{"id":16299,"date":"2026-06-20T12:50:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:50:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/nigeria-cites-weeds-as-major-productivity-drawback-in-cassava-farming\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T19:40:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T19:40:24","slug":"nigeria-cites-weeds-as-major-productivity-drawback-in-cassava-farming","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/nigeria-cites-weeds-as-major-productivity-drawback-in-cassava-farming\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria cites weeds as major productivity drawback in cassava farming"},"content":{"rendered":"Commissioners of Agriculture in Nigeria\u2019s cassava growing belt have declared weeds a major cause of low yield in cassava and the main constraint limiting the competitiveness of cassava farmers in the country.\n<div id=\"attachment_3490\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"width: 873px\">\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IITA-Cassava-Weed-Management-Project-Leader-Alfred-Dixon-addressing-delegates.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3490\" src=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IITA-Cassava-Weed-Management-Project-Leader-Alfred-Dixon-addressing-delegates.jpg\" alt=\"Picture of IITA Cassava Weed Management Project Leader, Alfred Dixon addressing delegates.\" width=\"873\" height=\"583\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3490\" \/><\/a>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-3490\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">IITA Cassava Weed Management Project Leader, Alfred Dixon addressing delegates.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\nThe declaration was made in a communiqu\u00e9 signed by 14 commissioners of agriculture and issued at the 2018 Annual Review and Work Planning Meeting of the IITA Cassava Weed Management Project held in Ibadan, 19-20 March.\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/iita-staff\/dashiell-kenton\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kenton Dashiell<\/a>, Deputy Director General, Partnerships for Delivery at IITA, said the declaration was a step in the right direction. \u201cThe first step to solving a problem is identifying and recognizing that you have a problem,\u201d he said.\n\nThough Nigeria is the world\u2019s largest producer of cassava, the yield of cassava is low with\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.fao.org\/home\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FAO<\/a>\u00a0reporting a national average for Nigeria of 9.1 tons per hectare compared to Asian countries where yields are more than twice Nigeria\u2019s national average. Consequently, Nigerian cassava farmers can\u2019t compete with their counterparts in Asia and Latin America.\n\nThe commissioners noted that to change the cassava narrative, there was an urgent need for collaborative efforts with the IITA Cassava Weed Management project, the Federal Government, state governments, the private sector, national research institutes, universities, and other stakeholders.\n\nMr Monday Osaigbovo, Commissioner for Agriculture, Edo State, said that it was high time attention was given to weed control. \u201cIf we do nothing to address weeds, we won\u2019t be able to transform cassava in the country,\u201d he said.\n\nAmong the cost variables to cassava production, weed control takes 50\u201380 percent of the labor budget. A do-nothing approach to weed management in cassava ends up being a disaster with farmers losing almost everything.\n\nOver the last four years, the IITA Cassava Weed Management Project with donor support from the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gatesfoundation.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fondation Bill &amp; Melinda Gates<\/a>\u00a0has developed innovative packages to control weeds in cassava. Implementation partners include the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike; the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/uam.edu.ng\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">University of Agriculture, Makurdi<\/a>; and the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/unaab.edu.ng\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta<\/a>. Other partners are the state Agricultural Development Programs (ADPs), government representatives, international cassava scientists, and private sector partners.\n\nLawrence Kent, Senior Program Manager with the Gates Foundation, noted that poor weed control is a major factor affecting cassava yield.\n\nResults presented by the Project Leader of the IITA Cassava Weed Management Project,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/iita-staff\/dixon-alfred\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alfred Dixon<\/a>, showed that by switching to the innovative packages developed by the project, Nigerian farmers could record more than 20 tons per hectare.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Commissioners of Agriculture in Nigeria\u2019s cassava growing belt have declared weeds a major cause of low yield in cassava and the main constraint limiting the competitiveness of cassava farmers in the 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