Cassava production in Nigeria

Cassava (Manihot esculenta) production is vital to the economy of Nigeria as the country is the world's largest producer of the commodity.

[3] Originally a crop of South America, it was introduced into Nigeria's southern part during the period of slave trade proliferated by Portuguese explorers and colonizers in the sixteenth century.

[4] However, its importance to the country got a boost in the late nineteenth century when more formerly enslaved Nigerians returned to their homeland and introduced processing techniques.

[7] Cassava is grown throughout the year, making it preferable to the seasonal crops of yam, beans, or peas.

It displays an exceptional ability to adapt to climate change,[8] with tolerance to low soil fertility, resistance to drought conditions, pests, and diseases, and suitability to store its roots for long periods underground even after they mature.

The federal Government of Nigeria launched a project to introduce pro-Vitamin A cassava varieties to 1.8 million farmers in the country.

[11] Special Adviser to the Chairman of the defunct Presidential Committee on Cassava Initiative Programme under the Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s regime, who also doubles as the Chairman, New Partnership for African Development’s Pan African Cassava Initiative, Mr Boma Angar, argues that the inability to back the Cassava policy with a legislative bill that will survive any government was what killed the Obasanjo initiative.

Ayo Olubori are of the strong opinion that the new FG Cassava Initiative by President Goodluck Jonathan will suffer the same fate as the old one except backed by a legislative bill.