By Esther Onyegbula

For decades, Nigeria has worn the crown as the world’s largest producer of cassava. Across villages and farmlands stretching from the South-West to the Niger Delta and the Middle Belt, cassava has remained a dependable crop, feeding homes, supporting rural livelihoods and sustaining millions of smallholder farmers.

Yet, beneath the impressive production figures lies a painful contradiction: Nigeria grows more cassava than any other country in the world, but still struggles to translate that advantage into industrial prosperity, export dominance and global market influence.

That paradox took centre stage as stakeholders gathered to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Industrial Cassava Stakeholders Association of Nigeria, ICSAN, where policymakers, researchers, industrialists and development partners delivered a blunt verdict on the state of Nigeria’s cassava economy: the country’s challenge is no longer production, but policy, coordination and competitiveness.

Delivering a keynote address titled, “A Decade of Growth, A Future of Policy,” Country Director, IDH Nigeria, The Sustainable Trade Initiative, Eniola Fabusoro, captured the dilemma in one sweeping statement: “Nigeria does not have a cassava production problem. What we have is a cassava system problem.”

The remark resonated deeply across the hall. Despite producing over 63 million metric tonnes annually, Nigeria continues to export raw opportunities while importing refined value. The sector, according to stakeholders, remains fragmented, poorly coordinated and unable to compete effectively in global industrial markets.

Fabusoro lamented that while Nigeria leads in volume, countries in Southeast Asia have moved far ahead in value addition, exports and industrial processing.

“We are a global leader, but yet not a global leader in value. We export jobs and then import value from a crop that we produce more than any country in the world,” he said.
For him, the future of cassava must move beyond farming alone. “Policy must shift from how we produce more cassava to how we connect cassava to market and value,” he stressed.

According to him, the next phase of growth requires Nigeria to abandon fragmented interventions and embrace coordinated value-chain development driven by infrastructure, logistics, storage, energy and private-sector leadership. He warned that without traceability, standardisation and supply-chain reliability, multinational industrial buyers would continue to look elsewhere.
“The next decade will not be led by those who produce cassava, but by those who organise the system around it,” he declared. That warning comes at a difficult moment for Nigeria’s cassava industry.

For many processors and farmers, the current reality is grim. Warehouses are swelling with unsold products, factories are slowing down operations, and farmers are being forced to sell below cost price. President of ICSAN, Segun Ladele, admitted that while the association has recorded significant milestones within its first decade, major structural gaps still threaten the industry’s future.

He noted that Nigeria’s cassava production rose from about 50 million metric tonnes to over 63 million metric tonnes within the last 10 years, but industrial utilisation remains painfully low.

“About 80 per cent is consumed locally as food, five per cent goes into industry and about 15 per cent for export. So when we are talking about industrialisation, there is still a lot of room for improvement,” he explained. Ladele pointed accusing fingers at weak inter-ministerial coordination, especially following recent tariff adjustments that opened the floodgates for imported starch products.

According to him, the absence of synergy between the ministries of Agriculture, Industry, Finance and Economic Planning contributed to the current glut devastating local producers. “The Ministry of Trade and Industry just felt there was a demand gap and opened the border, but because there was no proper coordination, far more products came in than necessary,” he said.

The consequences have been severe. Vice President of ICSAN and founder of Psaltry International Company Limited, Oluyemisi Iranloye, warned that cheap imported corn starch is threatening the survival of Nigeria’s local cassava processing industry. “If not properly checked, it can wipe out the whole cassava industry,” she warned.

Iranloye explained that reduced import tariffs have made foreign starch products significantly cheaper than locally processed alternatives, placing Nigerian processors at a dangerous disadvantage. “Farmers are now selling far below cost price because manufacturers are not able to buy the volume they normally buy,” she said.

According to her, between 50 and 70 starch factories, alongside about 20 industrial ethanol factories in Nigeria, depend heavily on cassava supply chains. Any disruption to local processing, she warned, could affect millions of rural livelihoods.
“If the cassava processors survive, millions of cassava farmers will also survive because we will buy and they will continue to produce,” she added.

Beyond processing challenges, experts say the country’s biggest obstacle remains implementation. Executive Director of the National Root Crops Research Institute, Chiedozie Egesi, argued that Nigeria already has enough policies on cassava development, but lacks the political will to enforce them.
“Nigeria is the largest producer for a long time, but that’s not enough to drive anything. We need to make cassava market-driven,” he said.

Drawing comparisons with Thailand and Vietnam, Egesi noted that those countries transformed cassava into major economic drivers through deliberate industrial policies, infrastructure investment and aggressive implementation.
He insisted Nigeria must stop seeing cassava solely as a food-security crop and begin to position it as an industrial raw material capable of powering manufacturing, livestock feed, starch production and export earnings.

“We know the solution. What is lacking is the willpower,” he stated. For Egesi, the challenge extends beyond government alone. “It has to take government, the private sector and financial institutions to make all of this happen,” he added. The anniversary event also became a moment of reflection and recognition, as industry veterans and researchers who contributed to cassava development were honoured for their efforts.

The highlight of the event was the presentation of awards of excellence to eight outstanding individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of the cassava sector in Nigeria and globally.

Among the award recipients were the Executive Director of the National Root Crops Research Institute, Professor Chiedozie Egesi, and the former Executive Director of the National Root Crops Research Institute, Dr. Godwin Asumugha, Mr. Cyril Onwuamaeze Ugwu, Elder Olufemi Yerokun, Madam Adenike Tinubu, Mrs. Ifeoma Mary Okonkwo, Mr. Chibuzor Collins Okwor and Engr. Charles Adeniji recognised for their impact on cassava research, industrialisation and value-chain development.

Speaking on behalf of award recipients, Egesi described the recognition as both emotional and symbolic. “If we give up, then all the efforts of the last 10 years are lost. So we cannot give up,” he said. In one of the most symbolic moments of the gathering, he compared ICSAN’s first decade to the formative years of a child.

“ICSAN is 10 years old today. The next 10 years will move us from teenage to adulthood,” he remarked. He envisioned a future where ICSAN evolves into a powerful advocacy institution similar to Thailand’s tapioca associations, capable of influencing national policies, banking systems and industrial markets. “I’m looking forward to a time when ICSAN will be able to influence the President, the Central Bank Governor and ministers because ICSAN has spoken,” he said.

Development organisations at the event echoed the need for stronger collaboration and policy advocacy.
Market Systems Development Project Manager at PIND Foundation, Faith Emmanuel-Soya, said Nigeria still has enormous untapped opportunities within the cassava value chain.
She argued that expanding industrial demand for cassava would create jobs, boost incomes for smallholder farmers and deepen rural economic development. “The industrial sector is like a pool. Once it grows, more farmers are pulled into the supply chain and more jobs are created,” she explained.

Also speaking, former Executive Director of the National Root Crops Research Institute, Godwin Asumugha, reflected on the progress made in cassava research and improved varieties developed over the years.

“Cassava development has come a long way. We have developed many new cassava varieties adopted by farmers across the country,” he said. Still, despite the optimism, stakeholders acknowledged that Nigeria stands at a crossroads. The country can either continue exporting raw potential while other nations profit from refined industrial value, or finally build the coordinated system capable of transforming cassava into an economic powerhouse.

For now, the consensus is clear: Nigeria already has the land, the farmers, the research capacity and the production scale. What it lacks is coordination, consistency and commitment. And as the industry looks toward its next decade, stakeholders insist that the future of cassava in Nigeria can no longer be measured merely in tonnes harvested, but in industries powered, exports expanded, jobs created and economic resilience secured.

As Fabusoro reminded participants in his closing remarks: “If we get this right, cassava will not just feed Nigeria. It will fuel industry, power exports, create millions of jobs and redefine our place in the global economy.”