Nigeria partners other African countries to increase cassava production

Nigeria is partnering other African nations in an effort to increase the production of cassava in the country by 2050.

Claude Fauquet, the director, Global Cassava Partnership for the 21st Century revealed this recently in Lagos.

According to him, “Africa needs to more than double cassava production to feed its people by 2050.

“Though accounting for 55 percent of global cassava root production, Africa’s yield per hectare is the lowest in the world with about 10 tonnes per ha as opposed to Asia where average yield is 21 tonnes per hectare—or double the yield in Africa.”

He said, “While technologies exist to transform cassava, not many policymakers are aware of such technologies.

“The forthcoming global conference on cassava with the theme ‘Cassava transformation in Africa’ is a unique opportunity that would create an environment for exchange of technical, scientific, agricultural, industrial and economic information about cassava among strategic stakeholders such as scientists, farmers, processors, end-users, researchers, the private sector, and donor agencies.”

The International Cassava Conference will take place in Cotonou, the Republic of Benin in June.