PAPCAMAVA Seeks Federal Intervention to Revive Nigeria’s Cassava Value Chain

Aina Obasanjo 

The Pacesetter Premium Cassava Merchants and Value Chain Association, PAPCAMAVA, has called on the Federal Government to introduce policies and interventions to strengthen Nigeria’s cassava value chain and ensure that cassava prices reflect prevailing production costs.

The association made the call at a press conference jointly addressed by its Ogun and Oyo State executives in Idi-Aba, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

President of PAPCAMAVA, Mrs. Jokotoye Kehinde, said the sharp decline in the farm-gate price of cassava was threatening farmers’ livelihoods and could affect the sustainability of food production.

She said the price of raw cassava had reportedly fallen from about two hundred and twenty thousand naira per tonne to as low as five thousand naira, representing an estimated 97.7 per cent decline.

Mrs. Jokotoye said the situation had made it difficult for farmers to recover expenses incurred on land preparation, planting, labour, harvesting and transportation.

She called for greater emphasis on profitability, noting that increased production without adequate returns could discourage farmers from investing in cassava production.

The Vice President of the association, Engineer Fawole Folorunso, also called for pricing mechanisms that take into account the cost of production, harvesting and transportation.

He said PAPCAMAVA would promote the cultivation of high-yielding and disease-resistant cassava varieties, including Ayaya, Obasanjo, Game Changer and Baba 70, as part of efforts to improve productivity and farmers’ returns.

Speaking on the challenges, a representative of GOPA-AFC, Dr. Stephen Babajide, said the prevailing price of cassava had, in some instances, fallen below the combined cost of harvesting and transporting the crop.

Dr. Babajide described the situation as a structural challenge requiring coordinated intervention by policymakers, industrial off-takers, financial institutions and other stakeholders.

He called for improved market coordination, stronger links between farmers and industrial processors, and appropriate financial mechanisms to support actors across the value chain.

The General Secretary of PAPCAMAVA, Mr. Emmanuel Dada, identified policy coherence, appropriately structured credit facilities and decentralised primary processing infrastructure as key measures needed to address the challenges.

Mr. Dada said agricultural loans should take into consideration cassava’s ten-to-fourteen-month production cycle, so that repayment schedules would align with farmers’ production and marketing periods.

He also advocated stronger farmers’ cooperatives to improve access to inputs, financing, markets and other agricultural services.

Mr. Dada disclosed that PAPCAMAVA had established a self-funded ten-hectare farm at Igbo-Aje in Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State, with about nine hectares already under cassava cultivation.

The association expressed its commitment to continued engagement with government and private-sector stakeholders towards strengthening the cassava value chain, protecting farmers’ investments and promoting sustainable growth in the sector.