Head, Cassava Weed Management Project, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Dr Alfred Dixon, has called on Nigeria to focus more on high quality cassava flour production.
According to Dixon, whos spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in an interview in Ibadan, cassava flour can generate enough income for Nigeria, especially as the prices of crude oil continue to fall in the international market.
“This is the right time for Nigeria to diversify its economy to agriculture,” Dixon said.
“Cassava is one of the crops that should be considered because Nigeria is a global leader in its production; the country needs to increase its production.”
He also advised the Federal Government to concentrate on starch production “because of its added value and its high demand for both native and modified starch in Nigeria”.
However, Dixon said for the country to improve cassava flour export, it should work on the value chain.
“To work along the value chain from production to market, one has to consider productivity and adding values.
“To add value to a product that is desired in the market, one has to be competitive and being competitive means that one has to lower the cost of production.
“Lowering the production cost will ensure that the product sells at a price where one can take care of the production cost and also have good profit,” Dixon said.
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