Nigeria losing millions of naira annually to decline in cassava production – Tribune Online

Cassava farmers in Nigeria have disclosed that the country is losing millions of naira annually to the decline in cassava production nationwide.

They attributed the losses to the decline in Cassava production.

Many farmers have been forced to abandon their various farms due to inadequate pest control facilities, lack of indepth managerial skills, on the field training, Climate control and other factors.

These were their observations during the training of the 6000 Cassava farmers and facility tour both at Fashola Agribusiness hub and Iseyin.

The training was coordinated by the African Agricultural Technology Foundation and National Crops Research Institute, Updike,  Abia state as well funded by Germany based Foundation, GZI.

The stakeholders in their various submissions at the meeting submitted that the losses would have been mitigated with the strict adherence to the Agricultural policies of the government.

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Also, they stressed the need for the collaboration of the Organised Private Sector. (OPS) in addressing the various challenges militating against the increase in Cassava yields.

The project  coordinator of AATF, Samuel Ogunleye Samuel Ogunleye said the training has benefited the farmers immensely.

According to him, ‘the training is designed to benefit 6,000 Cocoa farmers in the 33 local government areas of the state.

‘The programme was incubated in 2023 but inaugurated in 2024. The programme has taken place in Ido and Ibarapa areas with the training of over 1,200 farmers.

‘Today similar programme is taking place here in Iseyin with over 2,000 farmers in attendance.

‘Farmers are being trained on how to increase their output as well gets it to the market through modern technology.

‘In Iseyin, there is a modern Cassava processor machine aimed at easing the processing processes.

‘The local farmers have access to the processor at a subsidize rate. Also, the foundation is assisting them at getting their products to the market.

In his own presentation, the team lead, National Root Crops Research Institute, Dr. Adeyemi Olojede said the training was designed to address the decline in the production of Cassava nationwide.

He said: ‘The training is designed for the off season in order to allow active participation of farmers.

‘Some of the challenges confronting the farmers are tabled while the solutions are proffered.

On the issue of funding, the University don blamed successive administrations in the Country for paying lip service to the sector.

According to him, the Researh Institutes in the Country have not been able to access the Budget in the past five years.

The researchers are using their personal contacts to access funds from local and international organization to carry out research.