Expert Tasks Nigerians On Cassava Initiative
5th March 2007

An agriculture expert, Prof. Dupe Olatunbosun, says Nigeria has the potential to lead in agriculture if the government's cassava initiative is taken seriously.

He told newsmen in Abeokuta on Wednesday that "what Nigeria missed in palm oil production has become a blessing to Malaysia in many folds.''

Olatunbosun, who is the chairman of the Ogun State Cassava Revolution Programme (OGCRP), said the programme was a challenge to the government "not to allow history to repeat itself".

"This is because in 1974, we gave Malaysia palm seeds free of charge, but in 1976, they specifically asked to be allowed to pay for it.

"As at today, Malaysia is not only the single largest producer of palm oil, but generates more than double what Nigeria realises from oil and gas in terms of revenue earnings,'' he noted.

Olatunbosun said the country was being offered another opportunity "to get it right in agriculture,'' warning that if the opportunity was allowed to slip away, it would be too painful for the country to bear.

He said the state government had earned more than N27 million from the programme, while many cassava processing plants had been completed.

"The programme has provided employment opportunities, poverty alleviation, industrialisation of the rural communities and good prospect for internally generated revenue," he stressed.

Olatunbosun said a Memorandum of Understanding on more than N1.5 billion worth of investments on agro-allied industries had been signed with Thailand to produce cassava flour, starch and ethanol.

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