The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, said on Friday that Nigeria had secured a contract to supply China with 3.2 million tonnes of dry cassava chips.
Adesina stated this in a paper entitled: “The Value Chain Roadmap’’, which he delivered at the ongoing 9th All Nigeria Editors Conference holding in Asaba, Delta State.
He said arrangement was ongoing with the African Import/Export Bank to finance the processors of the product with a loan facility of 40 million dollars (N632m) to meet the terms of the contract.
Adesina said that Nigerian farmers and processors would make as much as 800 million dollars from the contract.
“We are focusing on Cassava chips for export, production of chips for livestock industry, starch, sweeteners, and ethanol. A revolution is on its way in Agbadu in Kogi State, where today, Cargill, the world’s leading manufacturer of food, is working with my ministry and the Kogi State Government to set up a 75,000-tonne starch-to-sweetener plant, that will reduce our dependency on sugar imports. Over 15,000 hectares have been secured. They are being cleared for farmers to produce cassava for this plant.
Nigeria has secured a contract to supply China. At the start of my tenure, I said we have to take on the export market for dry cassava chips.”
Source: NAN
