N20bn investment in cassava production underway in Kogi

An agricultural firm, CrestAgro Products Nigeria Limited, has said it is set to invest N20 billion in the production and processing of cassava in Kogi State. Managing Director of the firm, Mr Dele Ogunlade, in an interview, said the company had already acquired 13,000 hectares of land from the Kogi State government for its cassava […]

An agricultural firm, CrestAgro Products Nigeria Limited, has said it is set to invest N20 billion in the production and processing of cassava in Kogi State.
Managing Director of the firm, Mr Dele Ogunlade, in an interview, said the company had already acquired 13,000 hectares of land from the Kogi State government for its cassava farming project.
He said a factory for the processing of the tubers into food grade cassava starch had been established at Achabo village in Koton-Karfe Local Government while the farm is located on the Obajana road in Lokoja local council area.
Ogunlade said the company was trying to mobilise and sensitise stakeholders and farmers on cassava farming in the state as the cassava requirement of the factory would be enormous.
“We intend to start with 20,000 metric tons of cassava starch. This is expected to rise and increase over the years and the plant is segmented into four levels of installation.
“By the time we hit the limit of the first installation, we will then extend by another level of expansion until we reach our satisfactory level. The requirement for the first phase alone is about 100,000 metric tons of cassava per year.’’
Ogunlade said about 1,000 hectares out of the 13,000 hectares land acquired for farming of cassava by the company had been cleared while installation of the plant would commence soon
He said Kogi was chosen because of its potential in cassava production.