By Bisola Adeyemo
Dr. Austine Maduka, the National Public Relations Officer of the National Cassava Grower Association (NCGA) has urged the federal government to drive a means of differentiating cassava domestic cultivation and industrial cultivation to enhance food security in Nigeria.
Dr maduke made this advise on Thursday in his office during an interview with NatureNews Africa.
NatureNews recalls that the federal government recently lamented over the lower cassava production despite Nigeria’s potential in cassava production.
According to the government, the low production can be attributed to several biotic and abiotic factors such as pest and diseases.
While enumerating other factors reducing cassava production, Dr. Maduka said the activities of herders bandits, and the kidnapping crisis in Nigeria also affect cassava production.
“In the past five years, Nigeria earned the best cassava plantation. Farmers produce a huge amount of cassava, however, the herders and farmer clash has reduced cassava production, especially in the rural areas where we have a huge number of cassava growers.
“The fear of what will happen has discouraged most cassava farmers from going to the farms which enable herders an opportunity to jeopardise farms, crops through grazing.
“Another factor is fertilizer, inappropriate use of fertilizer by some rural farmers also contributes to cassava low production in Nigeria.
“The past and present governments in Nigeria introduced a lot of initiatives, however, the government should design a template for the continuation of all initiatives programmes which could be handled by agricultural experts.
“Young people especially the agricultural-related graduated students in our universities can as well be trained to work in different local governments in each state to offer services to local farmers through sensitisation on uses of fertilisers to control pests and diseases.
Furthermore, he urged the government to help cassava farmers with farm tools for cultivation.
“Equipment like planter, harvester and others should at least be made available to farmers and this would also improve the tonnes of cassava production in Nigeria.
Nigeria is the largest producer of cassava out of all the African countries. It is the third-largest producer of cassava in the world after Brazil and almost doubles the production of Indonesia and Thailand.
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