A four-year project (2015 – 2019) to develop a commercially sustainable
cassava seed value chain in Nigeria, was officially launched recently at
a public event at the headquarters of the International Institute of Tropical
Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan, Nigeria.
Titled ‘Building
a Sustainable, Integrated Seed System for Cassava in Nigeria’ (BASICS), the $USD11.6
million project is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and led by
the CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB).
Despite being the largest cassava producer in Africa, Nigeria’s
average yields of 14 tons per hectare are less than half of what may be
realistically attainable.
The project aims to help Nigerian producers reach this
potential through developing a commercially sustainable cassava seed value
chain based on the purchase of quality seed by farmers provided by vibrant and
profitable village seed entrepreneurs and basic seed production linked to
cassava processors.
These seed businesses will provide healthy seed of more
productive cassava varieties leading to adoption of new varieties to improve
productivity and food security, increase incomes of cassava growers and village
seed entrepreneurs and enhance gender equity.
Kicking off the public launch, Dr. Nteranya Sanginga, IITA Director
General, explained that the key to industrializing cassava is to increase
productivity, and this means addressing the problem with weeds, improving
agronomy and providing quality seed.
Dr. Graham Thiele, RTB Program Director, gave the project
overview: “Our vision is that by 2019 smallholder cassava growers are buying
high quality stems of their preferred varieties and planting them with improved
agronomic practices. As a result yields have jumped by at least 40% and farmers
have more secure markets for expanded production… Novel rapid multiplication
technologies have lowered the cost of producing seed and accelerated the introduction
of new varieties. Vibrant new businesses have been created all along the
cassava seed value chain creating employment especially for women and youth.”
Mrs. Doyin Awe, Representative of Nigeria’s Minister,
Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development noted that exciting new
opportunities were opening for cassava, but planting materials for cassava
present special challenges as they are bulky and perishable. She committed the
full support of the Ministry to the new project and thanked the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation for providing the funding.
Dr. Julius Okonkwo, Executive Director, National Root Crops
and Research Institute (NRCRI), noted that Nigeria’s cassava seed system was
informal, and that NRCRI was very pleased to form part of the project in
developing a modern seed system for cassava.
Dr. Yemi Akinbamijo, Executive
Director of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) said: “I am
excited to get back to BASICS so that we could move forward for a food secure
Nigeria.” He underscored the need to work on the entire innovation to impact
pathway, and stressed that today history is being made, and that he was very
proud to see such a great initiative unveiled.
Mr. Louw Burger of Thai Farms, a cassava flour processing
company, explained that better roots were easier to harvest and that its extremely important to start with the right seed.
Following the launch the project partners including National
Agricultural Seed Council (NASC), the National Root Crops and Research
Institute (NRCRI), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA),
Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Context Network, and FERA (UK) took part in a
participatory workshop to finalize work plans and move ahead with the project.
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