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…Seeks intra-continent financing
Uche Usim, Abuja
The Managing Director of Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) Plc, Mr Aliyu Abdulhammed, has described Cassava as a major source of carbohydrate for over half a billion people on the planet, aside providing means of livelihood for millions of farmers, processors and traders worldwide.
He has therefore urged African governments, researchers, financial institutions, development partners, investors, farmers and other players in the agriculture value chain to collaborate for the financing, commercialization, upscaling and adoption of new technologies and research products for cassava in order to achieve huge returns on agribusiness and the attainment of food security in Africa.
Speaking at the just-concluded 4th International Cassava Conference held in Cotonou, Republic of Benin, Abdulhameed, however, regretted that despite the usefulness of the commodity, cassava production has remained low in Africa because the majority of primary producers are smallholder farmers who lack access to financial services, quality Inputs, mechanisation, knowledge of best agronomic practices, and fair crop markets to optimise their productivity and increase their earnings.
He stated that although cassava remains the main source of nutrition for over one billion people across the globe, the cassava value chain has not reached its full potential as a tool for the transformation of African economies through industrialisation.
He maintained that despite Africa having a comparative advantage in cassava production, most African countries rely largely on imports from other continents to meet industrial requirements for starch, high-quality cassava flour, ethanol and glucose production.
