BY SAM OTUONYE
The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced a strategic move to empower 14 million Small Holder Farmers in the Cassava Bioethanol Value Chain Development Project with a projected revenue of N3 trillion in foreign exchange earning annually.
According to a statement by the Director Information & PR of the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Mrs Osagie Jacobs J. I. on 22 January, 2026, the Minister, Sen. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu made this known at the capacity building workshop for Stakeholders on the Cassava Bioethanol Value Chain Development Project for the the South East zone held between the 20th and 21st January, 2026 in Enugu, Enugu State.
Sen. Bagudu noted that from the implementation of the project, Nigeria is capable of making savings of over N3 trillion annually in foreign exchange by blending Bioethanol with Petroleum Monitoring Spirit (PMS), consequently reducing reliance on imported fuel.
Bagudu said that under the national Bio-Economy policy, the Ministry is committed to promoting a circular economy that goes beyond the production and utilization of ethanol.
According to the Minister, “We are looking at the entire value chain, from high quality stems and starch to the CO2 captured during fermentation and the annual feeds produced from distillery grains.”
The project will utilize the Triple -Helix knowledge Transfer partnership of;
providing high yield, disease resistant varieties, driving investments, technology and market access and providing the enabling environment and infrastructure.
The Minister was represented at the event by the Director of Economic Growth, Mr. Auwal Mohammed.
While welcoming Participants, the Director Agriculture, Economic Growth Department, Mr. Olaifa Alade, stated that the workshop was aimed at improving the capacity of Stakeholders for effective implementation of the project and to lay a solid foundation for a project that sits at the intersection of industrialization, energy transition and rural empowerment in the Cassava Bioethanol Value Chain Development Project.
He assured the various Stakeholders that the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning is committed to providing the necessary policy support and monitoring framework to ensure the movement of the pilot phase to a national success story, noting that the insights gained from the training will catalyze a transformation in our Agricultural and energy sectors, leading to sustainable growth of the country.
Participants at the workshop were taken through different modules such as Nigeria’s Bio-Economy Framework and Cassava Bioethanol, Cassava Bioethanol Value Chain Mapping, Stakeholders Engagement and Public Private Partnerships, Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation, and Implementation Effectiveness amongst others.
The capacity building workshop was organized by the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning (FMBEP) in collaboration with Meatia Global Services Ltd. and the Association of Dean of Faculty of Agriculture of the Nigerian University (ADAN), with participants drawn from the States Ministries of Budget and Economic Planning, States Ministries of Agriculture, Farmers Association, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), NACCIMA, Universities and Research Institutes within the South East Zone.