Nepad forum to champion cassava development #nigeria

NEPAD Business Group Nigeria (NBGN) is set to
hold its first Cassava Investment Forum in Abuja
on November 7.
The event which will take place at the ECOWAS
Conference Hall, Asokoro, Abuja aims to attract
substantial private sector investments to develop
and promote the necessary cassava value chains
in Nigeria and in the West African region.
The areas of interventions will equally include
developments of the processing capacity that will
produce high quality products; identification of
potential markets particularly the food, livestock
feed, starch and ethanol industries. The roles of
different stakeholders (producers, traders,
processors, researchers, financiers, policy
makers and consumers) in the cassava industry
will also be identified.
The NBGN Chairman, Chief Chris Ezeh, while
briefing newsmen about the forum, gave further
insights to the need to develop the cassava
sector. According to him, cassava is one of the
nation's agricultural products that could
contribute significantly to its earnings. Major
studies conducted on cassava at the end of the
20th century have predicted the growing
importance of this crop in Africa's economic
development. It has great potential to spur rural
development, raise rural incomes and contribute
to food security. Cassava is a food security crop
that is able to transform the country's economy.
With about 45 million tonnes annual production
of cassava, Nigeria is the largest cassava
producing nation in the world. The country is
however not benefitting much from this staple
crop, due to subsistence farming and inability to
add value to the crop through processing.
Almost all the cassava produced is used for
human consumption and less than 5 per cent is
used in industries.
The New Partnership for African Development
(NEPAD) has recognised cassava as a powerful
poverty fighter in Africa and has in this
connection recommended a Pan-African Cassava
Initiative based on a broad based strategy which
emphasises better markets, better organisation of
producers for collective action, and better
participation by the private sector investment.
A similar presidential initiative was inaugurated in
July, 2002 by the administration of former
President Olusegun Obasanjo to develop a
thriving cassava industrial sector that would not
only meet local needs but also generate foreign
exchange through exports. The present
administration of President Goodluck Jonathan
has moved a step further in this regard with its
Transformation Agenda of the agriculture sector.
In a recent move to revive the nation's cassava
boom, President Jonathan inaugurated cassava
bread with 20 per cent High Quality Cassava Flour
(HQSF) as a Nigerian brand, at Aso Rock Villa in
July, 2012.
The 1st NEPAD Business Group Nigeria (NBGN)
Cassava Investment Forum intends to help
further the Transformation Agenda of the
administration of President Jonathan with respect
to cassava as an economy crop for wealth and
job creation.
Cassava remains one of the viable investment
areas that can impact more Nigerians than
Petroleum because of its numerous applications
and value chains that can touch every stratum of
society with the attendant economic benefits.
However, for cassava to be a major contributor
to economic development in Nigeria, the demand
for cassava must grow more rapidly than the
human population.
This can only be made possible if new uses for
cassava are introduced and promoted. The
forum will therefore lay more emphasis on the
development and promotion of necessary value
chains in cassava.