REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 Introduction

In Sub-Saharan Africa, cassava is important, not just as a food crop but as a major source of cash income for a large population, particularly farmers who cultivate the crop on farms that are often regarded as fallow. The crop also grows very well on marginal soils, replacing crops that require greater soil fertility (NISER 2013, Hillocks, 2002). Total world cassava demand would reach 275 million tonnes by 2020 (Westby, 2008) while Africa now produces about 62 per cent of the total world production with Nigeria being the largest producer of the crop in the world with output level of 54 million tonnes in 2013 (FAOSTAT, 2015). Nonetheless, less than 5 per cent of the output produced in Nigeria is used in the industries while about 95 per cent is used for human consumption (NISER, 2013). Industrial users of cassava products in the country consisted mainly of bakeries, flour mills, livestock and pharmaceutical firms. In spite of the leading position of Nigeria in the production of the crop, the country still imports significant quantities of cassava products such as starch, flour, sweeteners that can be derived from cassava In the country, agriculture has not really played the role of supplying adequate raw materials to the industrial sector. Over the years, enormous foreign exchange resources have been utilized for the importation of various raw materials for the manufacturing sector (Sanusi, L.S, 2012). This constituted a drain on the foreign exchange resources of the country. What is more worrisome is that a good proportion of these raw materials can be sourced from agricultural produce locally. For instance, over 2005- 2011, raw material imports averaged 20.4 per cent of the total imports (Sanusi, L.S, 2012). In 2005, it was $8.8 billion and accounted for 30 per cent of the total, but fell to $8.3 billion and $8.2 billion or 18.9 and 12.5 per cent in 2008 and 2011, respectively. As a proportion of the total raw materials imported, industrial agricultural raw materials accounted for 23.7 per cent ($2.1 billion) in 2005, 26.6 per cent ($2.2 billion) in 2008 and rose sharply to 69.8 per cent ($5.7 billion) in 2011. Consumption of cassava in Nigeria varied from 35.6 million tonnes in 2002 to 52.4 million tonnes in 2011 while export of cassava products remained very low ranging from 375 tonnes in 2004 to 12,895 tonnes in 2011. An overwhelming proportion of cassava produced in Nigeria goes to human consumption while a very low proportion goes to industry and foreign trade. Thus, foreign exchange generating capacity of the crop still remained largely unexploited. Current reality is that, the Nigerian economy is indeed mono-cultural with dominance of oil to the detriment of other more tradable and productive sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing, which were largely degraded when oil boom lasted (Faborode, 2016). The impact on development has been low welfare capacity, low employment, high inequality and hence high multidimensional poverty or the paradox of poverty in the midst of plenty. Despite considerable oil resources as reflected by Table 1.2, Nigeria still has its citizens wallowing in abject mass poverty even in the midst of abundant agricultural resources. It is estimated that while about 70 per cent of Nigerians live below the poverty threshold in 1999 (69 per cent actually lived on less than $1 per day), the figure was 60.9 per cent by 2014 (NBS, 2014). Lack of diversification has been made worse by the mineral and oil sector which has been generally dominated by large-scale operations and transnational corporations that do not have substantial linkages with other sectors of the economy. More confounding is the instability in cassava production trend as indicated by Table 1.3 and the corresponding Figure 1.3. The instability has hindered diversification of cassava as raw materials to cassava-based processing and manufacturing industry in the country resulting into segmented markets of sub-optimal size which does not ensure profitability of sizeable private investment in the different stages of the cassava value chain and thus resulted into underdeveloped value chain. Underdevelopment of cassava value chain aggravates supply-demand gaps in the cassava subsector and the gaps are increasingly being filled by imports, thus dampening the prospects for cassava transformation, revenue generation and poverty reduction among the smallholders in the country. Many initiatives such as presidential initiative and transformation agenda have been implemented on cassava by the government of Nigeria over the past few years with little or no impact on industrial utilization, competitiveness and export. Export share of the country in the cassava global market has remained very low even after the implementation of the initiatives. Production cost in processing factories remained exorbitant. High production cost has been aggravated by high transportation arising from poor condition of road to the farms of smallholder farmers and high cost of alternative source of energy (generating plant) arising from epileptic power supply in the country. Poor road and transportation facilities has hindered linkage of smallholders to emerging market despite Nigeria being the largest producer of cassava with expanding area under cultivation of the crop. More worrisome is the abysmally low yield of the crop in Nigeria.

2.2 CASSAVA VALUE CHAINS BY REGION

Cassava is mainly grown in the North-Central, SouthSouth, and South-East regions of Nigeria. Consumption of cassava is high in both urban and rural areas, but the products consumed differ. the consumption among urban and rural Nigerians. Urban consumers’ access to fresh cassava is limited by the crop’s rapid loss of quality after harvest. Therefore, urban consumers prefer convenient, easy-to-prepare, long shelflife products, like gari, fufu, and lafun (Nweke 2004). Rural consumers are able to supplement these products with fresh cassava. Four out of five rural Nigerians eat a cassava-based meal at least once a week (Ezedinma et al. 2007), 226 kilocalories of cassava are consumed per person per day (FAO 2012), and yearly per capita consumption of cassava is about 102 kilograms (kg) (FAO 2012). cassava consumption broken down by state, with cassava being most frequently consumed in states within the southern geopolitical zones (Osun, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, and Imo). Given Nigeria’s annual population growth rate of 2.5 percent in 2011, and annual urban population growth rate of 3.97 percent in 2010 (World Bank 2013), the human food market holds the biggest potential for the cassava sector (Phillips et al. 2004).

2.2.1 Stems

The value chain for cassava stems, the planting material from which cassava is grown, is not well established. Stem cuttings are bulky and rot quickly, drying up just a few days after harvest (Nweke 2004). Since farmers do not specialize in producing cassava planting materials for sale, stems are largely sourced from farmers’ own cassava plots or from neighbors and family. Reliable access to high quality cassava stems is uncommon, and there are few, if any, stem quality control mechanisms.

2.2.2 Fresh Cassava

As fresh cassava roots deteriorate rapidly in quality, becoming inedible five days after harvest, their value chain is characterized by speed and efficiency. At the local level, farmers may sell directly to consumers, but for greater distances, traveling traders are involved. Traders negotiate prices directly with the farmers, or they may contact local agents to locate an adequate amount of cassava tubers before arriving in the area. These local agents serve only to find the product; they do not purchase or sell the cassava, as indicated by the dashed lines. Traditionally, an entire plot’s worth of cassava is purchased before the crop is uprooted, leaving the traders at risk of overpaying for a lower yield than expected. While transporting the truckload from farm to market, traders are susceptible to local levies, and often need to pay bribes at police road blocks. Once at market, the traders.

2.3 SOME AGRONOMIC PRACTICES ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVED CASSAVA VARIETIES.

These include:

Stem storage: keep the bundles of stems stacked vertically on the soil under a shade. The distal end of the stem should touch the soil. Moisten the soil regularly and keep the surrounding weed free-this way the stems can be started for 3 months.

Time of planting: planting should be done as soon rain becomes ready in the area

Plant population: the optimum plant population for a high root yield is 10,000 plants per hectare obtainable when plants are spaced at 1x1m. This population is seldom achieved at harvest due to losses caused by genetic and environment 13 factors. In order to harvest a plant population near the optimum, an initial plant population per hectare of 12,300 at 0.9m x 0.9m will vary depending on whether cassava is planted sole or in association with other crops.

Intercropping Cassava is compatible with many crops when intercropped. The best intercrops of cassava in Nigeria include maize, melon, groundnut cowpea and vegetables. Other less important intercrops of particularly in south-south and southeastern Nigeria include yam, cocoyam, sweet potato, plantain and banana. High branching varieties of cassava are best for intercropping, profuse and low branching varieties will shade light off the intercrops.

Weed control: this could be by cultural, mechanical or chemical methods. Integrated used control (cultural, chemical and mechanical) is recommended. The ideal combination will depend on the agro-ecology, weed spectrum and level of infestations, soil type and cropping system.

Fertilizer Rate and Time of Application Ideally, fertilizer recommendation is based on soil analysis but when this is not done, then land history and vegetation is used as a guide. Lands naturally inundated with Chromolaena odorato as weed can support a good cassava crop without fertilizer while the presence of spear grass or poorly established vegetation is a symbol for fertilization under continuous cultivation in the forest zone. Apply a first dose of 200kg (4 bags) of N.P.K 15:15:15 per hectare or a full small matchbox per plant at 4-6 weeks after planting (June/ July). Second dose of 100kg of muriate of potash or a half-full small matchbox per plant at 14-16 weeks after planting (September) should be applied. In the savanna zone, apply as in the first stage of forest zone but a second dose of 50kg murate of potash per hectare. Apply fertilizer in holes 5cm deep and 10cm radius from the plant; do not apply if the soil is dry. Harvesting is made as the need be. Source; Information and communication system (ICS Nigeria, Guide)

2.4 PRODUCTION OF CASSAVA AND ITS MARKET PROSPECT FOR SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN NIGERIA

Agricultural technologies have been selected on the basis that they will lead to agricultures commercialization thereby enhancing rapid income generation for farmers and private practitioner. In 1954, the average cassava yield in Africa was between 5 and 10 tons per ha (Jones, 1959). In early 1991, the Collaborated Study of 18 Cassava in Africa yield measurements revealed that the average on-farm cassava fresh root yield for the six COSCA study countries was 11.9 tons per hectare. For (Nweke, 2004) cassava yield was increasing in Africa in the early 1990s because of the planting of high yielding varieties and the adoption of better agronomic practices – the average farm level yield was highest in Nigeria where the means was 13.1 tons per ha (Nweke, 2004). In the early 1960s, Africa accounted for 42 percent of the world production. Thirty years later, in the early 1990s, Africa produced half of world cassava output spearheaded by Nigeria; four fold increase in production and replacement of Brazil as the world’s leading cassava producer (Nweke, 2004). While Brazil produced nearly three times as much as Nigeria in the early 1960s, 21.9 million tons compare to only 7.8 million tones in Nigeria the standing has changed. By 1990s Ghana produced 7.2 million annually and advanced to the position of the third largest producer in Africa after Nigeria and Congo (Nweke, 2004). Cassava’s low input requirement, a trait that is compatible with Africa’s resource endowment (weak rural credit market, relatively abundant and seasonal labour scarcity) and the cassava’s resistance to pest and diseases explains the expansion in cassava production. Moreover, as the average farm size shrink under population pressure, farmers are searching for crops with a higher output of energy per hectare as a strategy for overcoming hunger. Food shortages precipitated by a combination of political and civil unrest, economic stagnation, erratic rainfall patterns and rapid population growth have had a greater influence on cassava production in Africa than anywhere in the world (Nweke, 2004). Marketing of cassava as a cash crop plays a key role in the expansion of cassava production. Farmers in most of the COSCA villages in Ghana and Nigeria cited market access as the principal reason for their expansion of cassava area. While in some other villages farmers cited difficult road access to market centers as the reason for reducing the area planted with cassava. According to Nweke (2004) a closely related critical variable in the expansion of the cassava area in Nigeria and Ghana is the availability of improved processing equipment to remove water from the roots (the roots are 70 percent water) and thereby reduce the cost of transportation. He also added that improved processing and good preparation methods reduce bulk and make it possible for cassava products to be transported at reduced costs over poor roads to distant urban market centers (Information and Communication Support for Agricultural Growth in Nigeria). All parts of the crop (stem, leaves and tuberous roots) can be harvested for specific market. In Nigeria, there is usually high demand for planting material of improved varieties at the beginning of the planting season. Harvesting, packaging and sale of stems can be made to increase the farmers’ profit margin from the farm.

2.5 THEORETICAL REVIEW

There is a general consensus in the literature that low productivity is one issue militating against processing, marketing and investment in agricultural raw materials in Nigeria (UNECA, 2009, Sanusi, L.S, 2012). Low productivity has been attributed to the nature of agricultural production. Most Nigerian farmers are smallholders who do not adopt yield-enhancing practices and techniques like the use of agro-chemicals, mechanization, and irrigation. Evidence has shown that the economic rate of return of agricultural research on output ranges from 117 per cent for sorghum to 80 per cent for rice, 30 per cent for cassava, 51 per cent for wheat and 29 per cent for livestock (UNECA, 2009). It has been observed that under-capitalization of agriculture has given rise to a weak knowledge-based sector, leading to low input and low value added. It is estimated that agricultural land productivity in Africa, including Nigeria is 42 and 50 per cent of those of Asia and Latin America, respectively (UNECA, 2009). Not only is land productivity low, labour productivity in Africa is lowest in the World, amounting to only 57 per cent of those of Latin America and 58 per cent of those of Asia (UNECA, 2009, Sanusi, L.S, 2012). Increasing agricultural productivity is an important policy goal of the Nigerian government since agriculture is the source of food and livelihood for the population that are most vulnerable to poverty. Conceptually, increasing agricultural productivity can take place through any of the following alternatives. Firstly, by increasing output and input with output increasing proportionately more than inputs. Secondly, it can take place through an increase in output while inputs remain constant. Thirdly, it can be through a decrease in both output and input with input decreasing more. Fourthly, productivity increase can take place through a decrease in input while output remains constant (Adewuyi, 2006). Increasing inputs in order to expand output requires raising both the quality and quantity of inputs, examples of which is utilization of mechanization to support production and processing of cassava. This involves the use of high yielding variety, use of fertilizer, application of irrigation in areas where rainfall is inadequate, and use of agrochemicals such as herbicides and pesticides. In Africa including Nigeria, the aforementioned process has the potential for productivity enhancement but smallholder farmers cannot afford the investments due to their limited resources and limited access to credit. The smallholder farmers make up at least 73 per cent of all rural Africans and they produce about 90 per cent of food consumed in Africa (Odulaja and Kiros, 1996). It has been established that where cassava farmers have access to markets they tend to adopt productivity enhancing technologies to expand production. Furthermore, according to Olayide and Heady (1982), important factors that will influence production include price of the commodity, prices of all other commodities, the price of factors of production and the state of technology. The authors therefore defined agricultural productivity as the ratio of the value of total farm outputs to the value of total inputs used in farm production. Thus agricultural productivity is measured as the ratio of final output in appropriate unit of measurement to some measure of inputs. In this study, the concern is the input of many variable resources such as seed, fertilizer, manure, insecticide, herbicides and the output of cassava. The production function for this relationship in the implicit form is expressed as

Q = f(X1, X2, X3…….., Xn)…………………… (2.1)

Where Q is the output of cassava, Xi is the varied input of resources. Apart from the technical characteristics of the production process and changes in relative input-output prices, socio-economic characteristics of the farming households, as well as farms’ characteristics have been found in the literature to significantly influence the average level of efficiency and productivity of farmers. Studies such as Yao and Liu (1998), NISER (2001), Ugwumba and Omojola, 2012, and Oni, (2013) have shown that profitability and average level of output of farmers are significantly affected by the socio-economic characteristics of the household. Such characteristics included age of the farmers, experience in farming, gender, marital status, household size, and level of education of the farmer. General and specific characteristics of farms and their operators affect overall levels of production and productivity, generating different levels of returns to farming activities. Such characteristics as farm size, use of conservation practices, irrigation and water availability, land tenure, as well as market conduct have all shown some influences over enterprise and technology choice, input use and market participation. Personal factors that affect an individual’s management skills or entrepreneurial ability have been identified in the literature. These included attributes such as the level of education, farming experience, age, or any vocational training. They reflect a farmer’s ability to understand farm technologies and their impact on farming as farmers do vary in their management skills. Age and education level of farmer are considered significant in adoption of improved farm technology ( Akkaya Aslan S.T., Gundogdu K. S., Yaslioglu E, Kirmikil M and Arici, I 2007). Moreover, physical features of a farm including size, infrastructure such as irrigation, drainage, and road system, topography, soil type, and number of parcels have been identified as important factors that exert influence on productivity and profitability of agriculture in Africa. Farm size is one of the most important determinants in the adoption of new developments (Akkaya Aslan S.T., Gundogdu K. S., Yaslioglu E, Kirmikil M, and Arici, I 2007). Its relationship with adoption depends on fixed costs of new technology, risk preferences, and constraints on credit availability. In adopting new technology, farm size, number of parcels, parcel size, and parcel shape are all important. Irrigation, drainage, road systems, and land arrangement are also important factors for enhancing productivity and farmer’s satisfaction. Dispersed and poorly-shaped lands will start to accrue benefits of improved technology when land consolidation and infrastructure problems are solved. It has been established in the literature that physical characteristic of farm such as farm fragmentation exists in many parts of the world and typically occurs in Nigeria where landholdings of individual farmers are small and widely dispersed. However, opinions concerning the drawbacks and merits of fragmented land ownership differed. Some authors pointed out that there are significant benefits for the individual farmer, such as ecological diversity (Bentley, 1987; Agrawal, 1999; Tan S, Heerink N, Qu F (2006). That is, by planting crops in several different ecological zones, a farmer reduces the risk of a scanty harvest. Others contended that farm fragmentation is the single greatest deterrent to modern agricultural development, creating inefficiencies in the movement of labour and machinery, hindering large-scale mechanization of production processes (Akkaya Aslan S.T., GundogduK. S., Yaslioglu E, Kirmikil, M. and AriciI, 2007). In sub-Saharan Africa, limited farm size is seen as one of the major factors hampering the transition from household-based subsistence farm economies to commercially-oriented production systems. Conservation practices, irrigation, and water availability have an important bearing on both long-term farm income and resource sustainability. Secured land tenure provides operators with a strong basis for investment, as land can often be used as collateral for loans. Even though Nigeria is blessed with vast agricultural land, the communal ownership structure and the patriarchal nature of inheritance in Nigeria make it difficult for certain segments of the population to own and control land (NISER, 2002). Indeed, household characteristics and household composition in terms of age and gender will help to address the window of opportunity for household, availability of labour force as well as ratio of dependency. These aspects are crucial when analyzing household productivity as well as physical and economic access to production resources and participation in the market. Thus the socio-economic variables should be incorporated into the production function in equation 2.1 above. For instance, education is an important determining factor for understanding and adoption of innovation which directly affects ability to increase productivity and profitability of agricultural enterprise. On the basis of the foregoing, the theoretical underpinning of the study hinges on the theory of agricultural production. A production function is the technical relationship between inputs and outputs, that is, a function that summarizes the process of conversion of factors into a particular output. It shows the maximum amount of the output that can be produced using alternative combinations of the various inputs. The concept of profitability draws on the difference between the investment cost and returns. Profitability refers to the size of profit made relative to the size of the business or the resources used to produce the profit (Odii, 1998). In the analysis of farm income, budgetary technique is mostly employed to measure profitability of farm business. Profitability measures the ability of farmers to recover their costs. It is an important concept, because it provides incentives for entry into the farming business. In general, there is a consensus in the literature that Nigerian farmers can be described as rational profit maximizers who respond to price signals. Many previous studies on Nigerian farms across the country report that profit margins are often very small Agwu, N.M, C.I. Anyanwu, E.I. Mendie (2013), Ndubueze, Ekine, (2014), Ogisi O.D., Begho T, Alimeke BO (2013). Furthermore, Kingsley Okoi Itam, Eucharia Agom Ajah and Emmanuel Edet Agbachom (2014) carried out analysis of determinants of cassava production and profitability in Cross River State of Nigeria. They found that cassava production was profitable. The results further revealed that farm size, value of land, gender, age, educational level and farming experience influenced output positively, while value of cassava cuttings, labour and family size had negative influence on cassava output. However, the test of significance showed that cassava cuttings, labour, education and experience exerted greater influence on cassava output, implying that a change in any one of these variables resulted into a significant change in output. One of the most serious problems encountered by cassava farmers in the study area was high cost of inputs, while lack of implements constituted the least problem. The study recommended implementation of policies that will enhance farmers output.

2.6 ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF CASSAVA PRODUCTION IN NIGERIA

Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is a popular crop grown in tropical regions. Cassava production in Nigeria is largely by subsistence farming and Nigeria is currently the largest producer of cassava in the world.

It is the most extensively cultivated crop in the Southern part of the country, it contributes largely to the country’s Gross Domestic Production (GDP) and a major source of income to rural farmers. It is used in some industries for production of bio-degradable products, production of feeds for livestock, it could reduce unemployment rate and it is also a rich source of carbohydrates.

Although, majority of farmers wish to cultivate cassava but initial capital and land has been a major challenge to farmers, only few farmers have access to rural credits and lands.

Despite Nigeria been the largest producer of cassava, there is still need to increase the production of cassava for export purpose. Measures that should be considered by Government to ensure sustainable cassava production include:

Increase cassava production by supporting farmers financially and provision of land to farmers who are willing to farm but do not have access to credit and land.

Invest in cassava processing, storage and packaging infrastructures.

Support and increase industrial uses of cassava.

Invest in transport and agriculture infrastructures (irrigation infrastructures) to support cassava production, processing and marketing in Nigeria.

Provision of effective extension services.

If this measures are been considered, it will increase cassava production in the country.

2.7 CASSAVA AS DRIVER OF ECONOMIC GROWTH

A Few decades ago, cassava was not a major cash crop. But today, the story has changed. The crop is being transformed from a humble root crop into a money spinner of sort for farmers and a prized industrial input. Much of the turnaround in the fortunes of the crop is driven by increasing production and rising demand from the livestock feed, starch, and bio-fuel markets. The Nation learnt that because of the intervention on cassava under the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) of the government, demand for cassava has grown so strong that those who traditionally engaged only in subsistence farming grow cassava as a cash crop. This made cassava a dynamic cash crop, helping to drive industrial development while delivering higher incomes to small holder farmers. Addressing a Cassava Adding Value for Africa Stakeholders forum in Lagos, the Coordinator, Cassava Value Chain, ), Regional Hub for East Africa, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Tanzania, Dr. Adebayo Abass, said cassava has multiple uses and markets, ranging from on-farm consumption as food or livestock feed to local wet or dry starch processing enterprises and large-scale commercial operations. Besides, wet starch extraction and transformation has been the business of cassava trading clusters. Abass said there was a tremendous opportunity for the industry to create 30 million jobs across Africa. These opportunities, he said, arise from demand for cassava starch and chips, which are likely to increase strongly in local and international markets, signaling a bright future for the domestic cassava industry. He said cassava has a huge potential and could turn from ‘a poor people’s food into a 21st century crop’ if grown according to a new environment-friendly farming model. According to him, cassava yields have increased due to the planting of new high-yielding varieties and the adoption of more sustainable production practices across the continent and many factories have invested in the upgrade of their production technology. With tremendous support coming from the government, he predicts that demand for cassava would continue to increase, adding that the domestic market would also see high demand for cassava by-products as raw material for enterprises. He noted that cassava farming is a great business and that there is a huge market for the commodity, which could be grown in all parts of the country.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, said the cassava transformation project seeks to create a new generation of cassava farmers oriented towards commercial production and farming as a business. H said the plan was to link them up to reliable demand either from processors or a guaranteed minimum price scheme of the government. Represented by the Technical Adviser (Cassava Value Chain), Mrs. Toyin Adetunji, the Minister said the overall strategy of the cassava transformation is to turn the cassava sector in Nigeria into a major player in local and international starch, sweeteners, ethanol, High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF), and dried chips industries by adopting improved production and processing technologies, and organising producers and processors into efficient value-added chains. To boost domestic production of cassava bread, the minister said the Federal Government has given the Bank of Industry (BoI) the mandate to manage the N4.3 billion Cassava Bread Development Fund to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), master bakers and large industrial cassava flour mills. He further said the fund would also be used to support research and development efforts on cassava bread, training of master bakers, and support for master bakers for the acquisition of new equipment for production. The Minister earlier said in another forum that the Federal Government was to provide machines for the cultivation of 29,500 cassava farms. This would be funded from the Cassava Bread Development Fund managed by BoA. Adesina said cultivating the farms would cost N915 million. He said the government would supply 1,770,000 bundles of planting materials to the owners of the farms at the cost of N708 million. In addition, the government would supply 118,000 bags of cassava-specific fertiliser at N708million and 88,500 litres of herbicides at N88.5 million to the farmers.

According to him, the farmers are to produce 59,000 metric tonnes of cassava roots in line with the transformation plan. Adesina said the ministry was facilitating the procurement of 22 medium-scale high quality plants of 60 metric tonnes capacity to meet the annual demand for high quality flour. He said the ministry was carrying out the enumeration of all farmers, including the cassava farmers with their bio-data for input into a database. The objective, he explained, is to have a baseline upon which levels of intervention could be measured in terms of outreach and impact. In 2012, he said 21,059 farmers benefitted from free 315,898 bundles of cassava stems, while in 2013, 1,546,720 bundles of improved stems were distributed to 64,000 cassava farmers for 25,779 hectares expected to yield 644,475 metric tonnes of roots.

He reiterated government’s commitment to building robust fresh roots supply chains for cassava processing plants; supporting large/medium HQCF mills, SMEs producing HQCF and master bakers who use 20 per cent of HQCF in bread production. According to him, HQCF can be used as an alternative for starch and wheat flour in a variety of industries. These include raw materials for the production of glucose syrups, industrial alcohol, bakery products, and in the production of adhesives, as an extender for plywood glues and as a source of starch in textile sizing. He said efforts have been made to develope a simple and appropriate process for producing HQCF that is suitable for baking. This was tested in the baking and confectionary industries; it was found successful and the cost implications were favorable.

For the Minister, the introduction of cassava starch in the food and non-food industries has transformed the cassava utilisation industry. This is because it is used as an ingredient in manufactured foods (infant foods, confectionary, glucose, alcohol) and in non- food industries (glues, oil well drilling, adhesives, paper sizing and bonding, textile sizing and strengthening).

He said Nigeria is one of the leading production of cassava in the world and that production has witnessed a tremendous increase following the introduction of high-yielding, disease-resistant varieties.

The Country Manager, Cassava Adding Value for Africa, and President, Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST), Prof. Lateef Sanni, called on the government to pass the bill regulating the institute to guarantee food safety. Cassava, he noted, is used as food, dried chips for feed, alcohol, and starch, and for industrial uses and is the staple food crop of the nation’s population. Under CAVA, he said there is a roadmap to increase the national average yield per hectare, taking cognizance of the bright financial prospect being offered by the cassava sector.

The Project Director, CAVA 11, Dr Kola Adebayo, said Africa has shown remarkable success in cassava processing. This followed the introduction of machines for most unit operations to ease the labour-intensiveness of the trade. He said there are processors involved in producing traditional foods or intermediate products, such as chips, high quality cassava flour and starch. According to him, there are some exclusive cassava-based products being traded in countries served by CAVA project. Adebayo said the project has worked to encourage local fabricators in processing technology, adding that farmers can now have access to locally fabricated mechanized and high-capacity equipment to get involved in the business. The project gives farmers the opportunity needed to develop and test an integrated approach that keeps the benefits of cassava production and processing in rural communities. For him, cassava trade is expanding quickly, particularly in response to burgeoning exports of dried cassava chips and starch to China. Experts believe the cassava boom largely depended on local processing of cassava into wet and dry starch, which is then transformed into higher value food and industrial products – from noodles, glucose, and maltose to textiles, pharmaceuticals, cardboard and glue. Also, crop varieties were tested along with improved production, soil erosion control practices – specifically better use of fertiliser.

The new cassava varieties from IITA’s collaborative breeding efforts have been grown on cassava areas where they have doubled average crop yields. Shortages of cassava roots is however still a challenge though the higher yielding varieties and cassava roots are sourced from IITA and other research institutes. Experts, however, said how much farmers benefit from increased cassava trade depends a lot on two things: how well they are linked to markets and how well they manage their crop.