From root to revolution: Nigeria’s cassava renaissance aims to save N3trn, power a new industrial era

Cassava, a major crop in Nigeria has been a subject of discussion over the years as the crop has the potential to catalyse industrial revolution due to its high economic value which boasts of a viable value chain.

Sequel to this, on July 3rd, 2025, leaders, policymakers, farmers, investors, and young innovators gathered to celebrate the maiden edition of World Cassava Day at the Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja.

“Cassava is no longer just a subsistence root. It is a platform for economic reengineering,” declared Vice President Kashim Shettima, whose keynote laid out a bold vision to transform the white tuber into a multi-billion-naira engine of jobs, clean energy, industrial raw materials, and global exports.

For decades, Nigeria has been recognized as the world’s largest cassava producer. Yet that title has meant little beyond basic food security for millions of rural households. Value addition was minimal. Processors struggled with poor-quality stems, lack of mechanization, and outdated technology. Imports of ethanol, starch, and other derivatives continued draining billions from the national treasury.

But now, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the government wants to rewrite this old story. And cassava, once a symbol of survival for the poor, is being repositioned as a beacon of industrial prosperity.

Cassava’s hidden potential lies in its versatility. Beyond garri, fufu, and tapioca, staples on Nigerian dining tables, cassava can produce high-grade ethanol, starch for industries, sweeteners, flour, animal feed, textiles, and even biodegradable packaging. For a country seeking to cut its fuel and ethanol import bill, this tuber is emerging as an unlikely hero.

“The Cassava Bioethanol Project alone is projected to save Nigeria over 3 trillion naira annually. That’s money we currently spend importing fuels and ethanol derivatives, money that should be circulating within our own economy, creating jobs, and spurring innovation”, Shettima announced.

Yet the promise is more than numbers on a budget sheet. If properly executed, the cassava industrialisation plan will help solve Nigeria’s twin headaches of youth unemployment and rural poverty. Shettima’s speech made it clear: “Cassava must become more than a farmer’s commodity. It must become a founder’s opportunity.”

One of the highlights was the commissioning of the Semi-Autotrophic Hydroponic (SAH) system, developed by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). This soil-free propagation technology can rapidly multiply disease-free, high-yield cassava stems. a game changer for farmers battling low yields and plant diseases.

“This is not just science for the lab. The SAH system will help bridge the seed gap that has held back our productivity for decades”, noted Dr. Kingsley Uzoma, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusiness and Productivity Enhancement.

Better planting materials mean better harvests, which in turn means more raw materials for industries that rely on cassava derivatives, from breweries to pharmaceutical firms and biofuel plants.

Nigeria’s cassava plan is not being crafted in isolation. The government is tapping into global best practices. Shettima pointed to Brazil’s transformation of its once-barren Cerrado region into an agricultural powerhouse through mechanisation and research, a partnership Nigeria is now deepening through a billion-dollar mechanisation programme.

A recent visit to Ethiopia further inspired officials. “Their cluster farming models, digital extension services, and strong local government alignment offer practical lessons. We are localising these models to integrate our smallholder farmers into bigger commercial value chains”, Shettima noted.

As speeches gave way to panel discussions and breakout sessions, the spotlight turned to companies already putting big money behind cassava. Few stories illustrate this better than Agbeyewa Farms, a rising star in Ekiti State.

Two years ago, Agbeyewa Farms broke ground on 102 hectares in Ipao-Ekiti. Today, it cultivates over 5,000 hectares of cassava, with plans to double that by next year. Its Managing Director, Oscar Seyi Ayeleso, shared how the company has defied the odds by embracing large-scale mechanisation, drone-enabled input application, and modern processing models.

“Our yields average 28–32 tons per hectare. Compared to Nigeria’s national average of just 6–8 tons. Our cassava starch content is almost double the national standard. We’re proving that agriculture in Nigeria can be industrial, globally competitive, and investment-ready”, Ayeleso said.

The impact goes beyond big machines and big yields. Over 1,000 people are now directly employed on Agbeyewa’s farms, including dozens of NYSC corps members. Many have stayed on as full-time staff, turning what was once a dreaded rural posting into a launchpad for agri-tech careers.

“We’re not just growing roots. We’re growing jobs and skills,” Ayeleso added. The farm’s partnerships with the Ekiti State Government, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, and international development partners illustrate how public-private synergy is breathing new life into Nigerian agriculture.

Nigeria’s cassava dream hinges on one make-or-break factor: value addition. It is not enough to grow cassava in record quantities. The real wealth lies in converting that harvest into industrial inputs, finished products, and exports.

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“We are laying the groundwork for an integrated cassava value chain, starch, flour, garri, fufu, high-quality cassava flour. This is how we cut import dependency, power our industries, and create jobs in logistics, packaging, and distribution”, Ayeleso explained.

Cavista Holdings, another major player, is equally bullish. Representing the company’s chairman, Mr. Olumide Olayomi reiterated their vision: “Every hectare planted, every youth trained, every innovation scaled, is a step toward a more secure, prosperous, and export-ready Nigeria.”

Cavista’s Agbeyewa project alone shows how private capital is moving from talk to tractors. Their multi-billion-naira investment in cassava is not charity, it is a bet that Nigeria’s rural fields can deliver the returns that oil wells once did.Mechanisation is central to this entire vision. The Renewed Hope Agricultural Mechanisation Programme is deploying over 2,000 advanced tractors, bulldozers, and thousands of implements nationwide. The aim? To break the back-breaking manual farming cycle, expand cultivated land, and increase productivity.

In practice, this means a smallholder farmer who once tilled a hectare with a hoe can now cultivate five hectares in half the time. As these farmers gain access to improved seeds, affordable finance, and guaranteed offtake markets, the entire sector moves from subsistence to scale.

On World Cassava Day, the energy was not only about big farms and government policies. The Youth Changemaker Pitch Competition gave young Nigerians a platform to present ideas for boosting cassava production, processing, and marketing. From mobile apps that link farmers to processors to drone-based disease monitoring tools, these ideas signal a future where agritech could be as sexy as fintech.

Vice-President Shettima underscored this youth focus: “Agricultural transformation at scale will only happen if we harness the energy and technological know-how of our youth. Just as they have disrupted fintech, they can disrupt agriculture.”

The government is betting on partnerships with states, local governments, banks, and the private sector to ensure that cassava does not become another broken promise. If done right, the transformation could lift millions from poverty, reduce Nigeria’s dependence on oil, and turn the nation into a global supplier of clean energy solutions.