Rivers Cassava Processing Project’ll Boost Employment – Don

A university lecturer in the Department of Banking and finance, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State, Dr Goodluck Parker, has expressed optimism that the Rivers State Government-owned $12 million cassava processing project will generate massive employment, enhance the Gross domestic Product (GDP) of the state in particular and Nigeria in general, and bring to the barest minimum, uprising and insecurity.

Speaking with The Tide recently, in Port Harcourt, Parker explained that the state government needed to benefit from the support of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in its efforts to boost food production and reduce importation of cassava products, particularly, processed starch into Nigeria.

According to him, “Rivers State Cassava Processing Company Limited is mainly to support Nigeria’s dependence on imported cassava products, which will reduce drastically,” regretting that the CBN failed to accede to Rivers State Government’s request for N5 billion to boost the agricultural sector in the state.

The don noted that if part of the N5 billion was invested as planned by the Governor Nyesom Wike-led administration in the cassava processing project of the state government, it would reduce poverty, crimes and insecurity, as well as create jobs for the youths, which in turn would minimise unemployment in the state, particularly and Nigeria generally.

He suggested that the state government’s seventy percent equity in the firm be divested to encourage the private sector participation and reduce government’s interference in the affairs of the company.

Parker further said that the multi-million dollar cassava processing plant located at Okoloma-Afam-Ndoki, in Oyigbo Local Government Area of the State had the capacity to process 45,000 metric tonnes of high quality cassava flour, adding that the plant was expected to create over 3,000 jobs, while in the medium terms, the company would include starch to its products, as well as, glucose in the future.

By: Bethel Toby