Major stakeholders from the private and public sector including researchers, on Thursday, gathered in Abuja, for a national summit to discuss and seek ways to improve cassava seed system with a view to transforming the root crop into a cash cow for the nation.
A statement issued by the Project Manager, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Mr. Godwin Atser, said the national cassava seed development summit provided opportunity for stakeholders to listen to case studies of successful seed entrepreneurs, identify and engage on the policy reforms required to galvanize the cassava seed sector to raise productivity and drive industrial growth projections.
He stated further that the summit also afforded them an avenue to promote impactful and economically sustainable seed models and build the capacity of public and market actors and other key stakeholders for effective seed system coordination and competitiveness, adding that it similarly unveiled opportunities in the cassava seed sector for private capital investment.
According to him, while Nigeria is the largest producer of cassava, yield per hectare has stagnated at below 10 tons, noting that this has made growers in the country uncompetitive especially in the export market.
The statement however disclosed that the IITA and the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike, have developed varieties with yield potential of more than 30 tons per hectare
The Director for Development and Delivery, IITA, Dr. Alfred Dixon, in his contribution, said the task for researchers is to get the varieties to farmers in an economically sustainable manner and tackle the challenge of low yield, stating that in the last two years, the Building an Economically Sustainable Integrated Cassava Seed System, phase 2 (BASICS-II), has developed a seed system model for cassava that is driving the adoption of improved varieties and creating jobs and wealth for farmers.
He observed that beyond cassava roots, marketing of improved cassava stems is a new income earner that Nigerian farmers need to take advantage of.
The Executive Director of the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND), Dr. Dara Akala, disclosed that during the first National Summit on Cassava in 2016 which PIND and partners facilitated, tbe stakeholders shared a vision for cassava becoming an engine of economic growth, targeting a gross value of $5 billion per annum, both in investments and income.
He added that between then and now cassava has been steadily gaining recognition and importance in Nigeria as an industrial crop.
The Project Manager, BASICS-II, Prof. Lateef Sanni, said the summit was one of many engagement platforms with public and private sector stakeholders to develop a sustainable cassava seed system that would give farmers access to quality seeds of improved varieties to provide the best raw materials to food and processing industries and stimulate economic growth along the cassava value chain.
The summit put together by IITA, BASICS-II, PIND and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) with the theme, “Catalyzing and Scaling Private Sector-Led Cassava Seed Development in Nigeria”, also include technical sessions to address seed quality and quantity issues regarding policy directions, industry demands, finance, production and marketing, capacity development, productivity enhancement technologies and legislative frameworks.
