A Renewed Cassava Agenda for Nigeria by Former NCGA President, Pastor Sunday Adewunmi delivered @ FACAN Recognition Night

I wish to appreciate the Federation for All Commodity Associations of Nigeria (FACAN) Group for bringing about this very important topical issue at this time when the new government in power is seeking ways and means to boost Food Security and the Nigerian economy. I am here to discuss the role of Cassava in achieving the two objectives of Food Security and improving the economy. 

 

About Cassava

Cassava is that wonderful crop that can be cultivated in all parts of Nigeria. Cassava has high level resistance to harsh weather; it grows with rain and survives with dew.Nigeria is adjudged to be the highest producer of Cassava in the world.

 

The Food and Industrial Value of Cassava

Cassava food varieties account for over 50% of the food eaten in the South and the Middle Belt states of Nigeria. We can say that Cassava food types are that which sustain the food needs of over 75% of Nigerians. 

 

Industrial Derivatives of Cassava

Cassava also has some very major Industrial Derivatives that include Ethanol, Industrial Starch, Cassava Flour, Glucose Syrup, Sweetener, etc. Incidentally, these products are raw materials for numerous industrial items with limitless domestic and export market potentials. This is to say that Cassava can trigger massive Industrial Revolution in Nigeria to the extent that every Nigerian village will have a viable Cassava Industry. 

 

Some Industrial Derivatives of Cassava Imported in 2014

Some Industrial items that can be derived from Cassava but most of which were imported into Nigeria in 2014 are listed below with their respective values:

 

CASSAVA DERIVATES USED IN 2014
PRODUCT TYPES	EXPECTED CONSUMPTION (MILLION)	PRICE PER LTR/MT	N
Ethanol - liters	400	400	160,000,000,000
Bio Fuel - liters	1266.5	130	164,645,000,000
Industrial Starch - MT	1.7	200,000	340,000,000,000
Sweetener			60,000,000,000
			724,645,000,000

 

At the present exchange rate, the N724 billion of 2014 will be around N3 trillion today. This is to state that if weuse Cassava to derive these products, we shall save N3 trillion from our import bill annually. I believe this amount is very significant to our economic well-being as a country. 

 

The Cassava Bread Project

Beyond the value of the derivatives imported annually, there is a very important industrial product that will not only reduce our import bills on white wheat but will largely support the food security concerns of the government. 

 

For example, in 2014, the Bread bakers in Nigeria utilized 16,600 metric tonnes of flour daily for bread. As at today, I am told that white wheat flour sells for about N650, 000 per ton. This is to say if we use around 6,059,000 metric tonnes of flour per annum, the cost of the flour that we use comes to N3.9 trillion. Right now, Nigeria is the second highest importer of Wheat in the world. Whereas, Nigeria has expansive arable land and able work force.

 

It is also a known fact that bread will tolerate 40% Cassava Flour, a situation that will make the bread better for our health. Why should we not consider saving at least 20% of the import bill by the 20% inclusion of Cassava flour in our bread. If we start with 20% inclusion, we shall save about N1 trillion annually from our import bill. We would also have repatriated back to Nigeria the benefit of gainful employment for our Farmers, Service providers, and Skilled and Unskilled labor force in our factories which we export when we import what we can produce locally. 

 

Cassava Local Food Types

Over 20 local food types are derived from cassava. These include Lafun, Fufu, Tapioka, Starch, Pupuru, Gari, and others. Gari is the most popular Cassava local food product; it is an instant food that can be eaten dry as it is. Gari can be soaked into water and eaten; the most common food use of Gari is when it is made into eba and eaten with soup in morsels. It could be made inviting when it is coloured into yellow; it has a compelling aroma that creates appetite even when the eater is full. Gari can be preserved and will remain fresh for over four years. If Gari had been discovered in the West, it could have been a world class food competing with Rice and Bread.

 

In addition to the benefits of food security, Cassava foods especially Gari can be used as means for full and gainful employment in the rural communities. This will be accomplished when we address the challenges of the Peasant Cassava Stakeholders.

 

How Cassava Development will complement Oil as the Mainstay of Nigeria Economy

I wish to propose the establishment of a Cassava Development Commission that will design a Cassava Development Agenda for the country. However, it will require a strong political will on the side of national government to accomplish the envisaged Cassava transformation agenda.

 

Some Examples of the Political Will Required

1. We can consider the zeal with which Malaysia that took palm seeds from Nigeria transformed palm produce into an economic crop that generates more than twice what Nigeria earns from her oil. We can also consider how Ireland, net importer of dairy products, now export 90% of the dairy it produces. With this pattern of zeal backed by a strong political will, Cassava can be made the mainstay of the Nigerian economy. 

 

2. The Global Warming Challenge

We can also notice that the entire World is frantically embracing renewable energy and electricity in the place of fossil fuels because of the global warming challenge. This is a warning to us that we should begin to find alternative sources of revenue to oil. 

 

Cassava Program for Nigeria 

There has to be two programs for Cassava development. We should separate the Agenda for Cassava for food security from that of Cassava for Industrial use. We should know that Nigerian Cassava produced by the Small Holder farmers in Nigeria is the most expensive Cassava in the World. For example, a ton of Cassava chips is sold for 200 dollars in China but it costs the Nigerian farmer over 400 dollars to produce the same one ton. As it is in Nigeria, Cassava cannot penetrate the World market because the practice of agriculture in Nigeria is still in the crude form. You may wish to know that some southern states that have a farming population of over 2 million do not have up to ten (10) Serviceable tractors for the use of their farmers. Besides, it is rare to find a contiguous tractor-able farmland of 100 Ha anywhere in the southern states where Cassava is the main crop. Until recent times Cassava was never seen as a cash crop by the average farmer but was used for inter-cropping to support the food need of the family in the off season period of yam. It was also a means by which the women generate emergency funds by turning Cassava into a local food for sales, especially when the funds are required for School fees of their children.

 

When the awareness of the cash crop status of Cassava came, it led the local farmer to increase Cassava production but what resulted was a glut in the market of cassava. The glut was cost of production related in that the cost at which cassava is produced surpassed the industrial value of the cassava. Added to this predicament is the cost of transporting the cassava to the mill where it will be processed into chips and pellets. Please take into account, the fact that cassava will begin to lose its starch content twenty-four (24) hours after harvest if not processed. 

 

Agenda for the Production of Industrial Cassava

From the over twenty mega factories that process Cassava in Nigeria, I cannot see more than one that have 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. 

 

What must be considered before setting up an Industrial Cassava Factory

Supply of Cassava for Industrial use must be Adequate, Regular, and Affordable. We can take the above requirements one by one:

 

● Adequate - Arrangement should be made for the daily supply of cassava to meet the requirement of the factory installed capacity. Some of the Ethanol factories were installed to utilise 1000 metric tonnes of cassava daily. Cultivation of cassava must be done in blocks each of which will yield 1000MT that will meet the feed stock requirement. Please note that cassava will begin to lose value if not harvested between 12 to 14 months of cultivation. This fact will also be considered in the planning of the cassava development project. 

● Regular - Cassava has between 7 to 8 months planting season. This is also the period when cassava grows; but cultivation has to be staggered for the 12 months of the year. Unless and until we have irrigation facilities for the cultivation, a well worked out timetable that will guarantee regular supply must be in place. 

 

● Affordable - Most of the derivatives of cassava have alternative raw material options. This is to state that these derivatives cannot have monopoly of price. For this reason, cost of cassava food stock must be affordable and stable. 

From the foregoing, we can see the need for the establishment of the Cassava Development Commission to plan and make out the template for the Cassava Industrial project. 

 

 

Mobilizing youths to embrace Agriculture

 

The practice of Agriculture across the world today is driven by technology that is beyond the understanding of our aging farming population. The Youth, especially the educated ones, must be mobilized to embrace modern farming techniques. Cassava program can be the pacesetter for other agricultural commodities. In order to boost youth’s interest in agriculture, the following measures must be considered:

1. Farming must be made attractive in such a way that the youth can take up Agriculture as a career where he can generate wealth in accordance to his desire and ability. For example, if a youth farmer successfully cultivate a 10 Ha farm, he should be given additional 5 Ha yearly until he has 25 Ha after which he will be strong enough to go for mega farm.

2. The proposal is for the establishment of Cassava cultivation project within the vicinity of the processing factories. We shall allocate 10 Ha Cassava farm to each of the participants. The youth farmers will be grouped under extension officers who will facilitate to them, inputs and services required for successful cultivation.

3. Participants will be given a monthly allowance, the total sum of which will be deducted from the proceeds of the sales of their proceeds at harvest.

4. Cultivation will be arranged to meet the pattern of usage of Cassava by the factory targeted as off-takers.

5. Youth farmers can form cooperatives that will own important cultivation equipment or even processing factories.

Detailed Strategies of this Proposal has been worked out and will be released when required.

 

Agenda for the Small Holder Cassava Stakeholder

With all the above factors in mind, the need arises to design a special programme for Cassava produced by the Peasant Farmers to find out how the Cassava of the Small holder farmers will benefit the nation and the farmers. We shall analyze the challenges of the Smallholder farmers and find solutions to them.

 

Challenges of the Smallholder Cassava Stake Holders

The Small Holder Cassava Stake Holders consist of 

1. Cassava Farmers

2. Cassava Processors

3. Garri Traders.

The entire three (3) sets of stakeholders have only one problem. The problem is, access to easy and rewarding market.

Their Predicaments

1. The farmer sells his Cassava to the Garri Processor on credit while the Cassava is still in the heaps.

2. The Garri Processor harvest and process the Cassava into Garri for sale. She sells to the trader on credit with the arrangement to bring the money in the next market day.

3. The trader takes the Garri to the market at the urban centres. Unfortunately, she is not allowed to sell in the open market, she has to sell her Garri through the Cartel. The price of Garri is determined by the volume of Garri that enters the market at a particular time. At times, she may have to sell the Garri below the cost price. This calamity is passed down to the Garri Processor and the farmer, whose businesses are stalled for lack of funds. In the case of the farmer, he cannot cultivate fresh Cassava on his land because he could not sell the already matured ones.

Solution to the Cassava Peasant Stakeholders Challenges.

The solution is to take the market to the farmers and the Garri Processors right in the rural areas. This can be done as follows,

1. Set up a mega Garri factory in every Senatorial Districts of the Garri producers States.

2. Enroll about 250 Gari Processors each of whom will be allocated a Garri frying pot in the mega factories.

3. Each Garri frier is an entrepreneur who may have at least three (3) assistants to work with her.

4. The Processor buys raw Cassava and processes it into Garri with the facilities at the mega factories. At the end of every day, the authority at the centre weighs the Garri produced by each Processor into a storage facility. Payment is made to the Processor daily, weekly or monthly as it is arranged.

5. Garri production will be supervised by health officers to ensure that the products meet the NAFDAC standard.

6. Garri will be packaged into different sizes in bags and sachets and would be evacuated to the Garri depots in the cities for sales.

7. Garri sales depots will be created in the urban cities where Garri will be distributed to the markets, supermarkets, hotels, schools and IDP camps and for export.

 

Some benefits of the Program

1. Gainful Employment

If each of the entrepreneur has three assistants, the Processors in the centre will be 1000, we shall have at least 500 others as machine operators, the Pressers, Health officials, Supervisors, Labourers, etc.

The above is to say, a minimum of 1,500 individuals will be gainfully engaged at each centre. This will translate to the engagement of 4,500 Cassava Stakeholders per State. Automatically, ready market will become available to over 500,000 Smallholder farmers in every Senatorial district. With the packaging, sales personnel, transporter and other Service Providers,over 2 million individuals will be fully engaged in the program in each of the participating States.

 

2. If this program is started off in ten (10) States, it will translate into gainful employment of 50,000-strong garri processing crew. It will also provide a market for the Cassava of 1, 500,000 farmers per State. In the ten States, 15 million farmers will be positively affected.

 

Viability of the Program

Detailed Viability enquiry has been diligently carried out, such will be released if the programme is favourably considered in principle.

Final Conclusion 

I will conclude this message by requesting FACAN to take the bull by the horn and let the present administration of President Tinubu know about these opportunities that can turn the economy of Nigeria around within three (3) years. From the various analysis made in this message, we can see that Cassava processed into various derivatives can reduce our import bill by 5 trillion Naira in the first instance. Massive production and milling of cassava into various derivatives for export will trigger Industrial Revolution that will earn Nigeria billions of dollars and restore our dignity as a nation.