Taking Local Industry to Global Market: The Case for Nigerian Cassava Processing Companies

Abstract

Nigeria remains the largest economy in Africa and the 26^th largest in the world with GDP of $510 billion in 2013. To maintain the position, Nigeria must accelerate her industrial productivity by building new links with the rest of the global economy.  The cassava processing industry is one of the sectors in the Nigerian economy that can help in such competition.  Since the 1980s, Nigeria has remained the global leader in cassava production with an annual production of 45 million metric tonnes. However, the utilization of cassava has largely explored traditional technologies for processing of its roots into human food such as garri, fufu, and flour. Through the application of STI, Nigeria’s cassava processing industry can create substantial new business opportunities that can bring Nigeria to the global market arena. This paper therefore observes some potential paths that are useful indicators of how Nigeria’s economic growth and social progress may unfold through the productivity of the industry.  The conclusion here is that cassava needs to be upgraded into primary industries such as starch, ethanol, chips, and flour in order to provide an industrial base for further diversification of its national economy. Moreso, policy compliance and implementations would help to promote the production and marketing of cassava industrial products for global competitiveness.

Key words: Cassava processing, Competition, Global market, Technologies, Innovation