Posted 7:35 PM by Luigi
More on cassava in Nigeria

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Taking advantage of investment potentials of cassava

Nigeria is the world's largest producer of cassava, but not a significant player in the cassava export market. Thailand, a country that lags behind Nigeria in field production of cassava is the largest exporter of cassava products mainly in the form of chips and pellets for animal feed.

Nigeria has so far been unable to develop competitive cassava - based industry because of high cost of tubers. However, with the agricultural programmes being pursued by the federal and state governments with support from development partners, yield per hectare will increase by as much as 300%, which will reduce cost of tubers by as much as one third, thereby making raw cassava tubers as competitive as in other cassava exporting countries.

Cassava tubers, easy to grow, tolerant of neglect, thriving in some of the least friendly soil and climatic environments, take a minimum of twelve (12) months to germinate after planting. However, some newer varieties, though still on trial, geminates between 9 - 10 months. Average yield in the country is around 15 ton/ha; however current research efforts may increase this to about 40/50 ton/ha.

Cassava has two seasons in Nigeria: wet season, which runs from March/April to October/November every year; and the dry season cassava, which runs from November/December to February/March of the following year. Cassava tubers are grown in commercial quantities in the rain forest zones of Anambra, Edo, Imo, Delta, Cross Rivers, Ebonyi, Enugu, Bayelsa, Akwa - Ibom, Osun, Oyo, Kogi etc. At the time of this report, price of a ton of tuber goes for between N5, 000 - N5, 500. Prices are usually favorable to the processor during the wet season but appreciate during dry season due to difficulty in harvesting.

Processors adopt a variety of methods to procure tubers to feed their plants. The following approaches are generally employed:

• They buy from farmers in baskets during harvest
  
• They negotiate, harvest and pay for tubers from external farms directly
  
• They give local purchase orders to agents to supply tubers directly to the factory; and
  
• They procure tubers from their own farms
  

Cassava consists of 60 to 70% water. Processing it into a dry form reduces the moisture content and converts it into a more durable and stable product with less volume, which makes it more transportable. Processing is also necessary to eliminate or reduce the level of cyanide in cassava and to improve the palatability of the food products.

In summary the objectives of cassava processing are to:

• Reduce post harvest losses
  
• Eliminate or reduce the cyanide content
  
• Improve the taste of cassava products
  
• Provide raw material for industries
  

High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF) is an important confectionary and bakery ingredient that can be used to replace wheat flour 100% in many industrial applications. Potential industrial users are those in the bread making, biscuit production, cardboard and plywood industries to mention a few. Also, those in shrimp feed, ice cream and noodles production could use it as raw material ingredient. Local technologies abound and requisite skills are available for the production of Flour from both sweet and bitter varieties of cassava tubers.

Decision to embark on this project is informed by the following principal reasons.

Firstly, there is abundant supply of cassava in the country: Nigeria presently is the largest producer in the world, producing 33 million tons annually.

Secondly, besides availability of cassava, there is a strong real and potential demand for products of cassava. For instance, the decision by flour millers following a Federal Government directive, to add 10% cassava flour to wheat flour in the preparation of baking flour has created new demand for cassava flour and strong rationale to embank on this project.

Thirdly, government is set to support the cassava industry through provision of incentives and support measures that will enable government achieve its objectives and goals of job creation and poverty reduction. These incentives and supports will ultimately improve operating environment of the industry and contribute immensely to boost profitability of investment projects. Naturally, investment capital gravitates to areas with conducive operating environments, safety of investments and possibility of generating comparatively better returns on investment.

Fourthly, the cassava industry is currently receiving much attention and support from Nigeria's development partners such as IFAD, UNDP, USAID, and IITA etc, thus making the industry attractive to private investors. These development partners are providing support through partnership with governments at the state and federal, and with multinationals, to build local capacity.