cheap imported corn starch is threatening the survival of Nigeria’s local cassava processing industry.
“If not properly checked, it can wipe out the whole cassava industry,” she warned.
Iranloye explained that reduced import tariffs have made foreign starch products significantly cheaper than locally processed alternatives, placing Nigerian processors at a dangerous disadvantage.
“Farmers are now selling far below cost price because manufacturers are not able to buy the volume they normally buy,” she said.
According to her, between 50 and 70 starch factories, alongside about 20 industrial ethanol factories in Nigeria, depend heavily on cassava supply chains.
“Any disruption to local processing, she warned, could affect millions of rural livelihoods.
“If the cassava processors survive, millions of cassava farmers will also survive because we will buy and they will continue to produce,” she added.
Prof Chiedozie Egesi, the Executive Director of the National Root Crops Research Institute, argued that Nigeria already had enough policies on cassava development, but lacks the political will to enforce them.
“Nigeria is the largest producer for a long time, but that’s not enough to drive anything. We need to make cassava market-driven,” he said.
Drawing comparisons with Thailand and Vietnam, Egesi noted that those countries transformed cassava into major economic drivers through deliberate industrial policies, infrastructure investment and aggressive implementation.
He insisted Nigeria must stop seeing cassava solely as a food-security crop and begin to position it as an industrial raw material capable of powering manufacturing, livestock feed, starch production and export earnings.
“We know the solution. What is lacking is the willpower,” he stated. For Egesi, the challenge extends beyond government alone.
“It has to take government, the private sector and financial institutions to make all of this happen,” he added.
The highlight of the event was the presentation of awards of excellence to eight outstanding individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of the cassava sector in Nigeria and globally.
Among the award recipients were the Executive Director of the National Root Crops Research Institute, Professor Chiedozie Egesi, and the former Executive Director of the National Root Crops Research Institute, Dr. Godwin Asumugha.
Others Mr Cyril Onwuamaeze Ugwu, Elder Olufemi Yerokun, Madam Adenike Tinubu, Mrs. Ifeoma Mary Okonkwo, Mr. Chibuzor Okwor and Engr. Charles Adeniji recognised for their impact on cassava research, industrialisation and value-chain development.