THE ANALYSIS OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT EFFORT TOWARDS CASSAVA PRODUCTION

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.