Cassava growers in the Niger state of Nigeria participating in IITA’s “Unleashing the power of cassava in response to the food price crisis in Africa” (UPoCA) project have been assured of a market for their produce with the signing of an agreement between the farmers and a commodity trader who will guarantee purchase of their crops for the next one year at an agreed farm gate price. The deal aims to ease the negative effect of cyclical glut and price fluctuations in the cassava production chain.
The buyer, Ekha Agro, represented by Mrs Oluyemisi Iranloye, sealed the deal with the signing of a Memor andum of Underst anding (MoU) with the farmers on July 14. The MoU provides that the Niger State Cassava Growers Association (NSCGA) will cultivate 5000 hectares of cassava for the 2009/2010 season using improved varieties from IITA. Ekha Agro assures, through a purchase order, to buy 200 tons of fresh cassava roots per day for one year at the agreed farm gate price. IITA-UPoCA, on the other h and, will provide technical support to the farmers to properly manage their farms.
Dr Richardson Okechukwu, Country Project Manager, says the deal is a win-win situation for both the resource-poor farmers and the firm. Apart from providing a guaranteed market, Okechukwu says IITA will work with the farmers to grow the crop more competitively and to reduce cost of production and crop loss, ultimately increasing their incomes.
Dr Sule Garba, Chair of the NSCGA, and Niger State’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Jubrin Garba Danwake welcomed the initiative, stressing that the absence of a guaranteed minimum price for cassava had been the major setback in cassava production in the state. “With this arrangement, more farmers will go back to cassava cultivation,” Garba added.
So far, the farmers have secured 200 hectares from each of the 25 local government areas of the state, acquired 10 tractors out of the 40 required, and have identified sources to procure TMS 30572— one of IITA’s improved variety to be used for the project. IITA-UPoCA will be introducing 10 additional new varieties to exp and the options available to farmers and enable them to diversify.
Meanwhile, the government plans to look into the details of the MoU/Purchase order between Ekha Agro and the farmers to enable them to underwrite a loan facility that will be provided by Bank PHB.
Despite cassava’s potential for poverty reduction, resource-poor farmers in sub-Saharan Africa face several limitations including poor market access and recurrent seasonal production glut.
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Dr Richardson Okechukwu, r.okechukwu@cgiar.org
UPoCA Country Project Manager
IITA-Ibadan
Jeffrey T. Oliver, o.jeffrey@cgiar.org
Corporate Communications Officer (International)
Godwin Atser, g.atser@cgiar.org
Corporate Communications Officer (West Africa)
Communication Office
IITA – Headquarters
Ibadan, Nigeria
URL: www.iita.org
About IITA
Africa has complex problems that plague agriculture and people’s lives. We develop agricultural solutions with our partners to tackle hunger and poverty. Our award winning research for development (R4D) is based on focused, authoritative thinking anchored on the development needs of sub-Saharan Africa. We work with partners in Africa and beyond to reduce producer and consumer risks, enhance crop quality and productivity, and generate wealth from agriculture. IITA is an international non-profit R4D organization established in 1967, governed by a Board of Trustees, and supported primarily by the CGIAR.
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