The InfoStride Forum
NEWS and REPORTS => Nigerian News => Topic started by: FMARDNigeria on Feb 25, 2013, 07:30 PM
- The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has said that Nigeria must become the highest processor of cassava in the world.
Adesina made this statement while delivering his speech at the 40th anniversary of International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in India.
He said: "I believe as the largest producer of cassava in the world, Nigeria must become the largest processor in the world."
Adesina said cassava revolution has started in the country with a sharp focus on creating new products from cassava. This, he said, would drive accelerated uptake of new agricultural technologies.
He said the country had started with the substitution of cassava flour for some of the wheat flour that the country imported.
"In the past one year, composite cassava flour and wheat flour bread has been commercialised by the private sector, at 20 per cent replacement of wheat flour with cassava flour," he added.
According to him, the exercise would put $845 million annually in the hands of Nigerian farmers and cassava processors, while creating jobs in the country instead of exporting jobs.
The minister further revealed that Nigeria was expected to export 1.1 million metric tonnes cassava chips over the next 12 months to China. Adesina said this which would earn Nigerian farmers and processors $136 million.
He further said that Nigeria had secured a low interest financing that would allow the private sector to acquire 100 large scale integrated rice mills to improve rice production in Nigeria, at the cost of over $800 million.
He also said that Nigeria was engaging in sorghum transformation agenda to further unlock value for sorghum farmers and stimulate market demand through the use of 1.5 million metric tonnes of sorghum for high energy fortified foods.
Speaking on the youth in agriculture, Adesina said that Nigeria had launched a major Youth Entrepreneurship in Agriculture Programme to create a new generation of commercial farmers that are better skilled, with business acumen and able to compete in global market place.
Via: Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development - Official Press Release