The Cross River State Government has revealed that it is in the process of developing a comprehensive cassava policy aimed at developing the cassava value chain and addressing critical issues affecting the sector.
In an interview with AgroNigeria, Mr. Johnson Ebokpo, the Commissioner for the Ministry of Crops and Irrigation Development, disclosed that this policy would establish a legal framework to facilitate the efficient development of the cassava value chain.
The Commissioner emphasized that this policy will have a far-reaching impact on every aspect of the cassava value chain, with a particular focus on enhancing private sector involvement to maximize investments in various subsectors within the value chain.
In his words, “The proposed cassava policy will encompass all aspects of the value chain, including inputs, production, primary and secondary-level processing, marketing, standardization, exports, and the array of products derived from cassava. It will establish a regulatory framework for all stakeholders investing in different segments of the value chain.”
Speaking further, he said the state government is organizing a stakeholders’ forum to engage with key participants in the value chain. “This forum aims to gain insights into the entire value chain and the inherent potentials within it.
This inaugural consultative stakeholders’ forum will serve as an agenda-setting event. It will assess the current state of the Cross River cassava value chain, the state’s potential, the vision and goals of the policy, its anticipated impact, and the roles of various stakeholders.”
