Industrial Cassava Stakeholders Association of Nigeria

22/07/2026

WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN

There is an old saying that "when the chips are down," people discover what they are truly made of. Today, that expression carries a strikingly literal meaning for everyone in Nigeria's cassava value chain. The chips are indeed down—not just as an expression describing difficult times, but also in the prices of fresh cassava tubers and several other cassava products. For many farmers and processors, 2025 and this 2026 have tested their resilience and the ability to adapt.

In 2024, the conversation was completely different. Fresh cassava commanded unprecedented prices. Farmers were just smiling to the bank and processors struggled to secure enough raw materials. Expansion became the order of the day. More hectares were cultivated, as processors also increased capacity.

By the beginning of 2025 when many of the user companies of cassava derivatives switched to patronizing imported alternatives, and processors of cassava starch and HQCF lost chunk of their markets, demand for cassava tubers dropped beyond usual and price also dropped far below 50% of the previous year. Farmers become discouraged and many processors struggle to operate at 30% of their installed capacity. Many even closed completely.

Perhaps what we are witnessing is not simply a fall in prices but a reminder of a lesson that the industry has not fully embraced the needed reality; that production and market development must grow together. Also the need for strengthen operational efficiency at both production and processing levels. It is not enough for farmers to only pursue increase in size of farmland cultivated, quantity yield per hectare is a major determining factor for the profitability of the investment. Same way that it is important for processors to pursue all possible means of operational cost reduction – cost of energy is a major productivity hindering factor, hence the need to investment alternative energy sources more seriously.

Equally, it is good to note that production without corresponding market expansion inevitably leads to pressure on prices. A value chain cannot rely on occasional shortages to remain profitable. Sustainable growth comes from creating consistent demand, expanding industrial applications, developing export markets and building stronger linkages across the value chain. Therefore, the current situation should not be viewed as a reason for despair but as an opportunity for reflection. Farmers may need to place greater emphasis on productivity rather than simply increasing cultivated area, while strengthening relationships with reliable off-takers before planting. Processors may need to focus even more on operational efficiency and market expansion.

Government also has a critical role to play. The enormous investments already made by private sector players deserve an enabling policy environment that encourages local processing, supports industrial utilization of cassava derivatives, facilitates exports and protects strategic domestic industries from unfair competition. Infrastructure, affordable finance, research, and predictable policies remain essential ingredients for building a globally competitive cassava economy.

One thing this downturn has reminded us is that price alone is not the true measure of the health of an industry. Extremely high prices can cripple processors just as extremely low prices can discourage farmers. What the cassava sector truly needs is a balanced market where every participant earns a fair return and where businesses can plan with confidence rather than reacting to cycles of boom and bust.

Thankfully, there are many reasons to remain optimistic. The conversation around HQCF inclusion is becoming stronger. When the policy is passed as we are hoping demand will increase which will also translate to more volume offtake at the farmers’ end. Efforts being made to create new markets for different cassava products through research and development will also translate to more offtake at both processors and farmers levels.

Every industry experience seasons of abundance and seasons of adjustment. What determines its future is not the difficulty of the moment but how stakeholders respond to it. The Nigerian cassava industry has demonstrated remarkable resilience in the last two years. There is every reason to believe that this period will also pass.

When the chips are down, we must resist the temptation to lose sight of the bigger picture. Nigeria remains the world's largest producer of cassava, and the opportunities before us are still enormous. If we continue to build markets with the more determination, increase our operations efficiency, further strengthen collaboration across the value chain and sustain the ongoing advocacy for supportive policies, the years ahead could mark the beginning of a more stable, competitive and globally relevant cassava economy.

The chips may be down today, but the future of Nigeria's cassava sector is certainly not.

Kazeem Lamidi
Business Development Officer - INCSAN

28/06/2026

12/06/2026

HOW MUCH VALUE CAN NIGERIA CAPTURE FROM EVERY TON OF CASSAVA PRODUCED?

The true economic potential of cassava is not determined by the volume of tubers harvested alone, but by the amount of economic value, jobs, livelihoods, industries, and social development created from every tons produced.

The cassava value chain represents a progression of value creation; from the farmer cultivating the crop, to the local processor transforming it into food, to industrial operators converting it into raw materials and high-value derivatives. Each level creates different layers of economic and social impact, but the greatest opportunity lies in continuously moving cassava higher up the value ladder.

At the primary production level, cassava farming provides the foundation of the entire ecosystem. Millions of smallholder farmers, farm labourers, and rural service providers depend on cassava cultivation for income and livelihood. The sector supports rural employment and contributes significantly to food security. However, despite the huge number of farmers and millions of tons produced annually, the economic value captured at this stage remains relatively low. The challenge is therefore not only producing more cassava, but ensuring that farmers participate more effectively in the value created beyond the farm gate.

Moving into local processing, cassava begins to generate broader economic and social value through products such as garri, fufu, lafun, and other traditional food products. This level supports thousands of processors, many of whom are women and small businesses, while also creating employment opportunities for traders, transporters, and market operators. These processors play a critical role in sustaining local food systems and community economies. However, the value generated remains largely concentrated in informal and low-margin markets.

The next stage is industrial processing, where cassava transitions from being primarily a food crop into an industrial raw materiasl. Operators producing High-Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF), cassava starch, ethanol, and other industrial products create a larger economic footprint despite their lower numbers comparatively. These businesses generate skilled high value employment, attract investment, and support technology development. At this level, cassava creates value beyond consumption by becoming an essential input for manufacturing and industrial growth.

The highest value capture occurs at the advanced industrial derivative level, where cassava is transformed into specialized products such as modified starches, glucose syrup, sorbitol, bio-based chemicals, and other industrial applications. This stage supports and produces highly skilled professionals with impressive income. It increases opportunities for export competitiveness and Nigeria participation in global industrial markets.

Looking ahead, the future of cassava lies in building a cassava-based bio-economy, where new opportunities emerge from areas such as cassava leaf utilization, biodegradable materials, renewable energy applications, and other emerging bio-industrial solutions. This represents a transition from viewing cassava simply as a food crop to recognizing it as a strategic industrial resource.

The fundamental question for Nigeria is therefore not only how many tons of cassava we produce, but how much economic and social value each ton can create across the entire ecosystem.

A ton of cassava sold as fresh roots creates value once, mainly supporting farm-level livelihoods. A ton processed into traditional food products creates additional value through local businesses and community employment. A ton converted into industrial ingredients creates multiple layers of value through manufacturing, skilled jobs, and sectoral linkages. A ton transformed into advanced derivatives creates an ecosystem of innovation, investment, and global competitiveness.

Kazeem Lamidi

24/05/2026

Prof Eniola Fabusoro, Country Director IDH- Nigeria, delivering Keynote Speech at the 9th Annual General Meeting, 10th Anniversary & Award Ceremony of the Industrial Cassava Stakeholders’ Association of Nigeria (INCSAN)

23/05/2026

INDUSTRIAL CASSAVA STAKEHOLDERS' ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA @10: Experts seek industrial revolution for Nigeria's Cassava sector

By Esther Onyegbula - Vanguard News

For decades, Nigeria has worn the crown as the world’s largest producer of cassava. Across villages and farmlands stretching from the South-West to the Niger Delta and the Middle Belt, cassava has remained a dependable crop, feeding homes, supporting rural livelihoods and sustaining millions of smallholder farmers.

Yet, beneath the impressive production figures lies a painful contradiction: Nigeria grows more cassava than any other country in the world, but still struggles to translate that advantage into industrial prosperity, export dominance and global market influence.

That paradox took centre stage as stakeholders gathered to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Industrial Cassava Stakeholders Association of Nigeria, ICSAN, where policymakers, researchers, industrialists and development partners delivered a blunt verdict on the state of Nigeria’s cassava economy: the country’s challenge is no longer production, but policy, coordination and competitiveness.

Delivering a keynote address titled, “A Decade of Growth, A Future of Policy,” Country Director of IDH, The Sustainable Trade Initiative, Eniola Fabusoro, captured the dilemma in one sweeping statement: “Nigeria does not have a cassava production problem. What we have is a cassava system problem.”

The remark resonated deeply across the hall. Despite producing over 63 million metric tonnes annually, Nigeria continues to export raw opportunities while importing refined value. The sector, according to stakeholders, remains fragmented, poorly coordinated and unable to compete effectively in global industrial markets.

Fabusoro lamented that while Nigeria leads in volume, countries in Southeast Asia have moved far ahead in value addition, exports and industrial processing.

“We are a global leader, but yet not a global leader in value. We export jobs and then import value from a crop that we produce more than any country in the world,” he said.
For him, the future of cassava must move beyond farming alone. “Policy must shift from how do we produce more cassava to how do we connect cassava to market and value,” he stressed.

According to him, the next phase of growth requires Nigeria to abandon fragmented interventions and embrace coordinated value-chain development driven by infrastructure, logistics, storage, energy and private-sector leadership. He warned that without traceability, standardisation and supply-chain reliability, multinational industrial buyers would continue to look elsewhere.
“The next decade will not be led by those who produce cassava, but by those who organise the system around it,” he declared. That warning comes at a difficult moment for Nigeria’s cassava industry.

For many processors and farmers, the current reality is grim. Warehouses are swelling with unsold products, factories are slowing down operations, and farmers are being forced to sell below cost price. President of ICSAN, Segun Ladele, admitted that while the association has recorded significant milestones within its first decade, major structural gaps still threaten the industry’s future.

He noted that Nigeria’s cassava production rose from about 50 million metric tonnes to over 63 million metric tonnes within the last 10 years, but industrial utilisation remains painfully low.

“About 80 per cent is consumed locally as food, five per cent goes into industry and about 15 per cent for export. So when we are talking about industrialisation, there is still a lot of room for improvement,” he explained. Ladele pointed accusing fingers at weak inter-ministerial coordination, especially following recent tariff adjustments that opened the floodgates for imported starch products.

According to him, the absence of synergy between the ministries of Agriculture, Industry, Finance and Economic Planning contributed to the current glut devastating local producers. “The Ministry of Trade and Industry just felt there was a demand gap and opened the border, but because there was no proper coordination, far more products came in than necessary,” he said.

The consequences have been severe. Vice President of ICSAN and founder of Psaltry International Company Limited, Oluyemisi Iranloye, warned that cheap imported corn starch is threatening the survival of Nigeria’s local cassava processing industry. “If not properly checked, it can wipe out the whole cassava industry,” she warned.

Iranloye explained that reduced import tariffs have made foreign starch products significantly cheaper than locally processed alternatives, placing Nigerian processors at a dangerous disadvantage. “Farmers are now selling far below cost price because manufacturers are not able to buy the volume they normally buy,” she said.

According to her, between 50 and 70 starch factories, alongside about 20 industrial ethanol factories in Nigeria, depend heavily on cassava supply chains. Any disruption to local processing, she warned, could affect millions of rural livelihoods.
“If the cassava processors survive, millions of cassava farmers will also survive because we will buy and they will continue to produce,” she added.

Beyond processing challenges, experts say the country’s biggest obstacle remains implementation. Executive Director of the National Root Crops Research Institute, Chidozie Egesi, argued that Nigeria already has enough policies on cassava development, but lacks the political will to enforce them.
“Nigeria is the largest producer for a long time, but that’s not enough to drive anything. We need to make cassava market-driven,” he said.

Drawing comparisons with Thailand and Vietnam, Egesi noted that those countries transformed cassava into major economic drivers through deliberate industrial policies, infrastructure investment and aggressive implementation.
He insisted Nigeria must stop seeing cassava solely as a food-security crop and begin to position it as an industrial raw material capable of powering manufacturing, livestock feed, starch production and export earnings.

“We know the solution. What is lacking is the willpower,” he stated. For Egesi, the challenge extends beyond government alone. “It has to take government, the private sector and financial institutions to make all of this happen,” he added. The anniversary event also became a moment of reflection and recognition, as industry veterans and researchers who contributed to cassava development were honoured for their efforts.

The highlight of the event was the presentation of awards of excellence to eight outstanding individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of the cassava sector in Nigeria and globally.

Among the award recipients were the Executive Director of the National Root Crops Research Institute, Professor Chidozie Egesi, and the former Executive Director of the National Root Crops Research Institute, Dr. Godwin Asumugha, Mr. Cyril Onwuamaeze Ugwu, Elder Olufemi Yerokun, Madam Adenike Tinubu, Mrs. Ifeoma Mary Okonkwo, Mr. Chibuzor Collins Okwor and Engr. Charles Adeniji recognised for their impact on cassava research, industrialisation and value-chain development.

Speaking on behalf of award recipients, Egesi described the recognition as both emotional and symbolic. “If we give up, then all the efforts of the last 10 years are lost. So we cannot give up,” he said. In one of the most symbolic moments of the gathering, he compared ICSAN’s first decade to the formative years of a child.

“ICSAN is 10 years old today. The next 10 years will move us from teenage to adulthood,” he remarked. He envisioned a future where ICSAN evolves into a powerful advocacy institution similar to Thailand’s tapioca associations, capable of influencing national policies, banking systems and industrial markets. “I’m looking forward to a time when ICSAN will be able to influence the President, the Central Bank Governor and ministers because ICSAN has spoken,” he said.

Development organisations at the event echoed the need for stronger collaboration and policy advocacy.
Market Systems Development Project Manager at PIND Foundation, Faith Emmanuel-Soya, said Nigeria still has enormous untapped opportunities within the cassava value chain.
She argued that expanding industrial demand for cassava would create jobs, boost incomes for smallholder farmers and deepen rural economic development. “The industrial sector is like a pool. Once it grows, more farmers are pulled into the supply chain and more jobs are created,” she explained.

Also speaking, former Executive Director of the National Root Crops Research Institute, Godwin Asumugha, reflected on the progress made in cassava research and improved varieties developed over the years.

“Cassava development has come a long way. We have developed many new cassava varieties adopted by farmers across the country,” he said. Still, despite the optimism, stakeholders acknowledged that Nigeria stands at a crossroads. The country can either continue exporting raw potential while other nations profit from refined industrial value, or finally build the coordinated system capable of transforming cassava into an economic powerhouse.

For now, the consensus is clear: Nigeria already has the land, the farmers, the research capacity and the production scale. What it lacks is coordination, consistency and commitment. And as the industry looks toward its next decade, stakeholders insist that the future of cassava in Nigeria can no longer be measured merely in tonnes harvested, but in industries powered, exports expanded, jobs created and economic resilience secured.

As Fabusoro reminded participants in his closing remarks: “If we get this right, cassava will not just feed Nigeria. It will fuel industry, power exports, create millions of jobs and redefine our place in the global economy.”

21/05/2026

19/05/2026

The Industrial Cassava Stakeholders’ Association of Nigeria (ICSAN) is marking a major milestone with its 9th Annual General Meeting and 10th Anniversary & Award Ceremony, celebrating a decade of advancing Nigeria’s industrial cassava sector.

The event reflects years of collaboration, policy advocacy, investment promotion, and industry development aimed at positioning cassava as a strategic driver of food security, manufacturing, and economic growth in Nigeria.

With the theme, “A Decade of Growth, A Future of Policy: Scaling Cassava for Food Security and Industry,” the gathering will bring together stakeholders across the cassava value chain to discuss policy direction, industry transformation, market opportunities, and sustainable growth.

The event also serves as a platform to recognize outstanding contributions to the development of the cassava industry while strengthening partnerships for the future of agro-industrial development in Nigeria.

15/05/2026

HYBRIDING OPERATIONS IN CASSAVA PROCESSING TO SAVE ON RAW MATERIAL AND ENERGY COST

The rising cost of energy to power processing facilities in remote villages where there is no connection to the national grid, and where processors depend solely on diesel and petrol, is gradually becoming another major burden that is eroding the earlier raw material cost advantages of siting facilities in such locations. What should have remained a gain from the raw material side is now being consumed by rising energy costs, even with the deployment of mechanized operations that are supposed to deliver cost savings at scale. Now, only investors who are able to fund solar power systems as an alternative energy source seem to be totally on top of the situation.

It has therefore become increasingly necessary to rethink operational models that can overcome these growing challenges, especially where there are capital limitations that make it difficult to fund all required infrastructure at once. More consideration now has to be given to siting mechanized operations in locations with guaranteed electricity supply, even if only enough for a 10 hour working period, while still maintaining steady access to raw materials at reasonable prices.

One model that is quickly gaining attention, especially in the garri production business, is the staggering of operations by appropriately locating the pre-processing and finishing stages between farm areas with abundant raw materials and urban areas with cheaper and more stable electricity supply.
Unit operations such as peeling, grating, fermentation, and dewatering or pressing into cake can be done within the farm areas or even outrightly outsourced to local cottage processors trusted for quality. The pressed cake, in sacks, can then be carefully moved to urban areas where pulverizing, frying, sifting, and packaging are completed.

In this way, raw materials are accessed at farm gate prices with minimal transportation cost due to the significant reduction in bulk quantity, while mechanized frying for large scale production is carried out at a much lower cost, taking advantage of the city electricity. This is particularly important considering that raw material supply and frying operations remain the major cost centers in the garri production business.

A similar model can also be applied in the production of odourless fufu flour, where processors can secure a steady supply of wet fufu from trusted sources in remote villages with abundant cassava tubers. Such local processors can be trained in the serial soaking processes that make the fufu odourless, as well as in dewatering and hermetic packaging in cake form. Final production can then be completed in urban areas where electricity is available to power mechanical dehydrators, dry milling equipment, and aesthetic packaging operations.

This model can be adapted to several other cassava based productions as long as operators can strategically stagger operations across locations with different cost advantages. Over time, this may gradually phase out the long held belief that cassava processing facilities must always be located fully within farm areas, and instead begin to give more urban faces to garri and fufu production businesses.

Kazeem Lamidi
Cassava Value Chain Development Advocate

10/05/2026

IN PURSUIT OF BROADER GACC INCLUSIVENESS FOR NIGERIAN CASSAVA PRODUCTS EXPORTATION TO CHINA

As discussions on broader GACC inclusiveness for Nigerian cassava products progress, it is important to note that China’s GACC framework prioritizes technical confidence, sanitary assurance, traceability, and institutional coordination. Nigeria must therefore demonstrate not just supply capacity, but consistent compliance with export protocols for products such as cassava starch and HQCF.

This access will require stronger government-to-government engagement on cassava trade protocols, led by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI), Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), in coordination with the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC).

Export documentation, phytosanitary systems, and traceability will require strengthened roles from the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS), covering certification, residue monitoring, sanitary compliance, and quality assurance for Chinese market access.

Without deliberate diplomatic and technical engagement with China on cassava product inclusiveness, processors may remain locked out regardless of production capacity, as GACC access is institutionally driven and protocol sensitive.

Nigeria needs more export-ready cassava processing facilities that are operating at full industrial scale, to drive enough volume for the local and export markets. Processors readiness is also important, but a larger issue is whether production systems are organized into coordinated export-compliant industrial structures. This requires stronger collaboration among processors and industry bodies like the Industrial Cassava Stakeholders' Association of Nigeria (ICSAN).

However, broader GACC access alone may not guarantee long-term competitiveness. Beyond temporary tariff-driven advantages, Nigeria must build intrinsic cost competitiveness under normal global conditions, driven by higher yields per hectare and reduced processing costs across the value chain.

It is high time Nigeria takes its rightful place as a recognize actor in the global trading of cassava derivatives, not just as the largest producer of cassava tubers. The positive ripple effects of this will span across job creation, economic development, and ultimately, sustained stability in the Nigeria cassava sector.

Kazeem Lamidi

09/05/2026

THE NEED FOR BROADER GACC INCLUSIVENESS FOR THE NIGERIA CASSAVA EXPORT TO CHINA

There is a growing question many stakeholders in Nigeria cassava industry should begin to critically examine. Could the recent tariff waivers and policy adjustments from China be part of the major reasons behind the renewed surge in demand for cassava chips of Nigerian origin? Looking at the increasing export interests and inquiries emerging lately, it may no longer be a coincidence.

For years, countries like Thailand, Cambodia and Brazil have maintained stronger competitive positions in cassava exportation to China due to favourable market access structures and lower logistics burdens. Nigeria, despite being the world’s largest producer of cassava, struggled to effectively pe*****te the Chinese cassava market at meaningful scale. But recent developments appear to be gradually changing that narrative.

The possible savings arising from China import tariff waivers on African produce may now be one of the key factors making Nigerian cassava chips more price competitive in the Chinese market.This may explain the growing commercial attention Nigerian cassava chips are beginning to attract from China in recent times.

If this assumption is correct, then it is important to understand that the same competitiveness advantage will not only apply to cassava chips alone. It can also extend to other Nigerian-manufactured cassava derivatives including cassava starch and High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF).This is why Nigeria must not limit itself to exporting only semi-processed cassava products when there are opportunities for higher value industrial derivatives.

China is the largest importer of cassava products globally, and Nigeria should strategically position itself to participate beyond chips alone. The reality is that a significant proportion of the machineries currently powering cassava processing industries across Nigeria are imported from China. Meaning China is already deeply connected to Nigeria cassava industrial ecosystem. Expanding Nigeria cassava derivatives exports into China will therefore creates a more balanced and mutually beneficial trade relationship between both countries.

This is why relevant cassava stakeholder bodies must begin to strongly engage and prompt the appropriate government institutions responsible for export promotion, trade negotiations and international commercial relations with China to immediately open discussions around broader inclusiveness of Nigerian cassava products under the GACC framework. Nigeria cannot afford to miss this strategic window if the market signals currently emerging around cassava chips are truly pointing towards a larger opportunity.

If Nigeria can successfully secure stronger GACC inclusiveness for more cassava derivatives, it could open a major pathway for industrial expansion, foreign exchange earnings, increased processing investments and better long-term stability across the cassava value chain.

Kazeem Lamidi
https://wa.me/2348100975775