Tap The Gold Mine!

Cassava might look negligible in the eyes of some but the product can fetch fortunes for the country and its citizens if the opportunities it offers are fully maximised. The starchy product has the advantage that it grows almost everywhere in the country, attracts many and producers may not need to overlabour like is the case with other products to hit bountiful harvests.
The fact that cassava in itself is a food crop consumed widely as well as raw material for several derivatives makes the product an important tool for socio-economic development. People in the Centre-South-East Regions of Cameroon, in particular, would readily testify how they use cassava leaves as vegetable and its tubers as food to make a complete meal. Those in the North West, West and South West would talk of how processing cassava into white and yellow garri is helping them to make ends meet. Besides these, the population is increasingly using cassava to also produce starch, chips and flour used by many in and out of the country. 
Statistics may not be readily available but observation shows that there are ready wide and near markets for cassava and its by-products. Nigeria, for instance with its over 180 million population, is a huge market for cassava and by-products. It is no secret that most Nigerian households and eateries have garri as one of their choice dishes. Visibly, no quantity of the product; once quality is ascertained, would lack buyers within and without the country. The product and its entire production chain present significant growth paths that government would not afford to toy with. Without any exaggeration, cassava value chain is a gold mine to deeply explore and be fully tapped. Not only would it help in ensuring food security but would also create jobs and generate wealth, vital to keep the economy on the path of growth. 
Developing extensive cassava fields across the country, getting into serious agronomic research to come up with disease-resistant and high-yielding tubers and grouping farmers into federations in which best farming methods could be dished out to them are primordial. Through these associations, fine processing techniques can als...