GreenHills Cassava Farmstead and Industries, a Limited Liability Company Registered under the Nigerian companies Act to carry out agriculture related business like Crop farming, livestock farming, trading of agriculture products and food processing has launched in Ogun State, Nigeria
With an aim to provide the opportunity for everyday people and high net worth Individuals to contribute to the goal of achieving global food Security, GreenHills Cassava Farmstead has partnered with Tradebuza (an ICT based company) that developed a software that can help monitor and track farm activities, geo-mapping of farm units, Geo-mapping of activities’ locations, provide off-line feature for areas with low internet connectivity, and track the health of crops.
Speaking during the launch of Greenhills in Ogun state, which focused on the theme ‘Re-inventing the wheel: Using technology for effective farming,’ Lanre Osifeso, the CEO of Greenhills Cassava farmstead Limited, said “Five years ago, I got into agriculture and I have been fascinated with the sector ever since. Part of my goals as an agropreneur is to promote agriculture particularly among youths and young people like myself and to contribute to Nigeria as a whole by being a cardinal agent towards achievement of food security for all, employment creation, income generation and poverty reduction in the country.
“Some of us may already be aware that cassava is Nigeria’s largest crop in terms of quantity, producing more than 59 million tonnes in 2017 and the second largest in terms of value behind maize.
Although, Nigeria is the world leading producer of cassava, we recorded a small total export value of $1.25 million; a 0.057 percent share of the world cassava export which stood at $2.19 billion in 2017. This is in contrast to Thailand with the highest export value of $1.9 billion despite being the third world leading cassava producers with almost 40 million tonnes in 2017.
“Cassava is a crop that can contribute immensely to food security mainly because of its ability to store its mature edible roots in the ground for about 3 years, it’s also a drought-tolerant crop and can be grown in areas with uncertain rainfall patterns.”
Osifeso hinted that most of the cassava harvested in Nigeria is processed into foods, adding that cassava is very versatile and while there is little processing beyond foods, it’s derivatives like starch and high quality cassava flour (HQCF) are applicable in many types of products such as confectionery, sweeteners, textiles, paper, glue, biodegradable products and drugs.
He said GreenHills Cassava Farmstead is a 10,000 hectare but they are starting with 2000 hectares, fully mechanized commercial farm.
He projected that within the next five years, Greenhills cassava farmstead aims to set up to 10 tons of high-quality cassava starch processing line daily and 12.5 tons of cassava flour processing lines daily, all strategically positioned on the farm.
The event which took place at Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta was well attended by Special assistant on Agriculture to the Ogun state Governor, Angel Adelaja-Kuye, HOoni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, OJAJA || Ooni of Ife represented by his personal assistant, Otunba Tomision Olawale, Co- Founder Trade Buza, Nonso Eze, Co-Founder Crowdvest Limited, Oluwafemi Owoeye, Femi Osifeso.
In his opening remarks, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, OJAJA || Ooni of Ife represented by his Personal Assistant Otunba Tomision Olawale, said
“We need to have a comprehension approach to developing the value chains in our cassava production and remodel a positive and dynamic market director stands for through his vision of Cassava for Africa, a new benchmark for economic development.
Angel Adelaja-Kuye, special assistant on Agriculture to the Ogun state governor, spoke extensively on Ogun state Government support to farmers by using technology for effective farming.
