CAHPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Agriculture
occupies a key position in the Nigeria economy judging by its critical role of providing
food security, provision of employment, revenue generation and provision of raw
materials for industrial development. Cassava,
(Manihot esculenta Crantz) is the
third most important food crop in the tropics after rice and maize, and is consumed
daily by up to one billion people, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa (Eugene and Otim-Nape,
2012). Global cassava output in 2011 was expected to rise by over 6% from the previous
year (2010), and to surpass 250 Million metric tons for the first time (FAO,
2011).
Nigeria
is currently the largest cassava producer in the world with estimated annual
production of about 40 Million metric tones. About 90% of this is however,
consumed as food. The country is yet to fully harness the socio-economic
potentials of cassava that would translate to higher ranking of cassava next to
petroleum as major contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Having realized
that the contribution of the agriculture sector had significantly dropped from
being a major foreign exchange earner and resource reservoir to the present
status of low supply deficits in both food and industrial crops, President Obasanjo
in 1999 convened several stakeholders’ for a on Cassava, Rice, Vegetable Oil Development
Programme (VODEP) and Tree Crops. This led to the inauguration of various committees
under the chairmanship of the Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural
Development, Malam Adamu, Bello that developed the blueprint for the implementation
of the “Presidential Initiatives on Cassava, Rice, VODEP and Tree Crops. The blueprints
were subsequently approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) with the recommendation
that the take-off funds be made available for project implementation. In the
Presidential Initiative on Cassava (PIC) strategies was set in motion to
achieve, on animal basis, 5 Billion Dollars (US $5.0 Billion) from export of
cassava in the next 3-5 years. This plane also involve building of the domestic
productive capacity to efficiently, profitable and sustainable satisfy the new market
demand with the quality and quantity required to realize the objective (Presidential
Initiative on Cassava Reports, 2003) The importance of cassava in human
nutrition as a major source of food fibre cannot be over emphasized as it touches
the lives of a large percentage of the population of the world. As population increases,
the demand for food fibre and cassava products increases, especially with its comparative
cost advantage over cereals as source of energy. This calls for improved cassava
farming technologies and other information needed for improved production level.
Access to adequate informnation is very essential to increased agricultural productivity
(Mgbada, 2006).
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