Otekunrin and Sawicka2019.pdf

Nigeria possesses enormous potentials in the agricultural sector especially in the cassava subsector. Cassava production in Nigeria reached the highest level with an estimated value of 59million and accounted for 20.4% world share in 2017. Cassava is unarguably the most important root crop in Nigeria in terms of consumption. As the highest producer of cassava in the world, Nigeria recorded an embarrassing infinitesimal total export value ($1.25million) when compared to other leading producers like Thailand with highest export value of $1.19billion. African countries are yet to harness the great trade possibilities in the cassava sub-sector when compared to other regions (like Asia and North America) of the world. In this paper, we review the cassava production, consumption and utilization along its value chain globally. The paper focuses on Nigeria’s cassava trade outlook and how it can compete favourably with other exporting nations while examining its prospects, strategies for development and challenges the cassava sub-sector is facing in recent time.