Nigeria launches Cassava Bioethanol Project to empower 14 million farmers, reduce fuel imports, and boost rural incomes and renewable energy

The Federal Government of Nigeria has initiated the Cassava Bioethanol Value Chain Development Project to empower approximately 14 million smallholder farmers and strengthen the country’s bio-economy, the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning announced on Thursday, January 22, 2026.

Also read: FG opens applications for 2026 PTDF overseas scholarships

Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, disclosed the plans during a two-day stakeholder capacity-building workshop for the South-East zone, held in Enugu and concluded on Wednesday.

The project is designed to integrate farmers into industrial production and link agriculture with energy transition, rural development, and domestic value addition.

Represented by the ministry’s Director of Economic Growth, Mr Auwal Mohammed, Bagudu explained that blending bioethanol with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) could save Nigeria more than N3 trillion annually in foreign exchange while reducing dependence on imported fuel.

“The intervention will reposition cassava as a strategic industrial crop, create jobs, boost rural incomes, and expand local production capacity in the renewable energy market,” he said.

“We are looking at the entire value chain, from high-quality stems and starch to CO₂ captured during fermentation and animal feed produced from distillery grains.”

The minister added that the project would be implemented through a Triple-Helix knowledge transfer partnership, focusing on high-yield, disease-resistant cassava varieties, attracting private investment, expanding technology and market access, and strengthening infrastructure.

Mr Olaifa Alade, Director of Agriculture in the Economic Growth Department, said the workshop aimed to prepare stakeholders for effective implementation of the cassava bioethanol project.

He assured participants that the ministry would provide sustained policy support and a robust monitoring framework to transition the project from pilot to national scale.

Participants included representatives from state ministries of agriculture and budget, farmers’ associations, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, NACCIMA, and various universities and research institutions.