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especially in the cassava-growing areas in the south of the country. This was compounded
by Nigeria’s reliance on oil exports, which had triggered an abrupt fall in production in the
agriculture sector, resulting in large scale rural–urban migration and rapidly rising urban wages
supported by cheap rice and wheat imports to meet growing urban demand. Unfortunately the
agricultural sector remained largely subsistence and failed to keep up with rapid population
growth. With high dependence on food imports and oil dominating the economy, the price of
cassava remained depressed and production fell. However, by the mid-1980s, petroleum-led
economic growth had slowed and the Government introduced a structural adjustment
programme that devalued the Naira and lifted subsidies on fertiliser and cereals. This resulted
in dramatically improved incentives for cassava growers. Real producer prices increased as a
consequence of devaluation, the abolition of commodity boards, and import restrictions on
selected foodstuffs and animal feeds. As a result, consumer demand changed from such foods
as bread, eggs, meat and rice towards such locally produced staples as cassava, maize, sorghum
and yams. Farmers responded by producing more of these crops. Despite this response, many
areas still suffer from seasonal food deficits. This prompted Government to seek policies to
enhance agricultural productivity, thus encouraging collaboration with international agencies
and NGOs to develop the cassava sector.
Innovation triggers. PICPE launched in 2003 brought cassava and its potential into the
national limelight. PICPE’s goal was to stimulate cassava production to become a viable foreign
exchange earner. The challenge was that by 2007 the country should earn US$5 billion from
value-added cassava exports. Nigeria’s Ministry of Trade and Commerce commissioned the
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to assist in the development of
a Cassava Master Plan. This Plan identified and analysed the cassava value chain, proposing:
business development, international economic cooperation and scientific support initiatives,
and benchmarking the Nigerian cassava sector against competing cassava nations, particularly
Thailand and Brazil.
The National Economic, Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) (National Planning
Commission, 2004) recognised the importance of agriculture, despite the dominant role of
oil as the country’s main export. Accordingly, Government committed three percent of the
national budget to agriculture, aiming at six percent growth for the sector in order to restore
agriculture to its former status as a leading sector in the economy. The main challenges were
to increase economic opportunities through sustainable and competitive cassava production,
processing, marketing, and agri-enterprise development in selected communities by:
• Increasing cassava productivity by developing improved germplasm, soil amendments,
integrated pest management (IPM), and other proven best practices
• Mitigating the impact of CMD through participatory evaluation, multiplication, and
distribution of CMD-resistant germplasm to farmers
• Developing and expanding postharvest processing, and marketing outlets for cassava
products to increase incomes and improve livelihoods in rural areas.
Interventions and stakeholder roles. In 2003 PICPE tasked a commission to find ways of
increasing annual cassava production, processing and export from 32 million to 150 million
tonnes increasing the value added in cassava production from US$ 1 billion to US$ 5 billion
76 Agricultural Innovation in Sub-Saharan Africa