Nigeria has the economic potential to generate $427.3 million (N188 billion) from domestic value-addition to cassava and earn an additional $2.98 billion (N1.2 trillion) in the export of the commodity annually.

The Executive Director of Partnership Initiative for Niger Delta (PIND), Dara Akala, disclosed this in a statement on Friday in Abuja.

Mr Akala, who spoke during the National Cassava Summit in Abuja, said processing would potentially unlock about $16 million in taxes to the government per annum.

The summit was in collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).

The PIND helmsman said a 2020 report estimated that Nigeria would need to plant about 28.3 million metric tons of fresh cassava roots on about 1.2 million hectares of land annually to meet its demand for its by-products and derivatives.

According to him, PIND has invested almost $800,000 to increase cassava production, strengthen the coordination and relationships of cassava value chain actors, including promoting improved cassava production technologies in the Niger Delta.

“Through this, we have effectively reached approximately 300,000 farmers with information and training, and facilitated the creation of almost 2,500 jobs and a network of 150 service providers,” stated Mr Akala.

Mr Akala said the large-scale cassava processors required a reliable, healthy and timely supply of fresh cassava roots to feed their mills continually, but noted that Nigerian farmers were unable to deliver the quantity and quality of cassava roots required on time, resulting in low productivity, gross under-utilisation of turnkey processing machines and subsequent loss of capital.

He said experts had reported that the combination of high yielding, virus-free varieties, mechanised system and good agronomic practices, including six steps in weed management, could be the country’s game-changer in root supply.

A Director at IITA, Dr Alfred Dixon, said it was sad Africa was spending about $35 billion annually on food import.

“The danger is if we do nothing about this, food import would rise to $110 billion by 2025, and if this happens, our trade, and particularly exchange rates, will be in jeopardy,” said Mr Dixon. “We will be exporting jobs and importing poverty, unemployment will rise and raise the tempo of youth restiveness to a higher degree. The impact will be precarious on the food and nutrition security of the continent. It is timelier to double our efforts to arrest the situation.”

(NAN)