THE ANALYSIS OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT EFFORT TOWARDS CASSAVA PRODUCTION

(A CASE STUDY OF NKANU EAST LGA ENUGU STATE)

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Cassava is one of the most important crops in Nigeria. It is the most widely cultivated crop in the Southern part of the country in terms of area devoted to it and number of farmers growing it. Indeed, it is growth by almost every household, cassava has also increased in important in the middle belt in recent years, in all places, cassava has become very popular as a good and cash crop and is fast replacing yam and other traditional staples of the area.  In all over fourth fifth of the cultivable land area is suitable for cassava growing.

Cassava (Manihot Esculenta Crantz) was introduction into central African from South America in the Sixteeth century by the early Portuguese explorers (Jones 1959), it was probably the emancipated slaves who introduced the cassava crop into Southern Nigeria as they returned to the country from South America with the Islands of Scio-Tonne and Fernando Po A. E. that time there were Portuguese colonies of Nigeria shores (Ekandem) cassava, however, did not become important in the country until the end of the nineteenth century when processing techniques were introduced, as many more slaves returned home.  Cassava is important not only as a good group but even more so as a major source of income for rural households, Nigeria is currently the largest producer of cassava in the world with an annual production of over 34 million tones of tuberous roots.  Cassava is largely consumed in many processed forms in Nigeria, its use in the industry and liverstock feed, it well known but is gradually increasing, especially as important substitution becomes prominent in the industrial sector of the economy.

As a cash crop, cassava generates each income for the largest number of households of comparison with other staples.  It is produced with relevant purchased inputs as frequently as and in some cases more of total production, probably larger than of most staples, is planted annually for sale.

   As a food corp, cassava has some inherent characteristic which make it attractive, especially to the cassava processing industries in Nigeria.  First, it is rich in carbohydrate especially starch and consequently has a multiplicity of end uses, secondly, it is available all year round, making it preferable to other more seasonable crops such as grains, pees and beans and other crops for food security.  Compared to grains, cassava is more tolerant of low soil fertility and more resistance to drought, pest and disease furthermore, its roots are storable in they ground for months after the mature.  These attributes combined with other socio economic consideration are therefore what the federal government (IFAD) has recognized in the crop as lending itself to a commodity based approach to poverty alleviation (FAD/IC, 1995).  The socio economic importance of cassava and the accidental introduction of cassava mealybug which ravaged most cassava fields in the major producing areas led to the federal governments direct intervention in a way of rendering effort to the subsector, in the implementation to the IFAD assisted cassava multiplication project (CMP) between 1987 and 1996.  In the early 1980s Udemili South of Anambra State Nkanu East drusticaly the combined effects of pests disease (Mosaic virus, cassava bacteria bright) Cassava Production Fell (Mealybug and Green Spider Mite), thereby posing a threat to national food security.  In response, IFAD initiated the CMP as a parallel financed part of the World Bank – assisted MSADP –L.  The overall objective of the CMP was to multiple, promotes and distribute improve varieties to cassava processing industries so as to improve productivity and income.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Government intervention and the efforts on non government organization in the cassava subsector have led to a number of measures that support the production, processing and marketing of cassava, dating back to the 1970s, these include government programme such as the National Accelerated Food Production Programme (NAFPPO), and Operation Feed the Nation (OFN), the Agricultural Development Projects (ADP), the development of the National Agricultural Research Systems and their close collaboration with the International institute of tropical Agriculture (IITA) and other International Agricultural research centres and large scale planting material multiplication and distribution facilitated by the IFAD assisted Cassava Multiplication Programme (CMP) and activities of oil companies and church organizations through these efforts, appreciable program has been made in genetic improvement, agronomic practices, root storage and in the development of processing technology and rural infrastructure concerted efforts have also been made to introduce improved practices to farmers.  Thus, improved varieties now occupy approximately 0.75 percent of cassava land area and several labour intensive operation in processing notably grating, dewatering and milling, have mechanized.  This has had a great effect on cassava land area expansion and production growth.  Despite the rapid growth in cassava production, the cassava subsector in Nigeria is soil constrained by a number of factors, namely pest and diseases agronomic problems, shortages of planting materials, inconsistent policy measures, poor market access, limited diversification of processing options, inefficient extension delivery system and inadequate access to improve processing technology.  Consequently, future intervention strategies should include the following;

-  Development, rapid multiplication and dissemination of improve varies to enhance the availability and diversity of improved planting materials.

- Development and extension of improved agronomic practice for cassava production.

- Deliberate efforts to supports the development of cassava processing prototypes and identification of application and useful technologies and incentive for local entrepreneurs to fabricate them. This will sara labor and improve the efficiency of processing, raise the quality and enhance marketability of products.  The design of such machines should be gender, sensitive, beaning in mind the cardinal role of women in processing.  

- Strengthening of Extension: Farmers linkage with research to facilitate the ongoing spread of cultivars, management practice and processing techniques.  This should lead to the mobilization of farmers through emphasis on a participatory development approach, family or group based extension and seed multiplication activities involving due recognition of the role of women in production, processing and marketing and assistance that would enable all farmers to take advantages of development programmes as far as possible, adequate and sustained research funding which must be timely released.

- Development of new cassava products and packaging techniques for existing and new products.

- Promotion of industrial uses of cassava and diversification of processing options to encourage increased cassava production and enhanced rural household incomes.

- Establishment of a sound macro economic policy that would promote sustained cassava development.

- Investment in rural infrastructure (especially feeder roads and water supply) to promote cassava production, processing and marketing and

- Greater involvement of the private sector and non-governmental organization in the use of researcher and technology in cassava production, processing and marketing in the development of infrastructural facilities.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The general objective of this research is to analyze the effort of federation government towards cassava production using cassava processing industries in Nkanu East of Enugu state a reference point therefore, the specific objective are as follows:

- To determine the economic importance of cassava

- To determine the role of government in cassava production in Nigeria.

- To assess means of improving cassava production in Nigeria

- To find out further intervention for production, processing and storage of cassava and

- To make recommendation based on the findings of the study.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 

1. What are the trends in cassava production and utilization between 2001 and 2010 at the national level?

2. What are the major interventions of efforts of federal government toward cassava production?

3. How can we analyze the investment in cassava research or development, including production, processing and marketing of the crops?

4. What is the success and failures (or limitations) or the federal government interventions or efforts towards.

5. What is the success and failures (or limitations of the federal government interventions or efforts towards cassava production?

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

H1: The major interventions or efforts of the federal government towards cassava production have yielded positive result.

H0: The investments or an effort of the federal government towards cassava production has yielded negative result.

H2: The investment in cassava research or development has improved the production, processing and marketing of the crop.

H0: The investment in cassava research or development has not improved the production processing and marketing or the crop.

H3: There is investment in infrastructure and service to promote development (roads, storage facilities etc) and processing infrastructure.

H0: There is no investment in infrastructure and service to promote development of the crop both in service infrastructure (roads, storage facilities etc) and processing infrastructure

H4: There are the successes in federal government intervention or efforts towards cassava production.

H0: There are failures in federal government interventions or efforts towards cassava production.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The importance of the study cannot be over emphasized consequently it will be of benefit which includes the following:

- Development, rapid multiplication and dissemination of improved varieties to enhance the availability and diversity of improved planting materials.

- Deliberate efforts to supports the development of cassava processing protypes and identification of applicable and useful technologies and incentives for local entrepreneurs to fabricate them.  This will sava labour and improve the efficiency of processing, raised the quality and enhance marketability of products.  The design of such machine should be gender sensitive, bearing in mind the cardinal role of women in processing.

- Strengthening of extensive – farmers linkage with research of facilitate the ongoing spread of cultivars, management practice and processing techniques. This should lead to the mobilization of farmers through emphasis on a participatory development approach, family or group based extension and seed multiplication activities involving due recognition of the role of women in production, processing and marketing and assistance that would enable all farmers to take advantages of development programms as far as possible, adequate and sustained research funding which must be timely released.

- Development of new cassava products and packaging techniques for existing and new products.

- Promotion of industrial uses of cassava and diversification of processing, option to encourage increased cassava production and enhance rural household income.

- Establishment of a sound macro economic policy that would promote sustains cassava development.

1.8    DEFINITION OF TERMS

- Cassava: It is a type of floor made from the thick roots of a tropical plan and it is the most important crops in Nigeria.

- Federal Government: A system of government in which the individual states of a country should have control over the affairs of plants.

- Crops: A plant that is grown in large quantitative, especially as food, cassava has always been an important crop on the land.

- Cultivated: Land used to grow crops or plans that are also wild grown on a farm etc in order to be sold.

- Industries: A production of goods from raw materials, especially in factories heavy/light industries.