FG re-affirms support for N10bn cassava bread intervention

The Federal Government has expressed unflinching support for cassava flour manufacturers and support to master bakers across the country in addition to its N10 billion special intervention fund to support and drive the cassava bread initiative in the country.

Akinwunmi Adesina, minister of agriculture and rural development, made the disclosure recently, while commissioning the headquarters building of the Cassava Growers Association of Nigeria (NCGAN) located in Abuja. The minister said the funding would avail stakeholders along the various cassava value chains, including cassava growers, high quality cassava flour (HQCF) processors, wheat-cassava composite flour millers, farm equipment suppliers and other investors in the industry through the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) and Bank of Industry (BoI) loans at an interest rate of 5 percent over a three to four year period.

He also affirmed his ministry’s readiness to provide other forms of support through incentives to farmers with a view to making Nigeria the largest cassava producer and processor of high quality cassava in the world. Adesina also disclosed that the BoA had given out over N1 billion of its own facility to cassava farmers and processors, adding that the bank was set to commence disbursement of N2.4 billion the ministry had deposited in it for onward disbursement to cassava growers and processors at 5 percent interest rate.

According to him, 300 Agriculture Equipment Hiring Enterprises (AEHE) located in cassava production clusters are being set up by the ministry, as part of the cassava initiative intervention fund. AEHE is a deliberate government initiative to help small-holder farmers raise their capacity, expand their acreage, perform timely farming operations and achieve economies of scale in food production.

Harrison Edeh