CASSAVA OPPORTUNTIES IN NIGERIA - FAO.org

Governments. In travelling across the country it
was soon realized that much of the data desired
for this study of cassava had not been collected
nor collated and was not readily available in a
form that could be quickly or easily analysed. It
was for this reason that The Nigerian Cassava
Industry: Statistical Handbook 2004 was born.
THE NIGERIAN
CASSAVA INDUSTRY:
STATISTICAL
HANDBOOK 2004
THE 1ST ANNUAL
INCLUDES 2002 AND 2003 DATA
WHERE AVAILABLE
This handbook, a first of its kind for cassava,
contains over 100 pages of data in tabular form
relevant to the Nigerian cassava industry. The
sections provide data on production, processing,
utilization, prices, enterprise budgets,
transportation, domestic economic indicators and
international cassava data. The data is intended
to provide a baseline for monitoring changes in
the industry and a guide for investments and
research. Although some tables are incomplete,
sections and table headings are provided, as a
guide for future industrial data collection.
The Handbook is intended to provide the Nigerian
Cassava Industry and those interested in learning
about the industry with a basic understanding of
its scope, organization and magnitude. It is hoped
that this Handbook will be updated on an annual
basis and widely distributed in both hard and soft
formats. Hard copies are to be made available to
all levels of government, institutions, industries,
associations and interested individuals. Soft
copies are to be made available on request to
those with available technology.
Although many have suggested that such a
Handbook can be easily and cheaply maintained
in CD or web site form many people in Nigeria do
not have access to such technology and even
those that do, do not have a steady supply of
electricity for it to be available when and as
needed. Paper copies are still very important in
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Nigeria. Especially so, when one considers the
fact that less than one percent of the population
accesses the Internet or has personal computers
(World Bank, 2004).
The Handbook should be used as a companion
when reading this report. Data summarized in this
report can be examined in detailed tabular form in
the Handbook. It is hoped that as the use and
availability of the handbook become widespread,
industrial stakeholders, policy makers and
national researchers will be able to undertake
their own or similar analysis and interpretation of
the data when and as needed. This report
together with the Statistical Handbook forms a
pool of information from which private sector
investor information can be drawn.
Another innovation brought about by this study
was the development of regional production
models that can be used to simulate the outcome
of alternative production scenarios.
1.3 REGIONAL PRODUCTION MODELS
Regional production models have traditionally
been used to assess the potential responses of
farmers to changes in policy, technology and
market conditions. Depending on the objectives of
the analyses and the availability of data, the
scope of such models has ranged from that of
individual farms to aggregate models representing
the entire agricultural industry.
For this study linear programming was selected as
an appropriate technique to develop regional
production models. Linear programming is a
technique that maximizes or minimizes an
objective function subject to a set of constraints.
In the case of regional modelling the objective
function normally consists of maximizing profit or
output from farming activities, or minimizing costs
of production or use of inputs. The constraints
generally refer to the availability of land and
labour and the need to meet some minimum
marketing, or consumption standard.
These models are typically based on enterprise
budgets. Ideally the budgets provide an indication
of quantity and cost of production inputs, as well
as the timing of these activities. These budgets
also provide information on the output and value
of production activities. The budgets may also