Background
Nigeria is said to be the world’s largest cassava producer, yielding over 59 million metric tons annually and accounting for more than 20% of global production. The resilient, drought-resistant crop is cultivated across 24 of the 36 states, driving food security and offering high economic potential.
Some of the cassava producing primary zones include; North Central (Kogi and Benue states), South South, and South West regions. There is also a huge market and economic opportunities for the produce, domestic demand said to outstrips supply, as the national market value is put at over $126 million and still growing.
The best planting period is rainy season, extending from April to September/October. At the national level, the federal government took great interest in the production of the produce and expansion of markets and opportunities in order to grow the economy and boost local production to elevate it to export level. This resulted in various measures and programmes initiative not just only at the federal level but also by subnational governments.
To this was the Presidential Initiative, which in July 2002, proposed to increase production land to over to five million hectares by the end of 2010, with a projected annual yield of 150 million tonnes. Subsequent administrations have since improved on this projection, elevating it to exportable level and adding value to it. PwC estimates that Nigeria would need about 28.3 million metric tonnes of fresh cassava root planted annually on about 1.2 million hectares of land to meet the country’s demand for cassava by-products and derivatives.
Collaboration to boost cassava
A private sector driven agricultural mechanisation backed by a Chinese equipment manufacturer is set to transform cassava production and processing in Abia State. The programme planned in collaboration with federal agencies, private investors, traditional leaders, farmers and business groups committed to scale up output, and revive a long-stalled factory, among others, will create jobs and transform livelihoods for youths and women in rural communities.
In that regard, the board and management of OMEC Investment, Nationwide Agricultural Mechanisation Company of Nigeria Limited (NAMCON) and China-based Zoomlion Manufacturing Company, visited Oriendu Autonomous Community in Umuahia North LGA of Abia State, as part of a 2026 business tour of southern Nigeria. The team’s visit focused on a partnership with the community’s traditional ruler, Eze Phillip Ajomiwe, to expand cassava farming and processing through mechanised agriculture.
…targets value addition, farmers’ production capacity
Addressing women and youths of the community, NAMCON Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Aminu Ikoojo Abdulkadir said the project targets a sharp rise in cassava output and value addition. He said the partners aim to increase farmers’ production capacity by as much as 500 percent through the deployment of tractors, improved cassava seedlings, fertiliser and other farm inputs.
According to him; “We are here to partner with His Royal Majesty to expand cassava production and to inspect the foundation he has laid with this factory. We are ready to work with farmers, youths and women to make agriculture attractive, productive and profitable.” The CEO added that the intervention would go beyond farming to focus on processing and marketing.
“It does not end with production,” he said, adding, “We must add value, expand the factory, offtake the cassava and sell to local markets and for export.” Abdulkadir explained that engineers and technical teams would return to assess gaps and improvements as profiling of farmers and identification of available land would begin immediately, with equipment expected to arrive before the next planting season in April or May He also confirmed that Zoomlion would supply the machinery and provide technical support, “All the equipment for this project will be manufactured by Zoomlion, and their engineers are here to make informed decisions based on the ground realities.”
Responding to questions on stakeholders’ engagement, Abdulkadir said the Umuahia Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, traditional institutions, youth groups and women associations would be fully involved. He also confirmed plans to partner with the Abia State Government, saying discussions had begun with the Commissioner for Agriculture, Cliff Agbaeze, and that the project aligns with Governor Alex Otti’s agenda on food security, job creation and poverty reduction.
Speaking at the event, Eze Ajomiwe said the cassava processing factory was established to empower his people and guarantee quality produce for both domestic and international markets. He traced the project’s origins to ideas conceived while he was in Europe and said support from institutions such as the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and past government interventions helped install key processing equipment.
…address offtake, value issues
According to Eze Ajomiwe, “Our challenge has never been production alone, but offtake and value. When processors cannot sell, factories shut down. We held on because we believed help would come. This partnership gives renewed hope to our community.”
Ajomiwe said youth empowerment was central to his vision, warning that lack of opportunity pushes young people into hardship. “If this factory takes off as planned, hunger will reduce and our youths will find dignity in work,” he said. The President of the Umuahia Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Dr (Mrs) Catherine Igbokwe, described the initiative as timely and strategic.
She said modern equipment and processing capacity would reduce waste, preserve produce during peak seasons and open export opportunities. “This partnership bridges the gap between government efforts on food security and private sector investment,” Igbokwe said. “It will empower small businesses, engage yohs productively and project Abia State to the world,” she noted.
Committed to reliable, supportive machineries Zoomlion representatives said the company’s role is to ensure reliable, suitable and well supported machinery. Jody, an engineer with Zoomlion Agricultural Machinery, said the company has operated in Nigeria since 2023, with a subsidiary in Lagos and warehouses in Abuja, Lagos and Kano.
“We are here to make sure the machines provided work efficiently in the field,” he said. “Time is money, and our focus is on quality, maintenance and long-term performance, not just one community but across Nigeria and West Africa,” he said.
Mr Bekee Igbojionu, South East and South South Coordinator for OMEC, NAMCON and Zoomlion, urged farmers to embrace mechanisation to save labour and boost productivity. He said cooperative structures would be encouraged to ease access to inputs and equipment, describing agriculture as a pathway to economic transformation.
Mechanisation welcomed
Veteran agribusiness operator and National Board of Trustees secretary of the Maize Association of Nigeria, Chief Israel Amanze, also welcomed the initiative. He said mechanisation would replace back breaking manual farming and make large scale production possible.
“A tractor can do in one day what hundreds of men cannot,” Amanze said. “What excites farmers most is the promise of offtake. Produce it and it will be bought. That changes everything.” Amanze, a licensed fertiliser blender and former Abia State agriculture official, said he was ready to partner in producing organic and inorganic fertiliser locally, adding that training and extension services are essential to ensure sustainability.
Community seeks protective measures
Speaking on behalf of Oriendu women, community leader Nneoma Ebere Onuigbo thanked the partners for the initiative but appealed for measures to protect farms from cattle destruction, saying women farmers bear the brunt of crop losses.
The Abia State Commissioner for Agriculture, Cliff Agbaeze, who attended the event, said the state would support initiatives that improve food security, create jobs and raise incomes, noting that immediate steps were being taken to ensure communities benefit from the project.
If fully implemented, the partners say the initiative could reposition Abia as a cassava processing hub, linking smallholder farmers to mechanised production, value addition and export markets, while contributing to Nigeria’s drive to diversify its economy through agriculture.
