The Nigeria Cassava Growers Association (NCGA) has called for the establishment of the Cassava Development Commission to improve the cassava value chain and complement oil as the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy.
The President of NCGA, Pastor Segun Adewuni, made this known at the Agro-Commodity Roundtable Dialogue, Dinner, and Recognition Night, which was organized by the Federation of Agricultural Commodity Associations of Nigeria (FACAN).
The NCGA president pointed out that there are two programs for cassava development, stating that the country should separate the agenda of cassava for food security from that of cassava for industrial use to encourage efficient production.
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He emphasized that the creation of such a commission requires strong political will while calling for consideration of the zeal with which Malaysia took palm seeds from Nigeria and transformed palm produce into an economic crop that generates more than twice what Nigeria earns from her oil.
According to him, until recent times, cassava was never seen as a cash crop by the average farmer but was used for intercropping to support the food needs of the family in the off-season period of yam, adding that cassava cannot penetrate the world market because the practice of agriculture in Nigeria is still in its crude form.
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“You may wish to know that some southern states that have a farming population of over two million do not have up to ten (10) serviceable tractors for the use of their farmers. Besides, it is rare to find contiguous tractor-able farmland of 100 ha anywhere in the southern states where cassava is the main crop.
“From the over twenty mega factories that process cassava in Nigeria, I cannot see more than one that has over 60% regular cassava feed stock all the year round. Most of the other factories operate at less than 10% of their installed capacities. This is because the cassava supply issue was not properly addressed before the factories were established.
