IN this report, The ICIR chronicles the impact of infrastructure gaps on cassava production in Anambra State and how it affects Nigeria’s agricultural potential.

By Arinze CHIJIOKE

Nkechi Obah, a smallholder farmer in Atani, one of the communities in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State, could not wait for her cassava to fully mature during the 2024 farming season.  The floods approached thick and fast and harvesting early was her only chance to salvage something from a season already threatened by unpredictable weather.

But saving the crop from the floods marked the beginning of another struggle.

Without a proper storage facility in her community, Obah had nowhere to keep the prematurely harvested cassava while waiting for the right time to process and sell it in the local market. She also tried to act quickly, hoping that immediate processing would help reduce losses.

“I was willing to process everything at once,” she recalled, “but I could not access a processing facility and before long, many of my cassava tubers got spoilt. I also sold them at giveaway price at the market.”

In Anambra, one of the key cassava-producing states, women are the major players in the entire value chain, with a yearly production increasing from about 276,000 metric tons in 2014 to over 2.1 million metric tons by 2021, according to the state government. A study on agricultural productivity and post-harvest loss among cassava farmers found that nearly a third of the cassava produced in the state, about 32.0%,  is lost after harvest, largely due to a combination of factors like inadequate storage facilities, poor road networks, and unreliable electricity and transportation systems.

Consistently, the Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has said that his administration aims to leverage agricultural programs, including cassava production, to enhance food security and stimulate economic growth.  At the launch of the ‘Farm to Feed Campaign’ in August 2024, which is intended to encourage citizens to take up farming, Soludo claimed that his administration had, among other things, improved rural infrastructure to minimise post-harvest losses.

Sadly, farmers interviewed said they continue to suffer huge losses which significantly reduce their incomes and limit the potential contribution of cassava to the states and nation’s food security and economy. While this story focuses on cassava, smallholder farmers of tomatoes, plantains, and other vegetables in the state said that they also count losses due to poor infrastructure.

A national concern 

Post harvest loses is not just an Anambra State problem. Nigeria loses an estimated $9-$10 billion annually due to post-harvest losses, a crisis stemming from inadequate storage facilities, poor road networks, and unreliable electricity supply and  transportation.

Cassava alone, with many by-products including sweeteners, animal feed, industrial starch, high-quality cassava flour (HQCF), and bioethanol which are in growing demand both domestically and internationally, accounts for approximately 35% of the national post-harvest losses for roots and tubers.

According to a Nigeria Cassava Investment Accelerator (NCIA) report, the country is the world’s largest producer of cassava, accounting for 18% of global output with over 61 million metric tons annually. Between 2019 and 2023, Nigeria’s cassava production climbed from 56.96 million tons to 62.69 million tons, a 10 percent increase that keeps the country ahead of Brazil, Thailand, and Indonesia. Yet, the country only captures 2% of the massive $183 billion global cassava processing market, losing a significant amount of cassava due to post-harvest losses.

At this year’s World Cassava Day, Vice-President Kashim Shettima said that the Federal Government remains committed to turning cassava into a driver of industrialisation, describing it as “one of the most strategic assets in our agricultural portfolio,” with its wide applications in food, feed, fuel, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and even construction.

Bad roads increase transportation cost 

In April 2025, the Anambra State government began the rehabilitation of the road that connects to Oye Igbariam, the major market in Igbariam, a community in Anambra East. Igbariam is a significant community for cassava cultivation and research, hosting an outstation of the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI). Farmers in the area hoped it would be completed in due course to ease the cost of transporting cassava and other farm produce from their farms. But it stalled along the line. And when it was time to campaign for a second term, the governor promised the people to complete the project.

“They brought heaps of sand and gravel, and we thought that they had finally come to fix it,” said Rosemary Uchechukwu, a farmer in the community,”.

“But when the election ended and he was re-elected, they have not shown seriousness with the project. They just come every day with machines and we don’t see changes,” she lamented.

As a result, vehicles and motorcycles frequently breakdown on the road and this not only increases transportation costs but also results in delays and spoilage of the perishable produce. For instance, farmers say they pay N5,000 for a tricycle cart to convey cassava from Anekwem, one of the villages in Igbariam to Oye Igbariam Market, a distance of about 15 minutes on a good road and 25-30 on a bad one.

Ugochukwu said that they often have to book the cart ahead of time. Sometimes, they do not end up coming because they would rather not travel on bad roads leading to the farms. And that leaves the cassava roots exposed to direct sunlight after harvest, resulting in moisture loss which makes the roots shrivel, harden, and become less suitable for processing.

It is the same situation across different locations visited by this reporter – from bad roads to track roads that are only accessible by motorcycle. In Ubahu, for instance, farmers trek long distances, with bags of casava tubers strapped to their heads to get to the main road after harvesting and washing. This takes a toll on their health, with studies showing that carrying heavy loads on the head has measurable biomechanical effects on the cervical spine (neck), including loss of cervical lordosis, reduced disc height, vertebral translation/instability.

Motorcyclists charge N2,000 to carry a cement bag of cassava back home from that point. If they manage to get into the farm, farmers pay N4,000. Oftentimes, these farmers also pay people to help carry tubers to the main road.

A not so effective solution

In 2023, the Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA), supported by the Malala Fund, procured manual machines for cassava processing in Anambra West, Ogbaru and Awka North, with the help of the Smallholder Women Farmers of Nigeria (SWOFON). The machines include a peeler, grater, presser, a mechanical dehydration machine and fuelwood-powered garri fryer.

To be able to use the machines, Onwuegbuka Rose, coordinator for SWOFON Anambra East, said that members of the corporative society rented an open space where they pay N122,000 rent yearly and also hired an operator who is paid N35,000 monthly. Farmers from different villages bring their cassava to this location for processing.

However, findings show that the machines installed at the centre are insufficient compared to the number of farmers who bring their cassava for processing. On many days, the operator works until 2 a.m. just to attend to many farmers as the entire Aguleri community relies on only one major processing facility.

The machine installed by the government has not worked since installation nor has it been used because it was not well constructed.

“There is not a single machine provided by the government. They have made several promises to support us, but nothing has come,” one operator said. “We need bigger, more efficient machines to improve productivity because whenever one breaks down, it disrupts all our work.”

Also, some of the machines are not being used either because of technical fault or because the women cannot operate them. In both Aguleri and Umunankwo where the machines for Ogbaru were installed, women complained about the non-availability of a borehole to serve the peeling machine.

In Aguleri, the peeler machine is currently not being used because, according to Rose, they cannot afford to always buy water, hence they still resort to manual peeling. In Umunankwo, they depend on water from the palace of the traditional ruler, which is not always available. Alternatively, they fetch water from a dirty stream just behind the processing centre.

Okonyia Elizabeth, a farmer who oversees the processing centre, explained that the women were never consulted about what methods or equipment would work for them. Also, no proper structures were put in place to house the machines across the locations and so, farmers say they risk being stolen.

Elizabeth said that some of the machines were not properly installed, adding that she called the contractor to complain about the challenges faced with the machines, but he did not respond. This reporter also made attempts to reach him via calls and text message but he did not respond.

“The contractor only told us he was only following the design given to him by the funders.”

Built but not equipped 

In March 2024, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) – funded Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) put up a structure that was supposed to serve as a Cassava Processing Center in Umunankwo. The VCDP assists rice and cassava smallholder farmers through a value chain approach to enhance productivity, promote agro-processing and increased access to markets.

In Umunankwo, the structure consists of three rooms which were supposed to house different machines for processing. Amaka Obi, a farmer from the community said that they freely donated the land where the structure is sited because of how much they needed the facility to make processing easier.

“We were all happy because it was in our community and was going to help us address the stress of carrying cassava to far distances”, she said. “They told us that they will bring the machines as soon as possible”.

Sadly, more than a year after the structure was put up, not a single machine was brought. A physical inspection of the location shows that the paint of the structure is already wearing off, with some of the ceilings already falling. The structure is also overgrown with bushes. And the solar-powered borehole constructed just beside the building has since stopped working.

“Since they left, we have not heard anything, “Obi said, referring to IFAD and other partners. “Every day, we expect that they will come back and install the machines but we never see them,”.

When contacted for comments on the abandoned structure, the Anambra State Programme Coordinator of IFAD VCDP, Dr. Deborah Onyefulu, said that the Fund only intervenes in areas that are already involved in the activity and have machines but who either need a new structure or the renovation of an already existing one.

“You must have machines on ground before we can come in”, she said, adding that the project in Umunankwo must have been wrongly sited.

This runs contrary to findings from community members who said that IFAD had promised to equip the centre with machine. When pressed further however, Onyefulu said that even when IFAD builds a structure and there is a need to equip, that is not done immediately because the machines have to be captured in different budget cycles.

“If the community needs machines, they can come to us and we will see how to provide for them,” she said.

“They know us very well because they gave us the land upon which we built the structure. We have some equipment that we plan to give out.”

During a media tour of Aguata, Orumba North and South council areas, Onyefulu had claimed that the programme was investing N666m in communities to boost local agricultural production and processing in the state.

Onyefulu was quoted as saying that the programme had invested N316 million to provide market infrastructure and processing facilities in Aguata Local Government Area. She added that the programme was implementing rice and cassava processing projects worth over N350 million in Orumba North and South LGAs. She, however said that the processing centres will be equipped as soon as approval is secured to enable them commence full operation.

With efficient technology largely absent, many locals depend on locally fabricated equipment, including frying pans, knives used for peeling, sieves and manual press, all of which tend to be less effective and less energy-efficient. These outdated tools slow down production and contribute to lower overall productivity.

Women also pay with their health

There is also the challenge associated with using fuelwood/open fires for frying, which according to the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, is one of the world’s most pressing health and environmental problems, directly impacting about half the world’s population and causing nearly four million premature deaths each year. Around 2.1 to 2.3 billion people, or about one-third of the global population, rely on polluting fuels such as wood, charcoal, and coal in open fires or inefficient stoves.

A research on occupational exposure to particulate matter from biomass smoke and its risks among rural women involved in cassava processing in Nigeria found that the use of biomass fuel for cooking is associated with exposures to high levels of PM2.5, PM10, black carbon, sulphur dioxide.  “This has been associated with several adverse health effects such as upper and lower respiratory tract infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, cancer, low birth weight, cataract and blindness”.

The traditional, manual garri frying can take a long time, depending on the quantity. In Aguleri, at least three women were seen frying, sweat dripping down their bodies, their eyes reddened and watering as they struggled to breathe. From interviews with the women, this reporter gathered that they are often exposed to biomass smoke for up to 11 hours daily. Peeling costs N500 while frying costs N800 per cement bag.

Ngozi Okagbue works as a garri frier at the processing centre. She earns N9,600 for frying 12 cement bags of gari. The big aluminium pot she works with handles 25 cement bags while the smaller pots handles eight bags between 7am and 6pm. On weekdays, she works with another fryer but on weekends, she works with her children. And that often takes a significant toll on their respiratory health.

“I would always buy drugs, Malt and Milk for body pain when we return home because our body often hurts after work, I have to come back again the next day because that is the only way I survive with my children”.

Turning to traditional storage system

Cassava roots are highly perishable and begin to deteriorate rapidly (within 2-3 days) after harvest. Sadly, with the lack of storage facilities, farmers adopt different traditional methods, including a form of pit or trench storage for short-term preservation of fresh cassava roots. The method involves burying harvested roots in a trench or a pit. The method is designed to create a high-humidity environment that helps “cure” any wounds on the root surface and prevents them from drying out, which causes rapid spoilage.

Alternatively, farmers say they also store their cassava in jute sacks, woven polypropylene bags, or perforated sacks. However, this method can fail when not properly managed. If the bags are loosely tied for instance, pests such as insects and rodents can easily enter or chew through them, causing infestation.

Placing bags directly on bare floors exposes the roots to termites, dampness, and soil pests.

Veronica Okechukwu, another farmer in Aguleri said that this method is also unsafe because criminals often steal cassava when they are stored.

“If you harvest and keep in your farm, they can also go and carry them,” she said.

Findings show that a proper cassava storage facility slows spoilage by providing good ventilation, controlled temperature, and regulated humidity. Using cool or insulated environments and keeping roots dry and clean prevents heat buildup, mould, and rapid decay, allowing cassava to last much longer than the usual 48–72 hours after harvest. It also gives farmers more time to wait for better market prices or recover from climate-related disruptions like flooding in Anambra and also ensures the roots remain clean and of high quality, which improves the final products such as garri, fufu, and starch.

Farmers are compelled to sell cheap

Calista Ewuzie owns a large expanse of cassava farm in Ubahu Ihembosi, one of the communities in Ekwusigo LGA. Her farm is close to the Ulasi River (also known as the Orashi River), which often overflows its banks and covers the entire farmland whenever there is flooding.

“We are often forced to remove our crops whether or not they are mature for harvest. But we don’t have anywhere to store them so we can make some profit after investment. At this time, you have plenty cassava in the market everybody wants to sell to avoid losing completely.”

Ewuzie said that there is no single processing facility in her community, hence farmers are forced to travel to Ozubulu or Ukpor, about 20-30 minutes away, spending over N4,000 to and fro on motorcycle. When they get there, they wait for their turn.

Elizabeth from Umunankwo, which also faces significant flooding challenge, said that a cement bag of cassava sells for N8,000 instead of N25,000. She gets six bags of cassava from her farm. That is N40,000, after spending close to N100,000 in preparing the farmland.

“There is more supply in the market than demand, instead of losing everything, I sell them off and I am not able to recover the money invested”, she said. “That is after I have removed the one for my family,”.

In Igbariam, farmers told this reporter that a full load of cassava (tricycle cart) which used to sell for N70,000-N80,000 currently goes for between N30,000-N40,000.  The markets are often saturated because everybody wants to sell to avoid losing out completely.

Edith Obi, another farmer in Ubahu Ihembosi said that she spent over N500,000 this cassava planting season on land acquisition, preparation of moulds, cultivation, purchase of stems, spraying of chemicals, at least two times before harvest and harvesting. Now, she can hardly boast of N400,000 because prices have fallen and there is no way she can store till next year when prices will rise.

“We have made attempts like reaching out to the ministry of Agriculture in the state and agencies like the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria for help. But nothing has happened”.

Pushing for a change

Small holder farmers interviewed say they have tried to draw the attention of government to their challenges. For instances, this month, leadership of SWOFON visited the director at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture in Anambra State where they complained about the lack of storage facilities, processing centers and good road networks and how that affects their work.

Anambra State coordinator of SWOFON, Georgina Akunyiba, said that they were asked to come up with a charter of demands, adding that this is not the first time they are making attempts to get the authorities, particularly the state government, to provide infrastructure for farmers in the state.

“We have written severally to the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning with our demands, embarked on advocacy visits to the commissioner for agriculture, women affairs, the attorney general and auditor general, but nothing ever gets done.”

“The government appears not to value agriculture and we can see from the budget for the sector. Even when they manage to provide certain facilities, it is politicised and never gets to those that truly need, councillors get everything,” she stated.

She noted, however, that communities like Umunankwo cannot be completely absorbed of blame because they have not come to complain to SWOFON about the challenges that they are having with the usage of their processing machines.

What can be done? 

Sunday Akpan, Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics at the Akwa Ibom State University, said that to fully maximise its cassava potential, the state government, working with the local government, must construct access roads because most cassava farms are located in remote locations and farmers are often forced to carry roots on their heads.

“It is also important for the government to subsidise land preparation, which for cassava farmers is a major cost component,” he said.

“They can set up tractor hiring centres and subsidise the cost,” he added.

He further noted that government can set up processing centres with modern technologies to ramp up production, which according to him, will depend on the availability of raw materials in the locations where they will be established.

“Currently, there are garri fryers that address the challenge of direct contact with heat but local farmers cannot afford them,” said Akpan, a member of the technical committee that set up the factories in Akwa Ibom. “Government interventions must be strategic. Farmers can afford fertiliser, so government should stop using that to gain cheap popularity. When all of these are addressed, it can help increase revenue for farmers,”.

He further suggested that there can also be arrangements for off takers to form clusters through which farmers can sell their products directly from the point of harvest and take away the stress of processing.

We are working to boost cassava production 

The Permanent Secretary in the State Ministry of Agriculture, Ifeyinwa Uzoka, acknowledged that infrastructure gaps, leading to post harvest losses in cassava existed across communities in the state. She however, said that the state government was committed to addressing the challenges which is evident in its ongoing partnership with IFAD and VCDP to provide numerous processing centres and related infrastructure.

Uzoka noted that at least eight out of the 21 LGAs in the state were already benefitting from the programme, adding that the ministry was working to access more donor funded agricultural programmes to be able to capture more locations in the state.  These LGAs include Ayamelum, Anambra East and West, Orumba north and South, Awka north, Ihiala and Ogbaru.

“We cannot finish all the LGAs at the same time”, she said. “But I can assure that we are supporting farmers in those LGAs with facilities for production and processing. We cannot do it all alone.”

On Thursday, December 11, this reporter sent a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request addressed to the Commissioner for Agriculture in the state, Dr. Forster Ihejiofor via his whatsapp platform as he requested. Specifically, the FOIA request sought to find out if the ministry was aware of the infrastructure gaps leading to post harvest losses, if they have taken any steps to provide storage and processing facilities and good road networks in rural communities and the specific communities where they have intervened.

Also, it sought to find out if the ministry was aware of the processing centre in Ogbaru and plans to get the facility functional and if the ministry had any challenges in addressing the infrastructure gaps as well as the current data on the metric tonnes of cassava produced by the state.

This was followed with a call and a text on December 12 and another call on December 15.  Another follow up text was sent on Tuesday, December 16 and Monday, December 22, after seven days. He was also called, but he neither responded to the calls not the messages and the FOI request at the time of this publication.

This report was made possible with support from the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, (ICIR) under its Strengthening Public Accountability For Results and Knowledge (SPARK 2.2) project.