Nigeria cassava farmers want Ekiti Govt to return its land

 

The National Cassava Growers Association ( NCGA) has passionately pleaded to the Ekiti state government to return its land for farming and an ethanol processing factory.

This passionate appeal was made by the National President of NCGA, Mr. Mustapha Othman Bakano, during a press briefing the association organized with the media at Abuja last Wednesday.

Musphata Bakona also called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to wade into the matter to ensure food security and employment for the youths along the value chains of cassava in Nigeria saying about 6000 hectares of land officially acquired by his association is being given to another group of people who had chased away young farmers already working on the land under the association.

The location of the farming hectares he said was at Ipao- Ekiti in Ikole local government area where a group of companions called Agbeyewa had taken over the place with the backing of the state government, and thereby disrupting the farming activities of farmers already working on the land under the association instructions.

Bakona said further that the same government had in 2019 issued the Certificate of Occupancy ( C of O) to his association as bonafide owner in 2019 for the purpose of ethanol productivity with other farming businesses targeted to enhance youths economic income and the development of the entire nation towards sustainable food security and cassava value chains development.

The land, according to the NCGA president, was specifically designed to produce 150,000 litres of ethanol daily, adding that over 1,000 jobs are anticipated to be created in the process.

“This isn’t just about land. It’s about the future of industrial agriculture in Nigeria. It’s about livelihoods, trust, and a national commitment to reduce fuel imports through local biofuel production. Peasant farmers invested their life savings in this dream, only to be sidelined."

He called on behalf of cassava farmers in Nigeria on President Tinubu to prevail on the Ekiti state government to temper with mercies and return the land to the original owner, saying they were not ready to take any piece of land outside the initial one that was designed for ethanol production.

The association also emphasized that the land in question was officially acquired through an agreement with the Ekiti State Government, and the process also involved key Federal Government Ministries and Agencies, including the Office of the Surveyor General and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Cassava president also mentioned they have rejected the offer of another 1000 hectares as an alternative to the original land, saying it is grossly inadequate and does not address the scale of investment already designed for initial allocation.