1 week ago
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By Chinyere Anyanwu
Ethanol, a major byproduct of cassava, is in great demand in Nigeria’s pharmaceutical, chemical, paints and coatings, cosmetics, and alcoholic and beverage industries. With national demand of over 5 billion litres per annum and current domestic production of about 134 million litres, according to research reports from ScienceDirect, the country is left with the burden of importing the shortfall of about 4.8 billion litres of ethanol annually, estimated to cost about N160 billion.
This huge import bill, however, can be eliminated and the money deployed for other infrastructural development, if the country’s cassava value chain, one of the largest in the world, is fully developed and tapped into, as cassava is a major source of ethanol in Nigeria.
This has been of serious concern to stakeholders in the agriculture sector, including the National President of Agricultural Commodity Consumer Association, Dr. Kenechukwu Aloefuna, a major player in the sector, who posits that tackling the high ethanol import bill as well as numerous other agriculture related issues is feasible if government would pay adequate attention to what he termed agricultural money economy.
Aloefuna described agricultural money economy as a foreign exchange earner, and driver of industrialisation and economic growth. He explained that agricultural money economy entails developing all the value chains to the extent that the country can depend on the sector for economic sustenance.
Buttressing his arguement on the need for a well developed agricultural money economy, Aloefuna said, “value chain development is the biggest thing in agriculture. Industrialisation should be driven by agricultural value chain. That’s the big issue here. That we are not having factories operating in Nigeria is because we have not taken agricultural money economy to its proper position. In fact, 80 per cent of our agricultural export is more or less raw material. We are not exporting finished products, which is where the money is. But most times we do primary production; that is, we farm and it’s either we eat it up or allow it to go to waste.”
He lamented that, “Nigeria spends billions of naira annually on the importation of ethanol but this is a product we can get from cassava in large quantity. Nigeria is the highest producer of cassava but Indonesia makes more money from cassava than Nigeria is making from oil and gas because about 90 different products are derived from cassava. But what do we produce out of cassava as the highest producer? We just make fufu and eat. We are not even making money from the export of cassava pallets. Then how much of cassava flour are we making for the confectionary and baking industry? How much of the cassava starch, which is also used industrially, are we producing?
“The money economy would have been to process cassava to the extent that cassava will be notching our earning from crude oil just as Indonesia is making more money from cassava than Nigeria is making from crude oil.”
Expatiating the extent of deprivation Nigeria is suffering for not doing the needful in developing its agricultural money economy, Dr. Aloefuna explained that the livestock value chain, specifically the snail value chain, which should have been generating huge foreign exchange for the country has been immensely neglected.
He noted that, “France is the highest country in the world in the snail value chain. It’s not like they have the largest of snail farming but they have machines for the value chain. What they need is the snail slime. That slime is a billion dollar industry. 1kg of dry slime sells for $60,000.
“When you talk about the agricultural money economy, you look at how the entire South East of the country has this snail yet no governor in that region has any intent or desire to develop it. There is no single state that has supported snail farmers to do anything in the snail industry but that is an economy that is sustaining a country. Snail slime is very important in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. So it’s no longer about rearing and eating snails but what do you get out of it?”
Emphasising the critical role of agricultural money economy to industrialisation, the national president of Agricultural Commodity Consumer Association and rice expert stressed that Nigeria is still dilly dallying when it comes to operating in the agricultural ecosystem.
He argued that despite the demand of the Maputo Declaration, which Nigeria is a signatory to, that assigned 10 per cent of a country’s total budget to agriculture annually, the country is still falling short of that requirement. He added that though the 10 per cent may not be enough, Nigeria’s budget is still below the assigned figure, which, according to him, “tells you there is no commitment and somebody who should be committed is somebody who understands agricultural money economy.”
Stating that Nigeria is yet to take advantage of its enormous potential in agricultural money economy, Aloefuna said, “Nigeria imports almost 90 per cent of the juice we drink so how come our oranges and mangoes are wasting. We can actually eat mango round the year. You can dry the mango, that is, dehydrating it. There are machines that can extract the water from it and it will still retain its original fresh taste.
“You can find this all over Asia. They don’t even have the trees but they buy the mango and process it so they can eat it round the year. The same mango gives you ingredients for industrial production of beverage.
Then how many factories do you have in Benue that is one of the biggest producers of fruits like mango, orange and other vegetables? Mambilla Plateau is where you can plant fresh apple because of its climatic condition but how many farms does it have? The truth is that we have not even started when it comes to agricultural ecosystem.”
Dr. Aloefuna stressed the need for innovators who will focus on developing agriculture to play its role in the economy to take over the saddle of leadership of the country. According to him, “until you have innovators in government, things will not take their proper shape.”
Livestock Ministry commits to boosting private sector-driven transformation in pig farming.
The Federal Ministry of Livestock Development has assured of government’s commitment to creating an enabling environment for a private sector-driven transformation in pig farming across Nigeria.
The Minister, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, who gave the assurance during a meeting with the Pig Farmers Association of Nigeria (PFAN) in Abuja, also disclosed plans to produce 1.2 billion vaccine doses to strengthen disease control in the country.
He outlined key reforms aimed at improving the sector, including research on vaccines, the development of special pig breeds, the creation of a comprehensive database of pig farmers and the construction of modern abattoirs, among other initiatives.
A statement by the Director, Information and Public Relations Department, Bem Goong, at the weekend, said that Maiha stressed the critical role of research in advancing the industry, particularly in collaboration with the National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI).
“Research is essential in addressing the NAPRI industry framework for development. Of course, the framework is already in place but we need targeted interventions. We will train veterinarians to provide expert support and ensure the use of genuine drugs,” he stated.
He disclosed plans to partner with the National Biotechnology Research Institute (NBRI) to produce and commercialise vaccines, particularly for African Swine Fever, a highly debilitating disease.
“In the next two to three years, we aim to produce 1.2 billion vaccine doses to strengthen disease control across the board,” he added, stressing that Nigeria is already self-sufficient in vaccine production.
On enhancing breeding, feeding and health management, the Minister stated that the government would organise cooperatives to facilitate access to funding for genuine pig farmers.
He urged the association to identify areas of interest that could drive higher productivity, such as processing, marketing, transportation and cold storage.
Citing data from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in 2023, the President of PFAN, Prof. Akin Adesehinwa, highlighted the industry’s economic potential, stating that, “Nigeria has a significant pig population of over 8 million heads, accounting for over 50 per cent of West Africa’s total pig population and ranking as the largest producer in Africa.”
In addition, data from Statista 2023 revealed that Nigeria leads Africa in pork production, with over 303,000 metric tonnes (MT) annually, closely followed by South Africa with 302,000 MT.
Despite this, Adesehinwa lamented that most of Nigeria’s pigs are raised under extensive and semi-intensive systems, with indigenous pig breeds and their crosses still prevalent.
He noted that these breeds are characterised by stunted growth and poor reproductive performance. He also acknowledged the presence of exotic breeds such as Large White, Landrace, Duroc and Pietrain, which have been imported at various times and are being reared in some parts of the country due to their higher productivity.
“Pigs are not only a source of protein but also represent a valuable livelihood for many farmers and households across our nation. They play an important role in sustaining livelihoods in rural communities and hold cultural and social significance. Analysts estimate that the pig industry could contribute over N265 billion to the Nigerian economy by 2029,” he explained.
He further highlighted key challenges affecting pig farming in Nigeria, including poor product acceptance in certain regions, high labour costs, limited access to credit facilities, frequent disease outbreaks, particularly African swine fever, religious and cultural biases, inconsistent government policies and limited access to high-quality breeding stock.
Adesehinwa called on the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development to implement actionable policies in key areas such as policy support, infrastructure development, capacity building, and research & development to fully harness the industry’s potential.
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