Business
Cassava Value Chain Development: Centre Hails Taraba
As the ‘Cassava Plus’ project gradually winds down, the
Taraba Government has received commendation for pioneering the development of
the cassava value chain.
Cassava Plus is a public-private partnership to
commercialise cassava production by linking farmers to value-added markets. The
three-year project (2010-2012) is being financed by the Schokland Fund,
established by the Netherlands’ Directorate-General for International
Cooperation .
The project is being implemented by International Centre for
Soil Fertility and Agricultural Development (IFDC) and the Dutch Agricultural
Development and Trading Company (DADTCO), a private enterprise specialising in
large volume commercial agricultural products with high trade potential.
The aim of Cassava Plus is to strengthen the market
capacities of 164,000 cassava farmers in Nigeria.
A statement issued by the IFDC and made available to The
Tide in Abuja on Sunday, commended the Taraba Government for promoting
smallholder cassava farmers in the state to key into the project.
It said that the project had been working with producers,
agricultural extension agents, input dealers/service providers and marketers,
including about 1,500 cassava producers comprising 52 farmer groups in the
state.
The Tide reports that cassava is one of the target crops
that the Federal Government is working toward harnessing their full potential
under the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA).
The Federal Government is currently driving the
implementation of the inclusion of 10 per cent cassava flour in bread with a
view to reducing the huge foreign exchange spent on the importation of wheat.
The statement noted that the Taraba Government had since
2009, worked with the IFDC to support its farmers by increasing accessibility
and affordability to agricultural inputs, improving dissemination of
agricultural extension messages to farmers and linking producers to markets
such as DADTCO.
Established in 2002, DADTCO has a wide experience working
with farmers in the developing world, supplying them with agricultural inputs,
and selling their produce in domestic and export markets.
DADTCO has its headquarters in the Netherlands with
subsidiaries in Nigeria and Mozambique
According to the statement, not less than 1,000 farmers
involved in the Cassava Plus project received subsidised fertiliser through
trained agro-dealers while 500 others also bought improved cassava stem
varieties.
Furthermore, the IFDC, under the project, facilitated the
training of a total of 1,500 farmers in best agronomic practices and also
monitored them to ensure the adoption of modern methods in their farming
activities.
DADTCO also designed an Automobile Processing Unit (AMPU), a
“factory on wheels” to target smallholder cassava farmers in the state, the
statement said.
“Payment of tuition fees for undergraduate/postgraduate studies shall be subject to a maximum limit of $25,000.00 per semester,” the Manual states.
The expansion of international card limits also reflects growing confidence among lenders that foreign exchange liquidity has improved enough to support retail dollar transactions.
Speaking recently at the BusinessDay 14th Annual CEO Forum in Lagos, CBN Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN said buying and selling activities now increasingly determine outcomes in the foreign exchange market, unlike in the past when market participants relied heavily on routine Central Bank interventions.
According to Cardoso, Nigeria’s net foreign exchange reserves have risen from just over $3 billion at the start of the reform programme to more than $40 billion, while gross reserves have climbed to about $52 billion, providing stronger confidence for investors and enabling the Central Bank to reserve interventions for periods of market stress rather than day-to-day liquidity management.
The restoration and expansion of international naira card spending limits are increasingly being seen as one of the clearest signs that the benefits of the CBN’s foreign exchange reforms are beginning to reach households, students and businesses making legitimate cross-border payments.
The Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, WEC, Dr Angela Wilkinson, disclosed this in a statement, last Thursday.
“Nigeria’s participation comes at a pivotal time as the country seeks to expand energy access, strengthen energy security, accelerate gas development and mobilise the capital required for industrialisation and sustainable economic growth.
“WEC Nigeria will convene leaders from across the energy ecosystem, apply the WEC’s globally recognised Energy Trilemma framework to Nigeria’s unique context, and promote evidence-based dialogue, practical collaboration and informed policymaking.
“It will also ensure that Nigerian and broader African perspectives contribute meaningfully to global energy conversations,” she said.
Wilkinson expressed confidence that Nigeria would play a significant leadership role at the World Energy Congress scheduled for Riyadh in April 2027 and beyond.
The statement also quoted the Chairman of WEC Nigeria, Isa, as describing the country’s participation as an opportunity to deepen national and African leadership within the global energy community through practical solutions tailored to regional development priorities.
He said the platform would promote collaboration across sectors and attract sustainable investments into Nigeria’s energy sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of WEC Nigeria, Wunti, was quoted in the statement as saying that the council would connect leadership, evidence and investment to build a secure, affordable and sustainable energy system.
“This system will be capable of driving economic growth and shared prosperity.”
According to him, the platform will also connect Nigerian institutions and businesses with international knowledge, technology, partnerships and investment opportunities through the World Energy Council’s global network.
Recall that WEC, founded in 1923, is the world’s oldest independent and impartial community of energy leaders and practitioners, advancing informed, collaborative and practical action across the global energy system.