Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has revealed that Nigeria is banking on its cassava sector to drive industrial growth and save the nation over N3 trillion annually in fuel and ethanol imports.
At the inaugural World Cassava Day 2025, held on Thursday at the State House Banquet Hall, Shettima described cassava as “not just a crop but a platform for economic reengineering”, capable of powering import substitution, industrial supply chains, and large-scale job creation in rural communities.
“It is no longer acceptable for Nigeria to lead in cassava production but lag in value addition and exports,” he declared.
While Nigeria is the world’s largest producer of cassava, Shettima noted that previous administrations had failed to fully industrialise the sector. The new cassava roadmap under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda aims to change this narrative through massive mechanisation, expanded agro-processing zones, and innovative technologies.
The Vice President praised strategic partnerships with countries such as Brazil, renowned for transforming its once-barren Cerrado region into a global food basket, and Ethiopia, whose cluster farming models are inspiring similar efforts to integrate smallholder farmers into Nigeria’s commercial cassava value chains.
He highlighted the Nigeria-Brazil Strategic Dialogue Mechanism, which has mobilised over $1 billion to deploy mechanised equipment and provide technical training nationwide.
Beyond industrialisation, Shettima emphasised the role of Nigeria’s youth in unlocking cassava’s full economic potential. Targeted interventions from the Bank of Agriculture, Bank of Industry, and National Agricultural Development Fund are encouraging young Nigerians to build viable agribusinesses.
Under the Renewed Hope Agricultural Mechanisation Programme, the government plans to expand cultivated land with the deployment of over 2,000 tractors and 50 bulldozers.
In a goodwill message delivered on behalf of Cavista’s Chairman, Mr Niyi John Olajide, Mr Olumide Olayomi commended the government’s bold reforms and cassava bioethanol projects. The company is pioneering drone-enabled input application, guaranteed offtake for community farmers, and integrated value chains for starch, flour, and other derivatives.
“We see cassava not just as a crop, but as a strategic asset in Nigeria’s journey towards economic diversification, rural empowerment, and global competitiveness,” Olayomi said.
