Price of garri up 28% as cassava output falls 40%

….Glut discourages farmers from planting cassava
….Produce substituted for maize in animal feed
….Herdsmen destroying  farms.

The price of garri, a staple food in Nigeria, has gone up by 28 percent in the last one month, following a drop in cassava production by 40 percent, farmers tell BusinessDay.
Garri is made from cassava tubers for which Nigeria is the world’s leading producer.
A BusinessDay survey at Mile 12 Market in Lagos shows that a 50 kg bag of yellow (palm oil tinted) garri, currently sells for N12, 500 as against N9, 800  a month ago. Similarly, a 50 kg bag of white garri now goes for N11, 000 as against N8, 500  a month ago.
This shows a 28 percent increase in the price of yellow garri and a 29 percent increase in the price of white garri. In many markets across Nigeria, a small bucket of garri, popularly known as ‘paint’, currently sells for N900, which is N200 higher than the price two weeks ago.
In the Eastern part of Nigeria, six cups of garri, sold in a bag, now cost N400, as against N200  twelve months ago.
Nigeria is the largest producer and consumer of cassava in the world, with production capacity of 42 million metric tonnes per annum (mtpa) and demand of 53.8 million mtpa, putting the demand- supply gap at 11.8 million metric tonnes per annum, according to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.
However,high ranking sources close to the agriculture ministry tell BusinessDay that cassava production is down by 40 percent.
The drop in cassava output is attributed to farmers’ reluctance to plant cassava last year, on account of a glut the previous season which knocked down the price of the crop.
Some farmers who grow rot-resilient varieties, chose to leave the tuber unharvested, as it can last up to one year in the soil after maturation, but growers of other varieties had to harvest and sell cheap or lose the crop to rot.
“Last year, a lot of farmers did not plant cassava because there was a glut at the beginning of the year, which resulted in losses for many farmers. As a result, many of these farmers did not have the resource to plant in large quantity the following season,” Segun Adewunmi, president, Nigeria Cassava Growers Association, told BusinessDay in a telephone interview.
Adewunmi said many companies importing cassava by-products such as ethanol, sweeteners and industrial starch, are now buying cassava locally, from which to get these by-products. He added that this is reducing the availability of cassava for  human consumption and jacking up the price of garri.
Another reason for the drop in cassava output is the onslaught of herdsmen whose cattle destroy farms with impunity.
In 2016 for example, an estimated 55 hectares of cassava farmlands belonging to Oamsal Nigeria Limited were destroyed by herdsmen. The firm lost  N23 million, yet no arrests were made and no compensation was given.
“We received no form of compensation and up till now, we are unable to plant cassava. Farmers are still sceptical to farm because their farms can be destroyed overnight by grazing cattle and there is no form of compensation, either through insurance or from government,” Oluwafemi Salami, chief executive officer, Oamsal Nigeria Limited, told BusinessDay.
Salami also said the scarcity of maize has forced a lot of poultry farmers to start substituting cassava for maize in feeds, raising demand and the price of cassava.
He noted that a ton of cassava is now sold for N60,000 as against N30,000 in December last year. He urged the government to address the issue of crop destruction by grazing cattle, as well as kidnapping, so that more farmers can go back to the farms.
Experts say when properly processed, garri can store for over a year without any loss in food quality.
Dele Ogunlade, chief executive officer, Crest Agro Products, says the north-central area of the country has become a den of marauding herdsmen and their cattle, as well as of kidnappers. Ogunlade says farmers are now cutting down on area under cultivation because of the high rate of insecurity in the region.
He further observes that many Nigerians are smuggling garri to Ghana in large quantities, stressing that Nigeria does not have the certification to export its garri to the international market.
Raph Nwaenuigwe, managing director of Kenfrancis Farms Limited, said the cost of producing cassava in the South-East and South-South is rising, on account of inflation and the high cost of the  dollar against the naira.
“The cost of planting, labour and inputs are higher now, such that small-holder farmers cannot afford to plant in many cases. We also have the issue of age of the farmers. Most youths are not yet farming cassava, which is why you find that those processing cassava into garri are mainly women and the people above 60 years,” Nwaenuigwe said.

 

ODINAKA ANUDU& JOSEPHINE OKOJIE