The Federal Government of Nigeria has commenced moves to empower 14 million smallholder farmers to become key players in the cassava value chain through the Cassava Bioethanol Value Chain Development Project.
The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, disclosed this at a capacity-building workshop for stakeholders on the Cassava Bioethanol Value Chain Development Project for the South East zone, held in Enugu, Enugu State.
Senator Bagudu said implementation of the project could enable Nigeria to save over three trillion naira annually in foreign exchange by blending bioethanol with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), thereby reducing reliance on imported fuel.
He noted that under the National Bio-Economy Policy, the Ministry is committed to promoting a circular economy that goes beyond the production and utilisation of ethanol.
According to the Minister, “We are looking at the entire value chain, from high quality stems and starch to the CO2 captured during fermentation and the animal feeds produced from distillery grains.”
Bagudu explained that the project would utilise the Triple Helix knowledge transfer partnership model to provide high-yield, disease-resistant cassava varieties, drive investment, technology and market access, and create an enabling environment supported by appropriate infrastructure.
The Minister was represented at the event by the Director of Economic Growth, Mr Auwal Mohammed.
While welcoming participants, the Director of Agriculture, Economic Growth Department, Mr Olaifa Alade, said the workshop was designed to improve stakeholders’ capacity for effective project implementation and to lay a solid foundation for a programme positioned at the intersection of industrialisation, energy transition, and rural empowerment.
He assured stakeholders that the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning is committed to providing the necessary policy support and monitoring framework to ensure the successful transition of the pilot phase into a national success story.
Alade expressed hope that insights gained from the training would catalyse transformation in Nigeria’s agricultural and energy sectors, leading to sustainable national growth.
Participants at the workshop were taken through modules including Nigeria’s Bio-Economy Framework and Cassava Bioethanol, cassava bioethanol value chain mapping, stakeholder engagement and public private partnerships, project management, monitoring and evaluation, and implementation effectiveness, among others.
Participants were drawn from State Ministries of Budget and Economic Planning, State Ministries of Agriculture, farmers’ associations, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), NACCIMA, as well as universities and research institutes within the South East zone.
The capacity-building workshop was organised by the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning in collaboration with Meatia Global Services Ltd. and the Association of Deans of Faculty of Agriculture of Nigerian Universities (ADAN).