https://en.sputniknews.africa/20250521/cassava-boom-beckons-as-nigeria-eyes-global-agro-trade-spotlight-1073328861.html
Cassava Boom Beckons as Nigeria Eyes Global Agro-Trade Spotlight
Cassava Boom Beckons as Nigeria Eyes Global Agro-Trade Spotlight
Sputnik Africa
Across Africa, agriculture holds untapped potential not just to feed populations but to drive industrial growth and innovation. One crop that stands at this... 21.05.2025, Sputnik Africa
2025-05-21T16:38+0200
2025-05-21T16:38+0200
2025-05-21T16:38+0200
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Cassava Boom Beckons as Nigeria Eyes Global Agro-Trade Spotlight
Sputnik Africa
Across Africa, agriculture holds untapped potential not just to feed populations but to drive industrial growth and innovation. One crop that stands at this intersection of food and opportunity is cassava — a resilient, adaptable root that, beyond the plate, is proving to be an economic powerhouse in waiting.
In Nigeria, cassava is not just food; it's the country's most produced crop by volume, accounting for nearly 20% of global output. As climate, population, and economic pressures mount across Africa, cassava's role is expanding, and it is increasingly seen as a vehicle for industrialization, rural development, and regional trade.
In Nigeria, cassava is not just food; it’s the country’s most produced crop by volume, accounting for nearly 20% of global output. As climate, population, and economic pressures mount across Africa, cassava’s role is expanding, and it is increasingly seen as a vehicle for industrialization, rural development, and regional trade.In a conversation with Global South Pole, Dr. Waidi Adebayo, a Nigerian economist and a research associate at the Center for Economic Policy and Development Research [CEPDeR], Covenant University, Nigeria, explained how cassava can anchor economic diversification and agro-industrial growth if properly harnessed, pointing to the crop’s existing economic impact even without value-added processing as a clear sign of its untapped potential.However, the Nigerian economist emphasized the need for bold thinking to unlock cassava’s full economic value. He noted that unlocking this potential requires not just production, but a deliberate shift toward infrastructure, technology, and coordinated policymaking.To listen to the whole conversation, tune in to the Global South Pole podcast, brought to you by Sputnik Africa.In addition to the website, you can also catch our episodes on Telegram.► You can also listen to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Deezer, Castbox, Pocket Casts, Afripods, Podcast Addict, Overcast, and Mave Stream.► Check out all the episodes of Global South Pole.
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Cassava Boom Beckons as Nigeria Eyes Global Agro-Trade Spotlight
Aliyu Bello
Correspondent, Podcast Host
Across Africa, agriculture holds untapped potential not just to feed populations but to drive industrial growth and innovation. One crop that stands at this intersection of food and opportunity is cassava — a resilient, adaptable root that, beyond the plate, is proving to be an economic powerhouse in waiting.
In Nigeria, cassava is not just food; it’s the country’s most produced crop by volume, accounting for nearly 20% of global output. As climate, population, and economic pressures mount across Africa, cassava’s role is expanding, and it is increasingly seen as a vehicle for industrialization, rural development, and regional trade.
In a conversation with Global South Pole, Dr. Waidi Adebayo, a Nigerian economist and a research associate at the Center for Economic Policy and Development Research [CEPDeR], Covenant University, Nigeria, explained how cassava can anchor economic diversification and agro-industrial growth if properly harnessed, pointing to the crop’s existing economic impact even without value-added processing as a clear sign of its untapped potential.
However, the Nigerian economist emphasized the need for bold thinking to unlock cassava’s full economic value. He noted that unlocking this potential requires not just production, but a deliberate shift toward infrastructure, technology, and coordinated policymaking.
“If Nigeria would tap into that $254 billion opportunity, what we need to first do is look at the whole cassava value chain properly. […] How do we take this from a subsistence farming and processing system into an industrialized system? […] I would advise that the government should invest in agro-industrial parks where big factories can produce bioethanol and starch. […] There should also be investments in research and development co-funded by the government and NGOs for high-quality starch and disease-resistant cassava varieties. […] Cassava should have its own export promotion zone with warehouses, streamlined customs, and nonstop permits to fast-track shipment to international buyers,” Dr. Adebayo stressed.
To listen to the whole conversation, tune in to the Global South Pole podcast, brought to you by Sputnik Africa.
In addition to the website, you can also catch our episodes on
Telegram.► Check out all the episodes of Global South Pole. 
