The Chief Innovation and Commercialisation Officer of Matna Foods Ltd., Dr Tony Bello, on Saturday June 27, urged stakeholders to prioritise value addition to unlock the full industrial and economic potential of Nigeria’s cassava sector.
Bello said although Nigeria remains the world’s largest cassava producer, with annual output exceeding 60 million metric tonnes, the achievement had yet to translate into broad-based economic prosperity. According to him, cassava is evolving from a staple food into industrial raw materials, specialty starches, functional ingredients, nutrition products, biomaterials and renewable energy solutions.
Bello described cassava industrialisation as a shift from food security to economic security through innovation-driven manufacturing. He stated that agriculture, science, engineering and market development must work together to unlock the crop’s full economic potential. According to him, the sector’s success should be measured by the value created, jobs generated, exports expanded and lives transformed.
Bello said World Cassava Day observed globally on June 28 serves as a reminder that globally competitive industries can be built around Africa’s indigenous resources through science, entrepreneurship and investment.
He urged stakeholders to collaborate in building a cassava industry that creates jobs, expands exports and drives sustainable economic growth.
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