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The Federal Government recently commenced training for bakers on the inclusion of 10 per cent cassava flour in the baking of bread and other confectioneries. Successive administrations in the country had injected billions of naira into similar projects without any meaningful result. Farmers who took loans to massively invest in cassava production with the hope of making good profit from the project had their hands burnt as they suffered untold losses. INNOCENT DURU examines why the projects failed and why moves in 2017 by the House of Representatives to investigate the N200 billion cassava funds utilization were swept under the carpet.

A former chairman of the agriculture sector of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Prince Wale Oyekoya, gladly doubled his efforts to cultivate cassava when the immediate past government of Dr Goodluck Jonathan mooted the idea of promoting cassava bread production in the country.

Jonathan had launched the cassava bread campaign in 2012 at the State House, publicly announcing his preference for the bread and encouraging Nigerians and government officials to adopt the variety as a boost for cassava production.

The then Minister of Agriculture, Adewunmi Adesina, had assured that the use of cassava flour would save Nigeria N250 billion in foreign exchange from reduced import of wheat and wheat flour.

Motivated by the vigour with which the government promoted the policy, Oyekoya and other farmers across the country went borrowing from banks and other available places to improve their production. But instead of making profits, the step became one that many of them would wish they never took.

“I lost over N20 million to the project.  Imagine planting cassava on over a 100 acres of land because they asked you to go and plant. Some of us took loans from banks to carry out the project. How would you do an investment of N10 million without taking a loan?

“I had to pay back the loan using other means. If not, the bank was there to take the collateral. There is a lot of collateral damage that the government does not know they are doing to the economy, especially the agriculture sector.

“The immediate past minister only concentrated on the north and knew nothing about farming in the south.”

The Chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Lagos chapter, Femi Oke, also tasted a piece of the bitter pill from investing in the project.

He said: “I lost about N10 million then. Many others who recorded losses had to leave the farms. It was only a few of us who are courageous that continued.

“There was a glut in the farm as at that time, and many people preferred to use their cassava for garri or fufu.

“As at the time they said 20 per cent of cassava flour be added, the international rate for cassava was not encouraging. Most of the flour mills we were supplying were getting it from us at the rate of N80,000 per ton, which was too low compared to what they made from producing garri.

“If we make garri, we will make more money than the price stipulated by the federal government.”

A top executive officer of AFAN in Ondo State, Abayomi Monilari, also lamented his decision to invest in the project, blaming the problem on lack of seriousness on the part of government.

He said: “I lost a lot of money back then on my investment. I am supposed to make at least N800,000 from one hectare and I lost over 23 hectares.

“You know I lost a lot. That was over N18 million. But I was able to recoup some of the losses. The harvest was sold at ridiculous prices.  That was what discouraged many people.

“Since then, I have not been planting cassava seriously. I didn’t plant more than 10 hectares this year, and I planted purposely because of the stems so that if the people are not buying the tubers, I will sell the stems.

“But if the government is serious about it and live up to their pronouncements, it won’t be a problem. We know how to organise our farmers.”

Aside from the losses he suffered investing in the cassava flour project, he said, “I planted a lot of cassava stems but herdsmen took over at the end of the day.

“My first son planted 15 hectares. I thank God he was not killed there.  When he met them on the farm, he challenged them. By the time they brought out their sword, a farmer that saw him alerted him to run for his dear life.

“If we are to go for another round of cassava production for cassava bread purpose, the farmers are ready. But the government must give us an enabling environment. It shouldn’t be a situation where farmers will invest their moneyand at the end of the day, the farmers will take over or there would be no off-takers.

“Majority of these off-takers, by the time the government is not doing the needful, they will not buy from the farmers.”

Secretary of Lagos State AFAN, Abimbola Fagoyinbo-Franci, is not left out of the list of farmers who have sorrowful tales to tell about the project.

She told our correspondent: “I am scared of going back to cassava farming. I am trained on cassava flour production and I invested a lot on my farm.

“Unfortunately, what I got back was not encouraging at all. I lost the over N800,000 I invested in the project. Many farmers suffered terrible losses back then. Many of them are scared of going back to the farm.

“Many of us took loans and some have not been able to pay back till now after incurring losses. Nobody is assisting the farmers after all the losses they incurred.

“In fact, these herders’ problems stopped many from going to the farm. The federal government is not fulfilling the promises it is making, and that is taking a toll on farmers.

“If the federal government is sincere this time around, we are ready. We need that high quality cassava flour to assist the bakers. Things would change if they are sincere.”

The Secretary of AFAN in Imo State, Chijioke, also corroborated his colleagues’ position, saying “many farmers lost money when the government announced that they were starting cassava flour bread. Through policies, the government redirects the energy of farmers. The literate farmers wait on the government to know where their policy direction is going.

“The moment we got a hint of that, so many of people who are even dealers of fertilizer went and brought fertilizer and cassava stems that could do well. But at the end of the day, the tacit implementation of that policy that could not see the light of day made all sorts of specie came back to the market.

“Some farmers went as far as leasing land, paying for tractors but could not recoup their money.”

Farmers express mixed feelings over fresh investment

Following the losses they suffered in the past, some of the farmers are not sure they would be willing to make similar investments if the government calls for it.

A former chairman of the agriculture sector of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Oyekoya, is skeptical about fresh investment by farmers.

His words: “Most farmers will not even buy into the idea again because of what is happening now. Once bitten, twice shy.

“This would not be their first or second time of having a policy summersault.  During the Obasanjo regime, they did the same thing that made many farmers go into cassava production, but at the end of the day, the farmers got their fingers burnt.

“This thing has been going on since the former Minister of Agriculture, Mr Akinwumi, was there but most of the flour mills did not embrace it.

“I don’t think many farmers will embrace the idea of going back to cultivate cassava except for the people that were not aware of what happened previously.

“Anybody who really needs his money will not waste his time planting cassava and thinking that the government is going to mop it up.

“It is a very laudable project if it is done properly. There are too many deceits from this government and they have led so many farmers to go under because of the policies.

“They will tell farmers to go planting, and after the farmers have done so, the market will not be there.”

Farmers, he noted, are out to make profit. “But often times, you don’t even make up for the capital you invested in the business, not to talk of profit.

“It is a marketing strategy. That is the problem of most farmers and the government is not there to assist.

“The insurance company is also not there to compensate the farmers. We have the NAIC Insurance but they are not doing anything. By the time you go there for your claim they will not payanything.

“The tubers that we are planting are supposed to be hybrid, but most farmers just go cut cassava stem and start planting. That is why the production is very low.

“Where other countries are getting a lot of yield, Nigeria is not getting much. Our research institutes are nothing to write home about. When you go there, they send you to their farmers that have already bought the stem.

“What they will give you is what they have cut from the other farmers. We are not talking of the herders’ menace on farmers. I know how much I lost to herders’.

The banks you take the loans from don’t want to hear anything.

That made many farmers to go into business and started planting cassava. Government policy is what is killing agriculture. They are not really serious and that is why you see that foodstuff is very expensive.”

Lagos AFAN chair, Oke, said farmers will be willing to make fresh investments only if the government is ready to subsidise it. “We would be very happy if the government could support us. If cassava flour is promoted, it will reduce the quantity of wheat being imported for production of confectionaries.

“If the government will not subsidise it, I don’t think it can work. The flour mills are not helping. By the time we supply them, they don’t even collect it from us.

“The price rate was not even good for us, and that discouraged many farmers at that time.”

Farmers lament $580 million spent importing cassava by-products annually

In spite of the massive investment and production of cassava in the country, checks revealed that the country spends over $580 million importing cassava by-products annually.

This, according to Abayomi, the Ondo State based AFAN top member, is tantamount to a waste of resources. “What we ought to invest here, we are spending on importing. By the time our government is serious and spends all this money within, it will just take us a period of ninemonths to put things in place. “There are some cassava that you can harvest within six months and above. Instead of bringing in all these products, why don’t we take a period of nine months to look for serious farmers, put them in clusters and reinvest the money back here. When we do this, we will create more jobs for our people here.”

Reps mum over investigation on N200bn cassava funds utilisation

The House of Representatives in 2017 unveiled plans to investigate the utilization of the N200 billion cassava bread fund initiated by the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

The resolution was passed after the adoption of a motion sponsored by Hon Ayokunle Isiaka, who argued that the total sum of N3.9 trillion spent on wheat importation within four years was unsustainable.

Nothing appears to have come out of the investigation. Efforts to speak with the current House Committee Chairman on Agricultural Production and Services Chairman, Hon Muntari Dandutse, were unsuccessful as his mobile telephone number was not reachable. His deputy, Ibrahim Olanrewaju’s line was engaged when our correspondent called. Text messages to the duo were neither acknowledged nor replied to.

The sponsor of the motion, Hon Isiaka, did not respond to calls and text message requesting him to speak on the position of the investigation.

Economic experts said it was needless asking the lawmakers about the investigation saying that it was an effort in futility.

A former Chartered Institute of Bankers boss, Mazi Okechukwu Unegbu said: “Somebody would have pocketed that money, lobbied the lawmakers and that is all.

“Maybe I am being pessimistic, but that is how all of them work. I have no confidence in the House of Reps.

“In any case, they have their own problems.”

“When you bring the matter back to the table what will you achieve other than wasting more money.

“Instead of wasting more money, let us move on.

“The only thing I am saying is that when they (government) want to do something, they should be able to get people who would be ready to commit themselves to achieve the result and not people who will come, take the money and pocket it without achieving any result.

“They should be able to get people who are committed to the ideal of what they want to do, otherwise we will be wasting our time and going round and round.”

He went on to say that cassava bread is a difficult thing to do and asked the federal government to jettison it.

He said: “Cassava is a versatile product, but it is difficult to use it for bread. When Obasanjo was in office, there was a time he introduced cassava bread.

“The government is not sincere. The government lied to the people. Otherwise there is something that could be done. But the will is not there.

“The price of bread is very high but Nigerians can do without it. Bread used to be the poor man’s food, but since it is no longer that, the poor man should find an alternative.

“The government should jettison the idea of cassava bread because they have wasted money and wasted the opportunity they could have taken since 1982.”

Lamenting what he described as a waste by the government, Unegbu said: ”We have a government that has no business plan. They don’t care how much they waste.

“Look at all the ministries that are comatose. They come up with something, look at it in one day or two days and abandon it.

“That is why I said that since the government has so many abandoned projects, this will not be the last. Let them use cassava for other products and not bread.”

Another economic expert, Dr Austin Nweze, said: “They have killed the investigation now. Nothing will come out of it. That is why I said the projects are always used as conduit pipe.

“You know the politicians and their ways. Anytime they have money, they find a conduit. Upon all the billions they have invested, the project has not been able to see the light of day.

“Why should the government invest? If you ask me, there is no need for them to invest in it. They should find private enterprise that can do it.

“Government agencies can do research. What the government should do is to fund research.

“There are institutes like IITA and FIRRO which the government can fund. When the government funds research, the private enterprise can then come in to take a grant and run it.

“That is what the government should do. They have no business running a business.”

Speaking at a recent training for bakers in Kano, Director, Federal Department of Agriculture in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), Mrs Karima Babangida, said the promotion and adoption of 10 per cent cassava flour in making bread and other confectioneries would significantly reduce importation of wheat into the country.

Babangida, who acknowledged that the policy was received with mixed feelings by the stakeholders, however, said the policy was designed to generate massive employment, save billions of naira used in the importation of wheat as well as create wealth among the citizenry.

Why we’re not using cassava flour – Bakers

Public Relations Officer of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria, Engr. Nura Musa, said:  “Cassava flour is something that is going to be very good if they see it through. It is going to reduce the cost and importation of wheat.

“Bakers are ready to use cassava flour. We are not the problem. If we have it available and it can give us what we want, talking about the output of it, we can use it.

“They can do a lot of research to make it good. Millers have to use and do the 30/50 in their normal flour.

“In the last National Assembly, we went for a public hearing to force the flour millers to be putting it in their flour.

“Once millers use it, we don’t have any problem, because like I said earlier, it is going to reduce the cost of production for us, and that is what we are looking for.

“The ministry of Agriculture is revisiting the progamme. They have done training in the Southwest and Northwest to educate more bakers on how to use the flour.

“The programme is going on and very soon they will do it in the North Central.

“We are very happy to see the development. It will save a lot of money for the government and the bakers. It will also create more employment.”

He added: “Presently, wheat is the third most imported good in the country. The country spends billions of naira importing it.

“When we have cassava, they will use it and it will save money and create employment.

“A lot of things will happen if we use it. In the last four years, the amount of wheat imported is about N2.2 trillion. Imagine if we have a substitute to that, that N2.2 trillion will go into our economy. It is almost the budget of Nigeria.

“Bread is one of the most consumed food items in the country. A time will come when the government will be buying bread from the bakers and paying subsidies just like petrol.

“The Turkish government subsidies bread and makes it available to the masses at cheaper prices.  They do that to reduce the cost of production.

“What we are saying in essence is that the programme is good and we commend the minister for reintroducing it. Everybody knows that the government will gain a lot if we start using cassava flour.

“Using our own calculation, if we are using 10 per cent of cassava flour to produce bread, we can inject at least N255 billion into the government and it will reduce importation.

Genesis of cassava flour bread promotion

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2002, started a policy on 10 per cent inclusion of the tuber crop in bread under a programme tagged “the Presidential Initiative on Cassava” in order to promote the cassava value chain by not only creating demands for its consumables but also provide job opportunities for thousands of youths through a sustainable motivational programme.

The former president in 2013 resolved to carry out public campaigns for cassava bread, serving dignitaries with 40 per cent cassava flour included bread at an event organised by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania where he reportedly urged the Tanzanian government to promote the use of cassava in confectioneries in the country to transform agriculture on the African continent.

Before then, checks revealed, attempts at promoting cassava bread by the Federal Government started in 1982.

That year, the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi, reportedly presented the first cassava bread, which was produced with 10 per cent of cassava flour and 90 per cent of wheat flour from its research work, to the Federal Executive Council, under the administration of ex-President Shehu Shagari.

The trend continued under  President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration which strongly stated its  commitment to making sure that every bread consumed in the country are made from a combination of wheat and cassava flour.

This was followed up with the launch by President Jonathan of Cassava Bread Development Fund to serve as an extension of the Cassava Bread Wealth Development Fund. It was to be funded through imposing a levy of 15 per cent on wheat grain imports, which will increase the effective duty from five to twenty (5-20) per cent.

To this end, the government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Bank of Industry (BOI) to manage the N4.3 billion cassava bread fund that would support small and medium enterprises (SMEs), master bakers and large industrial cassava flour mills. The BOI and Bank of Agriculture (BOA) were to manage disbursement of the N9.9billion cassava bread fund.