More than 200 stakeholders from across Nigeria’s agricultural and investment sectors convened at the Office of the Vice President, yesterday to mark World Cassava Day 2025.
The event, themed “Farm to Global Markets: Driving Industrialisation, Food Security and Exports,” brought national attention to cassava’s untapped economic potential.
The forum was hosted by Cavista Holdings in collaboration with the Office of the Vice President and the Project Management Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on Agribusiness and Productivity Enhancement, Dr. Kingsley Uzoma.
Strategic support was provided by the Nigeria Cassava Investment Accelerator (NCIA), a Lagos Business School-led initiative implemented with the Boston Consulting Group. Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc also supported the event as a corporate sponsor.
At the heart of NCIA’s mission is a bold vision: to transform cassava from a subsistence crop into a driver of industrial growth and inclusive economic development. The initiative aims to unlock over $800 million in economic value by improving access to investment, strengthening supply chains, and supporting enabling policies.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, in his opening address, described cassava as a strategic national asset with cross-sector potential.
“Cassava cuts across food, fuel, pharmaceuticals, and even textiles and construction,” he said. “It is an opportunity to re-engineer our economy and strengthen livelihoods.”
He also highlighted the government’s shift from subsidies to more sustainable, investment-driven approaches.
“We are prioritising private capital, research, and coordinated action to drive mechanisation, processing, and full commercialisation of cassava,” the Vice President noted.
During the programme, government officials, financiers, agribusiness leaders, and development partners explored one of the sector’s most pressing challenges—how to scale cassava industrialisation in a way that benefits smallholders and attracts private capital.
Speakers stressed the importance of linking farm productivity with modern processing infrastructure and long-term finance. They highlighted the need for policy reforms that enable the growth of high-value cassava derivatives, including sweeteners, high-quality cassava flour, starch, and bioethanol.
A key moment was a panel discussion on unlocking capital for cassava industrialisation, moderated by the Dean of Lagos Business School and NCIA Project Lead Professor Olayinka David-West.
“Cassava industrialisation is critical to driving inclusive economic growth in Nigeria,” said Professor David-West.
“But it cannot happen in isolation. It requires deliberate collaboration, de-risked and patient capital, and policies that connect smallholder productivity to large-scale processing and market offtake.”
The panel featured senior executives from Sterling Bank, NIRSAL Plc, Bank of Agriculture, NADF, and Cavista Holdings. Each brought perspectives on financing models, policy gaps, and the conditions needed to move cassava from subsistence to scale.
NCIA was established in 2024 to help reposition Nigeria not just as the world’s largest cassava producer, but as a future leader in cassava-based manufacturing. The initiative focuses on investment facilitation, industrial pathway development, supply chain strengthening, capacity building, and policy advocacy.