Sahel Consulting has partnered International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) to organise a cassava seed business summit, drawing attention to the importance of creating a formal system in the cassava sector.
The summit themed ‘The critical roles of stakeholders in promoting access to quality cassava stems’ is aimed at providing a platform for key actors in the cassava seed sector to collaborate and share innovative models and solutions that will foster the emergence of an economically viable and sustainable formal cassava seed system. Temitope Adegoroye, partner, Sahel Consulting highlighted the challenges facing the cassava seed system including the low yield of smallholder farmers in Nigeria despite the country accounting for approximately 20percent of global cassava production.
According to him, there are opportunities in the cassava seed system sub-sector that would catalyse Nigeria’s agricultural transformation. However, these opportunities have not been fully tapped for job creation, income generation, and food security.
He further stated that the need for effective collaboration amongst all cassava stakeholders to maximise the potential in the value chain gave birth to the first edition of the cassava seed business summit. According to him, the summit is envisioned to be a long-standing platform in the cassava seed sector.
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Similarly, Alfred Dixon, director – partnership & delivery at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), in his opening remarks, welcomed participants to the maiden edition of the cassava seed business summit.
Dixon emphasised the significance of cassava as an engine in the socio-economic growth and development of Africa. In addition, he stated that increasing competitiveness in the cassava value chain will ensure food security, alleviate poverty, and improve the livelihood in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Emmanuel Ijewere, vice president of Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG), Segun Adewumi, president of Cassava Growers Association of Nigeria (NCGA), and Charles Adeniji, president, Industrial Cassava Stakeholders Association of Nigeria (ICSAN) also delivered goodwill messages.
They expressed their excitement at the emergence of a platform that serves as a discussion forum for stakeholders in the cassava seed sector.
