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By Chinyere Anyanwu
Premium Cassava Products Division (PCPD), a business entity of FMN Agro, recently collaborated with the Federal Government for the 2025 World Cassava Day. The event, held in Abuja, brought together invaluable stakeholders and industry captains from various sectors to commemorate Nigeria’s position as the world’s largest cassava producer.
The event, which was driven by the Office of the Senior Assistant to the President on Agribusiness and Productivity Enhancement, was themed, “Farm to Global Markets: Driving Industrialisation, Food Security and Exports”. The programme outcome was anchored on cassava industrialisation, youth innovation, import substitution and export competitiveness. Cassava Changemakers also had their Pitch Competition, a platform that brought to the fore promising innovations across the cassava value chain.
Representatives from FMN Agro, a business entity of FMN, a diversified pan-African consumer-centric food and agro-allied business, and owner of Golden Penny brand, contributed to pivotal conversations at the event. Delegates provided invaluable insights on how to scale investment in cassava processing, create export value within the cassava value chain for economic transformation, and reduce Nigeria’s heavy reliance on imported raw materials. The company emphasised its long-standing commitment to deepening local content, industrial integration and regional food system resilience through cassava innovation and industrial-scale processing.
From his participation as one of the panelists at the event’s panel discussions on the topic, “Strengthening linkages from farms to global markets,” Mr. Akhanemeh Osikhena, the General Manager, Premium Cassava Products Division (PCPD) at FMN Agro said, “now more than before, it has become a key imperative to develop the cassava value chain as a viable raw material for various finished products.
Our work through PCPD and Golden Agri Inputs Limited (GAIL) is anchored on an objective to transform Nigeria’s cassava narrative from subsistence production to a fully integrated value chain that drives jobs, innovation and export revenue. This strategic initiative has led FMN Agro to commit to content localisation — investing in local capacity-building and reducing reliance on imported raw materials.
“Over the years, FMN has invested heavily in the cassava value chain through the PCPD, with significant capacity in starch production and backward integration programmes that support smallholder farmers with inputs, training and market access.
“Partnerships like these are essential to unlocking the true value of Nigeria’s agricultural assets. Through platforms such as World Cassava Day, we can drive the right conversations about scale, investment readiness and export competitiveness and back them with real commitments,” said the MD, FMN Agro and Group Director, Partnerships and Strategic Engagements, Mr. Sadiq Usman.
“We commend the Federal Government through the Office of the Senior Assistant to the President on Agribusiness and Productivity Enhancement for organising this event. Our work through PCPD and (GAIL) is anchored on our purpose of feeding and enriching lives, everyday, and we will continue to drive valuable partnerships that foster this commitment,” concluded Usman.
