Vice President Kashim Shettima on Thursday said the federal government has repositioned cassava production to ensure the crop becomes a key driver of industrial development and import substitution in Nigeria.

According to a statement by the VP’s spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha, Shettima said the government’s agenda for the sector is hinged on leveraging the crop as capital for re-engineering Nigeria’s economy, strengthening rural livelihoods, and ensuring national food and energy security.

Speaking at a ceremony in Abuja to mark the 2025 World Cassava Day, the Vice President noted that cassava, which for long symbolised food security for the vulnerable, can also signify prosperity for the ambitious.

“We are moving from subsidy-heavy programmes to investment-led solutions. We are prioritising private capital, research, and coordinated action across government, academia, and development partners to drive mechanisation, agro-processing, quality inputs, and full commercialisation of cassava,” the VP said.

Speaking on the theme of this year’s World Cassava Day, ‘Farm to global markets: driving industrialisation, food security and exports’, Senator Shettima said the commemoration of the day is a call to action, just as he invited all stakeholders to see the promise of the crop.

“Let this day mark the beginning of a new era where cassava is not merely grown, but transformed. Where our fields are not only bountiful, but profitable. Where Nigeria leads not just in tonnes harvested, but in value created,” he said.

“Cassava is one of the most strategic assets in our agricultural portfolio. Its applications cut across food, feed, fuel, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and even construction.”

Outlining the federal government’s efforts in this regard, VP Shettima noted that one of the most promising shifts the President Bola Tinubu administration has made is the Cassava Bioethanol Project.

“This initiative is expected to save the nation over three trillion naira annually by reducing our dependence on imported fuel additives,” he explained.

“It will also stimulate the emergence of a circular economy in agriculture and allow us to harness cassava by-products for energy, fertilisers, and industrial inputs. What used to be waste will become wealth. This is how nations rise.”

He called for collective action, maintaining that it was time to move beyond plans and press releases to deliver outcomes that transform lives and rebuild rural economies, saying, “The world will not remember our intentions. It will remember our results”.

The vice president commended the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, other stakeholders and partners for their continued leadership and contribution in agricultural innovation, particularly the deployment of the Semi-Autotrophic Hydroponic system for cassava seed multiplication.

He acknowledged the progress made by the country and fuelled by strong international cooperation, highlighting the collaboration with Brazil as fruitful and a demonstration of “how agricultural ambition, when matched with political will, can transform even the most difficult landscapes”.

Shettima touched on the need to speak of the youths in cassava value chain transformation, describing them as “not the future of agriculture but the present and must be empowered not just to farm, but to innovate, to scale, and to lead just as they have transformed fintech and agritech.