By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – AS Nigeria joins the rest of the world to commemorate World Cassava Day 2025, the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, Thursday, declared that the Cassava Bioethanol Project will save Nigeria over N3 trillion annually from imported fuels and ethanol derivatives.

Shettima stated this in his keynote address to mark the Day at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, while stressing that it is a day for setting t a new agenda for cassava, which it aligns with the Renewed Hope economic vision, builds on international partnerships, and is grounded in domestic transformation.

He also assured that Nigeria would not be just occupying number one cassava producing nation of the world but will translate that into “jobs, foreign exchange, industrial development, and greater national food and energy security.”

Meanwhile, he said marking the World Cassava Day 2025, every stakeholder is expected to come up “with more clarity of purpose and a firm commitment to action as the cassava subsector requires disciplined execution, transparent coordination, and consistent delivery, and made it clear that, “Our success will not be measured by intentions, but by outcomes that improve productivity, expand markets, and uplift communities. I am confident that the decisions taken here will move us from dialogue to action and from ambition to lasting results.”

He also said the Tinubu-led administration is committed to empowering the youth and “it is not an afterthought in our cassava strategy; it is a core driver of its future. Agricultural transformation at scale will only be possible if we intentionally harness the energy, creativity, and technological acumen of young Nigerians. Just as youth-led innovation has reshaped sectors like fintech and digital commerce, we believe agritech holds the same disruptive potential.”

According him, the administration is investing in the infrastructure, training systems, and enterprise models that enable young entrepreneurs to build viable agribusinesses with national and global relevance.

He also said this vision is “backed by targeted interventions through the Bank of Agriculture, the Bank of Industry, and the National Agricultural Development Fund, which are expanding access to finance, training, and digital tools for smallholder farmers and agri-entrepreneurs.”

He also emphasized that Cassava must become more than a subsistence crop.

“It must become a platform for youth-led innovation, scalable enterprise, and long-term wealth creation. We want cassava to be not only a farmer’s commodity but a founder’s opportunity.

“We are also strengthening local ecosystems through targeted initiatives such as the AgriConnect platform, the Rice and Cassava Empowerment Programme in the Niger Delta, and the Renewed Hope Agricultural Mechanisation Programme. These interventions are already connecting thousands of farmers to markets, reducing manual labour, and expanding cultivated land under cassava.”

He said in a bid to modernize cassava cultivation and expand the nation’s production capacity, “the Renewed Hope Agricultural Mechanisation Programme is deploying over 2,000 advanced tractors, 50 bulldozers, and 9,000 specialized implements across key farming zones.

“This intervention, supported by strategic partnerships with countries such as Belarus and Denmark, is enabling the cultivation of over 550,000 hectares and generating employment opportunities for thousands of young Nigerians. These international collaborations, combined with the expertise of global research institutions, are accelerating our transition to a more productive and competitive agricultural system.

“A coordinated, multi-stakeholder approach remains the most effective pathway to achieving sustainable growth in the cassava value chain and broader agricultural sector”, he said.

Meanwhile,his message to farmers is for them to “remain the backbone of this transformation. Your work feeds the nation, your resilience builds our economy, and your future is central to the cassava industrialization agenda.

“To our processors and innovators, your role in building market-ready, value-added products is essential. To our global partners, we value your continued collaboration in ensuring that Nigeria not only feeds itself but supports global food security.”

He said: “Cassava remains one of the most strategic agricultural assets available to Nigeria. Its versatility spans food, feed, energy, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and construction materials. What we have today is not just a crop, but a platform for economic reengineering.

“We are committed to repositioning cassava as a core driver of import substitution, industrial supply chains, and large-scale employment, particularly in rural areas. This commitment is embedded in the economic diversification pillars of the Renewed Hope Agenda under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“This renewed thinking has guided our deliberate policy shift from subsidy-heavy interventions to investment-driven strategies that enable private capital, research institutions, and public agencies to work in synergy.

“The administration’s cassava roadmap is focused on scaling mechanization, investing in agro-processing zones, expanding access to improved planting materials, and ensuring the full commercialization of cassava derivatives. It is no longer acceptable for Nigeria to lead in production but lag in value addition and export.

“One of the most transformative initiatives in this effort is the Cassava Bioethanol Project. This project is expected to save the country over three trillion naira annually by reducing our dependency on imported fuels and ethanol derivatives. More importantly, it will catalyze innovation in agro-industrial waste management.

“We must now harness cassava by-products at scale, from peels to pulp, in a way that meets domestic demand and secures Nigeria a place among the major exporters of clean energy solutions and cassava-based industrial inputs.Our commitment to research-based innovation remains firm.

Meanwhile, the Vice President commended the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, IITA, for their groundbreaking and sustained contributions to food systems transformation.

As a key highlight of the event, he commissioned the Semi-Autotrophic Hydroponic (SAH) system for cassava seed production, developed in partnership with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).

The SAH system is a soil-free propagation technology that allows rapid multiplication of clean, disease-free planting materials in controlled conditions. This intervention directly addresses the seed quality challenge that has constrained productivity for decades and reflects our commitment to harnessing science and technology to improve agricultural outcomes.

“Today, we are commissioning the Semi-Autotrophic Hydroponic (SAH) system, a revolutionary approach to cassava seed multiplication. This technology allows for faster propagation of disease-free, high-yield planting materials, optimized for uniformity and environmental efficiency. It addresses one of the most critical gaps in the cassava value chain—quality seed systems”, he said.

Earlier in his address of welcome, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusiness and Productivity Enhancement, AgPE, Dr Kingsley Uzoma, underscored the fact that the issue of value addition on cassava remains paramount.

“Nigeria is the largest producer of cassava in the world, but we recognise that production alone is not enough. The real opportunity lies in value addition, agro-industrialisation, and market access.

“Our focus is to reposition cassava as a strategic industrial raw material—one that powers our industries, substitutes imports, creates jobs, and strengthens local supply chains.

“To do this sustainably, we must empower smallholder farmers, expand processing infrastructure, and ensure quality standards across the board.

“I must commend the Renewed Hope Administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for its steadfast commitment to transforming agriculture into a cornerstone of national economic resilience. Through bold reforms, strategic investments, and an increasing embrace of public–private partnerships, this administration is redefining how we address complex development challenges.

“The Office of the Vice President, under the leadership of His Excellency Sen. Kashim Shettima, has provided the high-level coordination and political will needed to drive innovation, unlock private sector capital, and scale impact across agricultural value chains.

“As part of this commitment, the Federal Government is taking deliberate steps to unlock the potential of cassava through improved access to finance, de-risked investment, and accelerated enterprise development. Institutions such as the Bank of Agriculture, the Bank of Industry, and the Nigeria Agribusiness Development Fund are supporting these efforts and helping to position cassava as a priority sector for inclusive growth.

“We gather here not only to reflect on our progress but to redefine the next chapter of growth and innovation for the cassava sector in Nigeria and as well West Africa and Africa in general.

“We are also proud to host the Youth Changemaker Pitch Competition—giving young Nigerians the platform to share scalable ideas that can strengthen cassava production, processing, and trade. Through these conversations and collaborations, we are building shared ownership of the cassava agenda.

“For generations, cassava has been a symbol of resilience and food security across Nigeria. It is now time to elevate its role as a driver of economic growth and industrial transformation. Let today serve as a turning point in our collective efforts to build a globally competitive cassava sector—one that benefits every actor from the farm to the factory.

Kabir Shagaya of Cavista Holdings, a company who was one of the sponsors of this year’s celebration in a remark while acknowledging support for the private sector by the Vice President disclosed that, “We have also committed $150 million to support smallholder farmers through a structured offtake system with the Ekiti State Government. This was signed at the U.S.-Africa Summit in Dallas in 2024.”