The Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, has begun scaling up the production of Fuel Grade Ethanol (FGE) for blending with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to reduce the country’s energy import bill, ease pressure on foreign exchange reserves, and support Naira stability through a localised bio-circular economy.
The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, disclosed this during a capacity-building programme for stakeholders implementing the Cassava Bio-Ethanol Value Chain Development Project held in Nasarawa State.
Represented by the Director of the Economic Growth Department, Mr Muhammed Auwal, the minister said the workshop aims to address post-harvest losses, which account for about 40 per cent inefficiency in the cassava value chain. He explained that strategic aggregation hubs and rapid processing technologies would help shorten the time between harvest and processing while preserving starch quality to meet ASTM standards for anhydrous ethanol.
READ ALSO: Stakeholders Seek Reforms for More Women in Politics
Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Deborah Odoh, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to supporting stakeholders through policy coordination, monitoring, and evaluation to ensure job creation, improved farmers’ income, and economic resilience.
She urged participants to translate the workshop’s resolutions into measurable results across the North Central region. Meanwhile, the Director of the Economic Growth Department, represented by Mr Fatai Olaifa, described cassava as a versatile crop with vast opportunities and called for stronger collaboration among stakeholders to ensure the success of the value chain.
He assured that roles will be clarified within the implementation roadmap, and bridge the gap between public sector regulations and private sector efficiency.
In a goodwill message delivered by the Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Christiana Adeyeye, represented by Dr. Oyedele Olusegun, he affirmed the Agency’s commitment to the secondary by-products generated from Cassava, he commended the Ministry for the initiative in terms of diversification of the economy and conveyed their commitment to collaboration with the Ministry to ensure success.
While delivering her goodwill message, the Technical Adviser to the Benue State Governor on Food Security and Agriculture, Ms. Ochanya Okoh, reiterated that Benue state is set to harness this opportunity to expand the amount of cassava produced in the state as they are one of the leading states in Cassava produced in the country, she extended the goodwill of the Governor and assured the commitment of Benue state in the implementation of Cassava Bio-Ethanol Value Chain Development Project in the region.
The workshop which also aims at improving the technical capacity of relevant stakeholders in deriving bio-ethanol from Cassava for National Industrial use, export as well as creating a new window for processing of varied products is convened to operationalize a critical socioeconomic transition under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda; and also serve as a technical launch pad for the Cassava Bioethanol Value Chain Development Project, a strategic initiative designed to pivot Nigeria from a subsistence agricultural framework toward a high-output, bio-based industrial economy which aids the structural transformation of Nigeria’s biomass potential into industrial grade feedstock.
Participants at the workshop were drawn from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Raw Materials Research and Development Council, States in the Region, Association of Cassava Producers and Processors, amongst others.