Cassava Market Bonanza

A newly opened factory in Nigeria provides a secure market for 400 tons of fresh cassava per day grown by 20,000 poor farmers nearby.

An ultramodern glucose syrup factory using cassava as its major raw material has commenced production in Nigeria. Built at a cost of N2.5 billion by Ekha Agro Nig. Ltd., a private sector initiative, in partnership with the International Starch Institute (ISI) in Denmark and several Nigerian banks, the company will produce 100 tons of glucose syrup daily.

"It will initially produce 30,000 tons of glucose syrup per annum, saving the country $15 million hitherto spent annually on imports," says Mr. Samuel Osarenkhoe, chairman and chief executive officer of the company. As Nigeria currently requires 120,000 tons of glucose syrup annually, the factory is set to meet immediately a quarter of national demand for the commodity, which is used in pharmaceuticals, food and brewing..

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) provides technical backstopping and research support to the factory, which currently employs 50 engineers and 70 agronomists who organize and work with more than 20,000 cassava out-growers and cluster farmers who daily supply to the factory 400 tons of fresh cassava roots valued at about 2 million Nigerian naira ($15,000). On the advice of IITA, the company maintains 3,000 hectares of cassava farmland to supplement fresh roots from its contract growers.

Nigeria leads the rest of the world in cassava production, but 90% of the more than 30 million tons of Nigerian cassava grown each year is consumed locally as food, mainly as gari (or farina, as the roasted granule is known in Latin America). However, the situation started changing in 2005, when, under a presidential initiative on cassava export, the first shipload of cassava chips was exported to China. Ever since, Nigeria's export of cassava products has been actively pursued, with organic gari being exported to Europe and the United States of America.

"The major challenge facing Nigerian cassava today is balancing the needs of large-scale factories with adequately compensating local producers for their costs," comments Dr. Richardson Okechukwu, data manager of IITA's Integrated Cassava Project.

Technologies are being introduced by IITA to improve labor productivity and increase yield through mechanized production. For instance, IITA works in collaboration with the Cassava Equipment Fabricators Association of Nigeria, Flour Millers Association and other registered bodies to develop planters, harvesters, peelers, hydraulic presses and dryers with a view to adding value, removing drudgery in production and processing, and turning cassava into an income-generating crop.

Commenting on IITA's partnership with private companies in Nigeria, Dr. Alfred Dixon, an IITA cassava breeder, says such companies offer relief to the Nigerian Cassava Growers Association, whose members often complain of cassava gluts. They help to mop-up excess cassava produced by poor farmers, who directly supply raw materials to private companies for cash on delivery. Nigerian cassava has witnessed gluts in the past, leading to poor market prices for fresh root and gari. To ensure the success of the public-private partnership initiative, IITA has since 2004 provided technical and logistical support to Ekha Agro Farms by training its agronomists, sharing information with the company's promoters, providing certified improved cassava varieties, and building farmer clusters around the company.

"This is a dream come true," says a lead farmer, who confirmed that he and his colleagues have been contracted to supply cassava roots to the company.

Under its research-for-development paradigm shift, IITA currently partners with large-scale private companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda. The companies process cassava into various industrial products. The initiative aims to stabilize market prices, adding value to cassava and enabling poor farmers to earn a good income. Some of the industrial cassava products currently being produced include high-quality cassava flour for bread and confectionaries, industrial starch, adhesives and ethanol.

For more information, contact Dr. Okechukwu (r.okechukwu@cgiar.org) or Taye Babaleye, IITA public relations manager (t.babaleye@cgiar.org).