Cassava |
Ezirim said that
Nigeria rather than producing cassava for food consumption alone should
produce it for both industrial purpose and for consumption.
"Diversification of
the nation's economy can take the country to the Promised Land, and
this can be achieved by producing cassava for industrialised purposes,
which is presently in global demand.
"Nigeria is the
largest producer of cassava tubers in the world but cassava produced in
the country is processed and consumed locally in various forms with
little set aside for export.
"Today, cassava has
over 2,000 uses in the world that can easily replace or support crude
oil as a foreign exchange earner and provide employment for many, if
well harnessed.
"Government cannot
leave cassava production in the hands of individuals, rather it should
intervene by considering cassava as a national crop and accord it
priority attention given to crude oil," he said.
Ezirim said that
cassava could be used as biofuel as well as used to produce livestock
feeds; ethno-medicine; cassava flour; cassava starch and cassava wine
and oil, among others.
According to him,
the crop can also be used to produce alcohol and syrup, which is in high
demand by food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries.
The don urged
farmers to equip themselves with modern researches and development
techniques that would enable them expand production and export harvest.
NAN reports that
Nigeria is one of the largest producer of cassava in the world followed
by Thailand, Indonesia and Brazil, Angola, Ghana and Democratic Republic
of Congo.
Nigeria produces
almost a third more than the volume of cassava produced in other African
countries, including Malawi, Cameroon, Mozambique, Benin, Sierra Leone,
Madagascar, Uganda and Rwanda.
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