Inside Bauchi’s cassava economy

Cassava is one of the major cash crops being produced in large quantities in Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State. The crop has remained a source of income to many farmers across communities in the area, Weekend Trust reports. Other cash crops that are being produced in the area are sesame, sugarcane and beans. […]

Cassava is one of the major cash crops being produced in large quantities in Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State. The crop has remained a source of income to many farmers across communities in the area, Weekend Trust reports.

Other cash crops that are being produced in the area are sesame, sugarcane and beans. Communities across Alkaleri largely rely on these four crops for livelihood. Prominent among the cassava-producing communities in the area include Yashi, Maina Ma’aji, Rafawa, Tudunwada, Abujan-Rafawa, Katuna, Sabon-Gari, Yelwan-Duguri, Duguri, Na-Tsira, Gum, Sharani, Dumis and Dal.

Others are Kafin Madaki, Dagubi, Gaji-Gamu, Kaji, Shafa, Daguri, Dogon-Ruwa, Bajoga, Gobir and Kafi villages. Individuals in these villages are earning their living in one aspect of cassava production or another. Some are producers while others are dealers. There are also cultivators, transporters and packagers among them.

During its season, cassava worth billions of Naira could be seen leaving the popular Yelwan Duguri market to other parts of the country for onward sale to processing companies. Every Monday, at least 30 to 50 trucks loaded with cassava leave the market to Lokoja, Owerri and Kano.

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Weekend Trust gathered that approximately, 250 to 500 trucks of cassava are being supplied to processing companies in Lokoja and Owerri from Alkaleri before the season ends. This is apart from the cassava being supplied to Kano State for local consumption.

The farmers usually plant the crop in August and harvest it in either January or early February. However, they are utilising the period between to cultivate sesame and beans.

Alhaji Muhammad Gelde, a large-scale farmer and major dealer of cassava in Yelwan Duguri produces thousands of bags of cassava every season. “I am personally producing at least five trucks of cassava from my farm every year,” he told our correspondent.

As one of the major cassava dealers in the community, he is supplying between 30 and 50 trucks to cassava-processing firms in Lokoja and Owerri before the season ends.

“I am personally producing 5,000 to 6,000 bags of cassava every year and taking them to processing firms in Lokoja and Owerri. I also buy a large quantity of the crop from other farmers across Bauchi State. Every week, I send between 5 and 7 trucks of cassava to Lokoja and Owerri from Yelwan Duguri market. Our market operates every Monday.

“Although the price crashed this year, we have remained resolute in the business. I believe the reopening of our borders caused the recent crash in the price of cassava. Not only cassava, prices of other crops have also crashed, courtesy of the border reopening. When our borders were closed, farmers smiled because the prices of goods appreciated. But now, we are only managing as the gains are not much.

“Even if the government cannot close our borders again, at least the cost of fertiliser and other farming implements should be subsidised to enable farmers sustain the farming business. This will not only boost the morale of many farmers but encourage them to expand their production capacity. In the present situation, many farmers cannot afford the huge cost of production.

Gelde added that he knew many farmers in Yelwan Duguri and the surrounding communities that decided to quit cassava farming from this year. “Many of these farmers are complaining about the cost of production. Transportation is costly; labour is costly, as well as fertiliser and other agricultural inputs. If not because some of us are into production of other crops, such as beans and sesame, we would have since abandoned cassava farming,” he noted.

For Abdullahi Lali Ali, another large-scale cassava farmer, cassava farming is a business for all in Alkaleri Local Government. He lamented that despite the challenges of poor market and cost of production, people still practise it. He said: “I cannot estimate the hectares I am cultivating, but I am harvesting between 2,000 and 4,000 bags of cassava every year. The price always depends on demand. Some years back, the price was appreciable. We sold a bag of cassava at N20,000, N25,000 and up to N30,000, but gradually, the price crashed, forcing many farmers out of business. It is no longer profitable.

“One of our major challenges is the cost of fertiliser. Its price has skyrocketed in recent times. A farmer has to sell up to 15 bags of cassava before he would be able to buy a bag of fertiliser. If things continue the way they are now, many farmers cannot afford to continue in this village. Fertiliser is costly, and unless the government intervenes, farming will continue to face a serious setback, not only in Yelwan Duguri but in the whole Bauchi State.

“If the government can come to our aid, we can produce a large quantity of cassava in this area. We have enough and fertile lands here. If supported by the government, we will expand our production capacity. We have adequate manpower and land but lack the means to expand.

Garba Amaya, another cassava farmer, said he has been into cassava farming for the past five years. He recalled that during his first year, he got 200 bags, the second year, he harvested 400 bags, in the third year, he got 600 bags, and last year, he got 850 bags.

“In 2023, we sold a bag of cassava at N22,000, and later, the price dropped to N15,000; and towards the end of the season, it was sold at N10,000 per bag. In 2024, its price appreciated because we sold a bag of cassava between N25,000 and N35,000. But last year, the price further crashed; we sold a bag N4,000, N5,000 and N5,500 at most.

“We don’t have the connection to send our goods directly to the companies. Rather, we sell to the middlemen who are supplying to the companies. We also sell to local consumers from various villages around Yelwan Duguri and beyond. We once attempted to take the cassava to the companies but were rejected because we were not authorised to supply goods to them directly.

Another farmer, Ibrahim Sarkin Yakin Duguri cultivates over 10 hectares of farmland every year. He gets between 400 and 450 bags of cassava during the harvesting period.

 “I don’t apply fertiliser on my farm at all. If I apply it I can assure you that I will harvest 1,000 bags of cassava or even more. I only apply fertiliser to my farm where I am cultivating beans and sesame but not to my cassava farm. I cannot afford buying the fertiliser that can cover the three crops.

“As a local farmer, I cannot afford to buy a bag of fertiliser at N50,000. If I am to go by the standard, I have to apply fertiliser three times before harvest; and to achieve this, I need at least 30 bags of fertiliser to cover the entire farm. So, if you calculate it, 30 bags will cost me N1.5 million for fertiliser alone. For the pesticide chemicals; its litre is now N4,500. This is something we were buying between N1,800 and at most N2,000 per litre.

“For my farmland, I need three and a half cartons during the first spray and one and a half cartons during the second spray. This does not cover the expenses for the labourers that would work on the farm. I spent not less than N250,000 each for the first and second farming. And if I have to do it three times, it means I have to spend N750,000. Then there is transportation of the finished goods to the town from the farm. This is another expenditure on its own.

“A bag of cassava costs a farmer N700 to be transported by a motorcycle rider or cattle-drawn cart. And by car, each bag will cost N1,000. So, to transport 450 bags of cassava from my farm to the town will cost me not less than N315,000 by a motorbike or oxcart, and N400,000 by car. So, you see how costly the farming is.

“Tell me, how many farmers can afford these expenses? And this is an estimation for a small-scale farmer like me; what of the large-scale farmers? The most annoying thing is that you can spend this huge money but end up selling a bag of cassava at N4,000 and N4,500 at most. So, if you sum all the expenses incurred in the farming processes, you would end up counting losses instead of gains.

“That’s the situation we have found ourselves in. We need the government to come to our aid by subsidising fertiliser and other farming implements. And if possible, government should regulate the market. For now, only the cassava-processing companies are gaining from the production business,” he said.

Another cassava farmer, Alaramma Lawan, said that for a farmer to get the desired results, he must work hard on his farm right from the clearing of farm to the harvesting period.

He said, “I planted this cassava in August last year and will not harvest it until January or early February next year. In between, I have to hire some labourers to work on the farm two or three times, apply fertiliser and apply pesticide if I want to smile during the harvest period. I am expecting not less than 50 bags of cassava after harvest.

“Although we have faced some challenges this year, we are optimistic to make some gains next year. From Yelwan Duguri down to Duguri village, all the villages that are in between are cultivating cassava. A small-scale farmer in those communities is the one producing between 50 and 1,000 bags of cassava. We have individual farmers that are producing 2,000 and 6,000 bags of cassava in this area. 

“Unfortunately, despite our contributions to the economy of Bauchi State and the country, neither the state nor the federal government is supporting our activities. We have never received any support from either the federal or state government. We are just on our own. Although we have enough land to produce a large quantity of the crop, individuals are doing it according to their financial capabilities.

“If we can get farming implements and fertiliser at affordable prices, I can assure you that we will shock the entire country because we will produce a large quantity of cassava in this area. But for now, we are only cutting our cake according to the size of our mouth. I am, therefore, appealing to the government to come to our aid by reducing the cost of fertiliser and other farming implements that will encourage more people to return to the farm.

“Under President Muhammadu Buhari, we gained a lot of profit, but now, things have changed. We are only managing because we don’t have anything to call a business apart from farming. So, the government should come to our aid in this direction in order to save cassava farming from collapsing.”

Malam Adamu Ibrahim, who is cultivating 20 hectares of land every year, said: “It is not that we are not getting the cassava, but we are not gaining much despite investing huge money in its farming. A farmer can invest over N5 million but end up recovering N1 million or even less from the N5 million investment.

“This problem started two years ago when the price of the crop crashed. The market is no longer favourable to cassava farmers. We remained in the business because we don’t have any alternative source of income, otherwise we will abandon it. We have gained a lot in the previous years.

“A farmer can get up to N5 million profit at the end of the harvest period, but from 2024 till date, we are not making any profit from the farming. The price of a bag of cassava this year could not even recover its production, cost not to talk of making profit. After settling the expenses, a farmer will end up counting losses; only lucky ones recover what was invested in the farming.”

For Salisu Ibrahim, another farmer, cassava farming is profitable as they were at least earning a living from it. He said: “I am getting between 200 and 300 bags of cassava every year. Unfortunately, this year, the price crashed. At the beginning of harvest, a bag of cassava is sold at N8,000, but two weeks after, the price crashed to N4,00 and N5,500 per bag. Many farmers counted losses this year. Most of them could not even recover what they invested in the farming after settling all the expenses incurred in the production.

“Many farmers may not continue with cassava farming if not for the complements of other crops, such as beans and sesame. Farmers in this village are not relying on cassava crop alone; we are also into sesame and beans production. These crops are complementing cassava farming. If not because of this diversification, many of us won’t be in the business by now. 

“Despite the situation, every Monday, between 30 and 40 trucks are leaving this village to Lokoja and Owerri with thousands of bags of cassava. Approximately, between 250 and 300 trucks of cassava are being supplied to processing companies at the end of the season. This is apart from the cassava we are supplying to Kano State for local consumption.

“If cassava price appreciates, many farmers in these communities would smile. For instance, if the price reaches N20,000 per bag, a farmer that harvested 50 bags would generate N1 million. I am sure that if he removes production expenses he will definitely make some gains. But if sold at N550 per bag, he will generate only N22,500; and this amount will not cover the expenses incurred on the farming process, not to talk of making profit.