AfDB to invest $120m to boost cassava, rice, maize, sorghum, millet, wheat production in Africa

The African Development Bank (AfDB) says it would invest $120 million in the next three years to boost cassava production and transform production of eight other commodities, the bank said at a conference on the produce.

Martin Fregene, AfDB’s director of agriculture, who spoke at the ongoing conference on Global Cassava Partnerships (GCP) for the 21st Century in Cotonou, Republic of Benin, the fourth in its series, listed the nine commodities as cassava, rice, maize, sorghum, millet, wheat, livestock, aquaculture, high iron beans, orange-fleshed sweet potatoes.

He said that transforming cassava on the African continent would help African nations to cut imports and redirect about $1.2 billion into African domestic economies.

“The bank’s investment in cassava comes at a time when African governments are scaling up efforts to end food imports and create wealth. Cassava is a strategic crop for Africa food security and wealth creation for youth and women. Another dimension to the importance of cassava is in nutrition, where cassava can enhance the nutrition of children directly or as feed for poultry and other livestock,” Fregene said.

According to him, the largest volume of cassava coming from Africa supported more than 350 million people.

 Kenton Dashiell, deputy director-general for partnerships for delivery at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), said that unlocking the potential of cassava required partnerships.

He stated that close collaboration of partners in the cassava value chain would address constraints facing the crop.

He commended the GCP21 for filling the gaps in cassava research and development by organising conferences, thereby enabling experts to share knowledge on innovations in cassava.