The largest cassava producer, missing out on billions of dollars a year, how can Nigerian cassava make money?
Nigeria is the world's largest producer of cassava, which is considered a major food source and is commonly used to make delicacies such as tofu and hot sauce. Cassava is able to survive drought and pest stress and is a crop with high nutritional value. Today, cassava is growing in popularity in Europe, North America and Asia as a versatile, gluten-free superfood.
But most of the cassava grown in Nigeria has never left the country. As a result, it could miss out on billions of dollars in global trade. The Nigerian cassava industry faces serious challenges. First of all, cassava needs to be processed within 48 hours or it will rot. But most processing plants are hundreds of miles away from farms. As of 2015, the country had lost $600 million worth of cassava due to cassava spoilage. To solve this problem, entrepreneur Yemisi Iranloye successfully attracted large customers including Nestlé and Unilever by starting a processing company Psaltry International.
So can Nigeria fix its supply chain to feed itself and make money in the global export market?
Cassava originated in South America and native roots may contain toxins. However, more than 4,000 years ago, the indigenous peoples of the Amazon River Basin discovered ways to grind, filter and cook cassava to make it safe and edible. Later, cassava was widely cultivated on the African continent. Nigeria's cassava production now exceeds 60 million tonnes, but farmers are not growing efficiently, resulting in lower incomes.
In order to increase cassava production, Yemisi Iranloye introduced better cassava varieties and modern agricultural techniques by integrating farmers' resources. She encourages farmers to grow more cassava by paying them directly above market price. However, the export share of Nigerian cassava in the global market remains relatively low.
Nigeria is the world's largest producer of cassava, but it ranks 59th on the list of global exporters. In 2021, Thailand generated nearly US$1.3 billion through the export of cassava, although production is less than half that of Nigeria. In the same year, Nigeria's revenue was only $1 million. That's not to say there isn't demand. The global demand for cassava is so high that the global cassava market is expected to rise as more and more people turn to sugar-free products. In fact, 95% of Nigeria's starch needs to be imported because demand is greater than production.
In order to process cassava into more valuable products, such as starches and sweeteners, Nigeria also needs to address logistics and transportation issues. In addition, the country needs to increase investment in cassava cultivation, processing and export to improve the competitiveness of the cassava industry. If Nigeria succeeds in tapping the economic potential of cassava, cassava will bring great wealth to the country.
