CrestAgro to invest N20bn in Cassava faming, processing in Kogi


The CrestAgro Products Nigeria Ltd., on Monday disclosed its plan to invest N20 billion on planting and processing of 100,000 metric tonnes of Cassava yearly in Kogi.
Mr Dele Ogunlade, the Managing Director, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lokoja.
Ogunlade said the company had already acquired 13,000 hectares of land on Obajana road, Lokoja, from the state government for cassava cultivation.
According to him, a factory for the processing of the tubers into food grade cassava starch had been established at Achabo village in Koton-Karfe Local Government.
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 tonnes 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, then, we will extend by another level of expansion until we reach our satisfactory level.
``The requirement for the first phase alone is about 100,000 metric tonnes of cassava per year,’’ he said.
Ogunlade told NAN that about 1,000 hectares out of the 13,000 land acquired for farming of cassava by the company had been cleared while installation of the plant would commenced soon.
Also speaking, Leonard Ebute, the CrestAgro’s Chief Operations’ Officer, said Cardinal Stone Partners established the company in 2013 to assume the position of Africa’s leading supplier of food grade cassava starch.
He said that the company had advanced discussions with Federal Ministry of Agriculture on the need to join Cargill as additional anchor for the Staple Crops Processing Zone (SCPZ).
Ebute said that the company intended to surpass the 2,000 cassava farm in Brazil, which remained the largest in the world so far.
He said that the company was in partnership with Synergos Nigeria and other stakeholders to sensitise and secure farmers’ cooperation and partnership.
``We are particularly prefers to go through the agencies that are already established and on ground and have experience in dealing with the farmers.
``Our cassava requirement is huge and there is no leaving anybody behind.
“So, the more the production, the better for us, the collaboration is a way of securing our source of raw materials.
“We are into farming ourselves to serve as a model for all the farmers in the area,” he said.

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