Cassava bio-mass, bio-ethanol to generate N185bn revenue – ICRC

To create wealth, provide jobs, reduce poverty, improve food security and nutrition, provide renewable energy and reduce carbon footprint, the federal government has approved the concession of the cassava bio-mass, bio-ethanol value chain.

This is even as the Federal Executive Council approved the National Fire Detection and Alarm System (NAFDAS) for the effective prevention, detection and management of fire across the country.

Both projects, which are under the regulatory guidance of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), targets among other things, a revenue generation of over N180 billion.

While the NAFDAS project will generate a total of N75 billion in the 15-year concession period, the Cassava Bio-ethanol Value Chain will generate a total revenue of N105 billion within the 5-year concession period.

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The Cassava Bio-Ethanol Value Chain will be done in a pilot phase that aims to build a bio-technology industrial park on a 20-hectare plot across 20 universities, academia and research & development institutes.

In the pilot phase, 5,000 special hybrid cassava (TME 419) stems will be planted per hectare, (100,000 stems for 20 hectares).

In addition, the project will supply organic fertilisers/boosters/conditioners, pre and post emergent herbicides, pesticides, insecticides, fungicides and knapsack sprayers.

The project also seeks to double cassava production from the current 62 million tons to output of over 120 million tons with improved tropical agro-ecology, biotechnology, intense mechanisation and effective partnership resource mobilisation, Nigeria can double output to 120 million metric tons in 5 years.

Total revenue for the 5-year concession period is N105.6bn.

For the NAFDAS project, it aims to provide fire mitigation hardware, software and equipment that will be linked to a cloud network which will be supervised by the Federal Fire Service through a private entity.