The Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Ministry of Environment in partnership with IITA, under the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), commissioned a cassava processing factory in Korokoro Community, Tai Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abubakar, represented by the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Marvin Dekil, during the commissioning, noted that the factory would serve as a sustainability package for training and equipping Ogoni youth with economic skills.
As a major staple crop in Africa, cassava is one of IITA’s mandate crops and is widely grown in Rivers State. The factory would help to ensure the strengthening of the crop’s value chain in the region, following a 3-month hands-on training on cassava processing and the fabrication of cassava processing machines for 15 Ogoni youth at IITA-Onne, Rivers State.
IITA carried out the training in collaboration with the Stakeholders Democracy Network (SDN) and HYPREP.
The official commissioning of the processing factory will ensure that the factory is handed over for direct running by the 15 pioneer graduates trained by IITA, after three months of supervisory running of the factory by IITA and SDN.
The goal is for the cassava processing center to generate income and create an economic hub for the communities through the production of garri, starch, and high-quality cassava flour (HQCF).