The International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Oyo State, is training entrepreneurs in cassava stem farming. DANIEL ESSIET writes.
For Ogun State Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Samson Odedina, cassava stem farming is a goldmine. He is one of the few cassava specialists in Nigeria.
He has made a fortune in a farming season selling cassava stems and would encourage Nigerians looking for sustainable source of wealth to try their hands at cassava, if they are looking for agribusiness with much success. Once he made over N15 million from selling cassava stems.
His strategy is cultivating high-quality seeds. Despite that other agro entrepreneurs worry about dwindling fortunes, he has stems to look up and making more money after learning how to apply good agronomic practices.
He plants high-quality seed, transplant only healthy seedlings, and arrange the plants in rows far enough apart to encourage strong roots that can withstand diseases, pests, high winds, and heavy rains. Part of his training for seed producers includes developing business plans and finding ways to market their seed to farmers.
When he brings farmers together to learn from each other, he encourages them to sharpen their expertise in specific areas that help them generate more income. The training also encourages a spirit of innovation. He used to visit farmers on their farms, give them advice on planting, recommend improved varieties of cassava and expose people to the opportunities in cassava seed systems.
He asks farmers to try planting good stems with their traditional seeds to compare their yield and quality.
Odedina uses his story to inspire rural women and women to benefit from the enormous potential of cassava production.
According to Odedina, cassava growers are not deriving as much out of the crop as possible. This is because they used low-quality planting materials.
Odedina is not alone in the promotion of the production of cassava stem. The International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Ibadan, Oyo State is determined to get more Nigerians to make it from selling cassava stems.
It works with agriculture specialists to introduce various high-yielding cassava seeds to boost yields and to increase productivity to 20-30 tonnes per hectare, from a baseline of below 10 tonnes previously.
The Project Manager, Building an Economically Sustainable, Integrated Cassava Seeds System Phase II (BASICS II), IITA, Prof. Lateef Oladimeji Sanni, believes there is much wealth to be made by training a new generation of entrepreneurs to supply farmers with improved varieties in the new planting season.
Advocacy, Promotion and Outreach Lead, IITA, Dr Godwin Atser, advised that farmers who want to make it big must go for the varieties in demand, which include TME 419, Fine Face, Dixon, Farmer’s Pride, Sunshine, Game Changer, Obasanjo II, and Poundable. “Any of these varieties can yield more than 30 tonnes per hectare,” he said.
Atser pointed out that the (BASICS II) project was creating jobs and income opportunities for farmers and young people and establishing a sustainable seed system for cassava using the BASICS Model. He said the model was developed by another IITA project, Building an Economically Sustainable Integrated Cassava Seed system (BASICS-II).
Operations and Marketing Manager, IITA, Goseed, Akinyemi Ibikunle noted that people are making money from stems much of the business is around acquiring new varieties, especially TME 419, but also TMS 98/0581,andTMS 98/0505.
With an investment of N744, 400 in Stems + roots, he said one can make N1, 850,000 in profits within a planting cycle.
If one is investing N487090 in roots, Ibikunle said the profit will be about N1, 105,600.
Ibikunle said the business of seed production and cassava value production is pretty rewarding if investors could follow through the recommendations.
He said: “For you to produce on an hectare of land as a foundation seed producer, you need about N745, 000 for a cycle of 16 months in which case you are going to get 1,000 bundle of cassava stems at the end of that cycle and about 20 tonnes minimum of cassava roots, which should ordinarily give you about N1.6 million in return.
“Let me break it down in terms of how we come about that figure. You get 1,000 bundles at N1,000 per bundle that is N1million straight. You are selling to the commercial seed entrepreneur, so your market is pretty defined. For roots, if you get 20 tonnes per hectare at rock bottom price of N30, 000 per tonne and as at today, a tonne of cassava is going for about N50, 000. We are just saying rock bottom price, that’s N600, 000. If you add N600, 000 to N1 million, that is N1.6 million on top of the N745, 000 you invested.
“It is pretty rewarding and we are looking for interested people to come to us. You can reach out to us on www.iitagoseed.com.”
Ibikunle noted that IITA GoSeed is supporting certified seed entrepreneurs to enhance farm-level productivity and motivate farmers to focus on farming as a profitable venture.
In collaboration with the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC) for quality control and certification, he added that IITA GoSeed supports entrepreneurial smallholder and commercial farmers who are interested in establishing a profitable cassava seed production enterprise towards diversifying their income and improving their productivity.