Africa Eyes Cassava Industrial Revolution as Stakeholders Push New Continental Policies
Africa grows 65% of the world’s cassava, yet captures only a fraction of a global market worth over $10 billion. It is one of the continent’s most widely consumed crops but remains one of its least industrialised value chains.
That paradox dominated the 2nd African Cassava Conference (ACC 2025) in Abuja, where agribusiness leaders, governments, researchers, financiers and development partners delivered a bold verdict:
Africa must transition cassava from a subsistence crop into a continental economic engine.
And that shift, stakeholders insist, requires continental policies, coordinated financing and technology-driven transformation — not scattered national attempts.
Why Cassava Remains Africa’s Undervalued Power Crop
Despite its immense potential for food, feed, industrial starch, ethanol, sweeteners and bioplastics, cassava in Africa continues to underperform due to:
- Low yields and outdated varieties
- Weak value chains and poor market linkages
- High post-harvest losses (up to 40% in some regions)
- Minimal mechanisation
- Policy inconsistencies across countries
- Insecurity disrupting production zones
Nigeria, the world’s largest producer, mirrors the challenge: high consumption, huge acreage, but insufficient industrial processing capacity.
Women — who dominate the processing segment — remain most affected by drudgery due to limited access to mechanised tools.
A New Vision: Cassava as Africa’s Industrial Backbone
The communiqué issued at ACC 2025 outlines a continent-wide blueprint to reposition cassava as Africa’s green gold — a strategic crop powering:
- Industrial starch and specialty chemicals
- Bioethanol and biofuels
- Biodegradable materials
- Food security systems
- Export growth
- Job creation for youth and women
- Green energy adoption
Stakeholders argue that cassava’s versatility makes it a cornerstone crop for the AfCFTA era — if Africa gets the policy environment right.
Technology Is Breaking the Limits
Exciting innovations showcased at the conference signal a new frontier:
- TER-MCH mechanical harvester reducing labour needs by 90%
- Computer-aided engineering designing more efficient fryers, dryers and processing machines
- Biofortified and climate-resilient cassava varieties
- Digital traceability systems to guarantee quality across borders
These breakthroughs point to a future where cassava becomes a high-tech, commercially scalable commodity, not a rural survival crop.
What Africa Must Do — The Policy Blueprint
Delegates called for an African-scale framework covering:
1. Continental Policy Alignment
- Biofuel & ethanol blending mandates
- Incentives for starch, feed, and bioplastics industries
- Common standards to drive intra-African trade
2. Financing & De-risking
- Special cassava industrialisation funds from Afreximbank and development finance institutions
- Credit guarantees for processors and large-scale producers
- Insurance-backed support for insecurity-prone communities
3. Infrastructure & Market Systems
- Investment in rural roads, energy supply, logistics
- Integrated agro-industrial processing hubs
- Structured contracts linking farmers to processors
4. Research & Technology Deployment
- Funding for biofortification, mechanisation, climate-smart varieties
- Adoption of digital monitoring tools
- Local engineering of scalable processing equipment
5. Private Sector Leadership
- Large-scale industrial plants for ethanol, starch, glucose syrup and high-value derivatives
- Export-oriented processing clusters
- Pan-African collaborations in technology and machinery
A Call to Leadership Across Africa
The conference also recommended:
- A Pan-African Cassava Industrialisation Working Group
- A 20% cassava flour inclusion policy for bread and bakery
- Accelerated adoption of the Free Movement Protocol to ease trade
- Technology-enabled farmer security systems
- A continental campaign promoting cassava-based industrial products
The Pan African Alliance of Small and Medium Industries (PAOSMI) expressed gratitude to Nigeria’s Federal Government and development partners, confirming that cassava has now become a continental development priority.
An ACC-2025 Implementation Monitoring Group will track progress and present outcomes to the AU Commission and AfCFTA Secretariat — signalling the continent’s commitment to move from talk to execution.
BRANDECONOMY INSIGHT
Africa has long underestimated cassava’s power as a multi-billion-dollar catalyst for agro-industrial transformation. With ethanol demand rising, starch imports ballooning, and climate-smart crops becoming urgent, cassava offers Africa a unique comparative advantage.
What the continent does next — in policy, financing, research and cross-border collaboration — will determine whether cassava becomes Africa’s engine of industrial growth, or continues as an underdeveloped rural staple.
