N10trn potential seen in cassava value chain

The Nigeria cassava Growers Association (NCGA), a private sector led body of investors in cassava cultivation has revealed its template towards generating an annual sum of N10 trillion for Nigeria through cassava if it is able to achieve projected volumes of cultivation.

The plans were exclusively disclosed to BusinessDay through a document sent to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture with the expectation of shaping the determination of agricultural policies.

“Cassava has some major industrial products among which are ethanol, industrial starch, cassava flour, glucose syrup, sweetener etc. These products are also raw materials to numerous industrial items with limitless domestic and export market potential.

This means cassava can trigger a massive industrial revolution in Nigeria to the extent that every Nigerian village will have viable cassava industries,” reads a portion of the letter.

Industrial starch is another major product from cassava that is used in the gum/adhesives; textiles; pharmaceuticals; bookbinding; paper and packaging; confectionery; chemical and household products manufacturing; batteries; drinks; beverages; baby foods; and wood finishes.

Nigeria currently imports over 95 percent of the industrial starch used in the country.

Speaking with BusinessDay, Segun Adewumi, national president of Nigeria Cassava Growers Association (NCGA) revealed that as at last week the body had 6,000 hectares of land in Ekiti State, which has now increased to 10,000 hectares this week, after investors were taken there. The plan is to get at least 10,000 hectares from every state in the country, or at least 20 states, where the pilot mass cultivations will commence for its own programme.

“The government at the centre can take it up and make it available to people. We just want to set an example by what we are doing,” said Adewumi.

NCGA’s plans also assert that cassava has the answer to the economic problem of Nigeria. It suggests, “If 5 million hectares is devoted to the production of industrial cassava from the over 84 million hectares arable land available in Nigeria, and we are able to reap 40 MT of cassava from an hectare of farmland, it implies that we will have 200,000,000 MT per year.

“The above 200 million MT of raw cassava can be milled into 50million MT of industrial starch. At present, industrial starch sells for over N200, 000 per ton which means we can generate 10 trillion Naira yearly from cassava.”

Yomi Jemibewon, a director at Cardinal Stone Partners, a firm with investments in cultivation of cassava in Kogi State tells BusinessDay that there is huge potential in the cassava value chain, to bridge the gap between local production and the massive importation that is done to augment demand.

“The average farmer is not getting the yield or quality to allow existing (cassava) processors to produce all year round. There are systemic problems, but the opportunity is huge, and there needs to be a lot of support for the sector,” said Jemibewon.

The cassava growers’ body identified some of the potential off-takers for ethanol in Nigeria, who can be said to constitute the 97 percent of companies using imported ethanol owing to lack of adequate local supply. These include SKG-Pharma Ltd., PZ Industries Plc., Emzor Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd., Unilever; Daily Needs Industries Ltd., Mopson Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Drugfield Pharmaceuticals Ltd., New Heathway Co. Ltd., Neimeth International Pharma Plc., Therapeutic Laboratories Ltd., Vitabiotics Nig. Ltd.

Others are Guinness Nig. Plc., Nestle Nig. Plc., Nigerian Breweries Plc., Pharma–Deko Nig. Plc., and UAC Nig. Plc., among many others.

The market of ethanol in food grade and biofuel is limitless.

Union Dicon Salt Plc (UDS Plc), a listed Nigerian company recently signed terms for another investment in the Agro Industrial sector for its land acquisition of 15,000 Hectares in Edo State, making it the largest cassava producer in Nigeria. This transaction will ensure security of feedstock supply, as UDS Plc moves ahead in establishing its cassava processing facilities in Edo and Delta State.

In fact, Nigeria according to NCGA imports over 97 percent of her ethanol. “With the low starch content of our cassava (which can be doubled), we are presently able to obtain 166 litres of ethanol from a ton of cassava. 200 million MT of cassava will therefore give us 33,200,000,000 litres of ethanol.

Ethanol is sold at about N300 per litre and that means 9.9 trillion naira. If starch content is doubled, we will have almost double the ethanol value and double the income,” says NCGA.

Akinwunmi Adesina, the immediate past minister of Agriculture had said, “We can focus on using cassava for starch, dry cassava chips for export to China and cassava flour to replace some of the wheat flour that we are importing. So we are restructuring the space for the private sector to add value to every single thing.”

With its present projections, the NCGA believes Nigeria can have more balanced trade with China through cassava as it has great market potential for Nigerian cassava.

“As against her preference for cassava chips, this is nothing but dewatered cassava reminiscent of crude oil which Nigeria exports only to buy it back as refined oil in the spirit of slave mentality. We should at this time ensure that complete value is added to the cassava to make ethanol, industrial starch etc right here in Nigeria. This will also guarantee that the Job opportunities in cassava processing are not exported with the chips,” says NCGA.

The body believes that our cassava trade with China can fetch us over 5 trillion Naira yearly and that is enough to fully employ millions of Nigerian Job seekers as skilled and unskilled labour.

It is advocated that investors are encouraged to set up factories for processing cassava into ethanol, starch, glucose syrup, sweetener and cassava flour, right on the various farms.

CALEB OJEWALE