Nigeria must move beyond seeing cassava as only a staple food and begin treating it as a strategic economic asset capable of driving industrial growth, creating jobs and strengthening food security, according to the Chief Innovation and Commercialisation Officer of Matna Foods Limited, a Cavista Holding Company, Dr Tony Bello.
Bello said Nigeria already holds a unique advantage as the world’s largest producer of cassava, but the country has yet to fully convert that strength into lasting economic value.
He explained that recent global events have forced many countries to rethink the importance of agriculture. According to him, the COVID 19 pandemic exposed weaknesses in international supply chains, while the Russia Ukraine conflict disrupted food, fertiliser and energy markets across the world. Ongoing tensions in the Middle East have also increased concerns about food availability, inflation and economic stability.
Bello noted that food security is no longer viewed simply as a social concern. He said governments now see agriculture as a critical component of national security, economic resilience and industrial development.
He added that Nigeria faces its own challenges, including rising food prices, pressure on foreign exchange, insecurity affecting farming communities and increasing demand for affordable food. These realities, he said, have made agriculture more important than ever.
According to him, encouraging progress is already taking place because discussions are gradually shifting away from farming alone to include processing, logistics, manufacturing, exports and value chain development.
He stressed that while agriculture creates production volume, industrialisation creates value, adding that real economic prosperity comes from transforming farm produce into products that generate sustainable revenue and employment.
Speaking on economic diversification, Bello said agriculture remains one of the strongest sectors capable of helping Nigeria reduce its dependence on oil.
He explained that genuine diversification is not about creating new industries alone but about building productive sectors that generate jobs, increase exports, retain wealth within the country and improve living standards.
He argued that success should no longer be measured only by the amount of crops harvested but by the industries established, the number of jobs created, export earnings generated and long term economic value retained.
On youth participation, Bello said agriculture has become more attractive to young Nigerians over the past decade.
He credited part of the shift to the Agricultural Transformation Agenda introduced under the leadership of Dr Akinwumi Adesina, whose message that Nigeria’s future billionaires would emerge from agriculture inspired many young entrepreneurs to see the sector differently.
Today, he said, more young innovators, investors and business leaders are actively participating across agricultural value chains.
He pointed to institutions such as Lagos Business School, which now offer agribusiness management programmes that continue to attract entrepreneurs seeking opportunities in agriculture.
Bello also noted that social platforms have become active spaces where young professionals discuss investment, innovation, commercialisation and value chain development.
He highlighted several youth driven agribusinesses that have contributed to changing the sector, describing them as evidence that agriculture has become an attractive business opportunity for the younger generation.
Turning to cassava, Bello described the crop as Nigeria’s greatest agricultural advantage.
He explained that many advanced economies built their industrial development around staple crops. Wheat and potatoes played that role in the United States, while maize became a major industrial crop across Latin America. Rice has served a similar purpose in many Asian countries.
According to him, those countries moved beyond producing food and developed industries around their staple crops, creating employment, exports and long term economic growth.
Nigeria, he said, has the same opportunity with cassava.
Although cassava has traditionally been associated with products such as garri, fufu, akpu, lafun, flour, tapioca and starch, Bello believes its greatest potential now lies in industrial processing and manufacturing.
Despite producing more than 60 million metric tonnes of cassava annually, he said Nigeria has not fully benefited from the crop because much of its value is lost after harvest.
He explained that the country’s biggest challenge is no longer increasing production but transforming that production into higher value products capable of generating greater revenue.
Bello observed that earlier investments focused mainly on processing factories, many of which struggled because they lacked reliable supplies of cassava.
Later investments combined farming with processing, improving raw material availability. However, he said much of the industry still concentrates on producing basic commodities such as High Quality Cassava Flour and native cassava starch rather than higher value products.
He also revealed that one of the industry’s biggest problems is low capacity utilisation.
According to him, many processing facilities operate far below their installed capacity, reducing profitability, increasing production costs and limiting the sector’s competitiveness.
Speaking on technology and mechanisation, Bello said industrialisation cannot succeed without higher productivity.
He explained that efficient farming, reliable supply chains, improved transportation and better commercial systems are essential for building a globally competitive cassava industry.
He pointed to Agbeyewa Farms as an example of how long term investment can strengthen feedstock security.
From a relatively small beginning, the company has expanded its cassava cultivation to more than 2,800 hectares and is working towards about 5,000 hectares.
He described the operation as the largest cassava farming project in Africa and one of the biggest integrated cassava production platforms globally.
Bello stressed that increasing cultivated land alone is not enough.
He said Agbeyewa continues to work with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and other research partners to improve seed quality, disease resistance, starch content, crop vigour and overall yield.
According to him, the objective is not simply to grow more cassava but to produce higher quality cassava capable of supporting industrial processing.
Reflecting on this year’s World Cassava Day theme, “From Cassava to Industrialisation, From Industrialisation to Prosperity,” Bello said the message reflects the direction Nigeria must take.
He explained that industrialisation does not happen automatically but requires deliberate leadership, strategic investment and a new way of thinking.
Nigeria, he said, must stop measuring agricultural success only by hectares cultivated or tonnes harvested and instead focus on value creation, market expansion, job creation and sustainable revenue.
He concluded that the country’s greatest challenge is not producing more cassava but unlocking greater value from the crop through research, technology, manufacturing, commercialisation, exports and globally competitive industries capable of driving lasting economic prosperity.
