Govt targets N3tr forex savings from cassava-based bioethanol project

The Federal Government has said Nigeria could save more than N3 trillion each year in foreign exchange by blending bioethanol with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

This is aimed at cutting the country’s dependence on imported fuel and strengthening domestic agricultural and industrial value chains.

The disclosure was made by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, at a capacity-building workshop for stakeholders on the Cassava Bioethanol Value Chain Development Project for the South East zone, held in Enugu, Enugu State. The minister was represented at the event by the Director of Economic Growth in the ministry, Mr Auwal Mohammed.

Bagudu said the proposed shift toward domestically produced bioethanol would place millions of smallholder farmers at the centre of a new growth strategy for the cassava sector, noting that the government had begun steps to empower about 14 million farmers to play key roles across the cassava value chain under the Cassava Bioethanol Value Chain Development Project.

According to him, the initiative aligns with the national Bio-Economy Policy, which seeks to move beyond simple production and consumption of ethanol toward a broader circular economy model. “We are looking at the entire value chain, from high quality stems and starch to the CO2 captured during fermentation and the animal feeds produced from distillery grains,” he said.

He explained that the project is designed to combine agricultural innovation, private sector investment and institutional support through a Triple-Helix knowledge transfer partnership.

The framework, he said, will focus on delivering high-yield, disease-resistant cassava varieties, attracting investments, facilitating access to technology and markets, and ensuring that the right infrastructure and policy environment are in place to support sustainable growth.

In his welcome address, the Director of Agriculture in the Economic Growth Department, Mr Olaifa Alade, said the workshop was structured to strengthen the capacity of stakeholders for effective implementation of the project and to establish a solid base for a programme that connects industrial development, energy transition and rural empowerment.

Alade assured participants that the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning would provide the policy backing and monitoring framework required to guide the pilot phase and scale it into a nationwide programme. He expressed confidence that the training sessions would help drive meaningful change in Nigeria’s agricultural and energy sectors, fostering long-term, sustainable economic expansion.

Participants were taken through a series of modules covering Nigeria’s bio-economy framework and the role of cassava-based bioethanol, value chain mapping, stakeholder engagement and public-private partnerships, project management, monitoring and evaluation, and strategies to improve implementation effectiveness.

The workshop brought together representatives from state ministries of budget and economic planning, state ministries of agriculture, farmers’ associations, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, as well as universities and research institutions across the South East zone.

The capacity-building programme was organised by the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning in partnership with Meatia Global Services Limited and the Association of Deans of Faculties of Agriculture of Nigerian Universities, as part of broader efforts to position cassava-based bioethanol as a driver of economic diversification, energy security and inclusive rural development.

Advertisement