CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Importance of Agriculture to the National Economy and Development Nigeria is endowed with abundant natural resources and has substantial agricultural potential. Agriculture is an important sector of the economy with high potentials for employment generation, food security and poverty reduction. However, these potentials has remained largely untapped which has led to the dwindling performance of the agricultural sector both domestically and in the international trade over years (Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, FMARD, 2011). While Nigeria ranks first among the leading agricultural producers in the West African Sub-region, it is also the largest importer of staple products in West Africa. Despite the preponderance of hydrocarbons, the agricultural sector continues to play a decisive role in Nigeria's economic development. Agriculture accounts for about 36.5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the country and employs nearly 45% of the country's workforce (Inter reseaux, 2015). The Federal Republic of Nigeria aims at diversifying the economy from reliance on oil, assure food security and create jobs, especially for the youth. In line with this, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development implemented Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) to promote agribusiness, attract private sector investment in agriculture, reduce post-harvest losses, add value to local agricultural produce, develop rural infrastructure and enhance access of farmers to financial services and markets. The ATA sets out to create over 3.5 million jobs along the value chains of the priority crops for Nigeria's teeming youths and women, in particular(African Development Bank, 2013). The Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Program, Phase One (ATASP-1) is an agricultural program developed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) in collaboration with Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) to contribute to food and nutrition security, employment generation, and wealth creation along the rice, cassava, and sorghum value chains (ATASP-1, 2017).The importance of the three key staple food crops namely cassava, rice and sorghum for which ATASP-1 is to bring about increase in production cannot be over emphasized. For instance, cassava (ManihotesculentaCrantz) which has been described as an industrial crop of the future in Africa, with the potential to generate income for poor farmers and a huge number of jobs has enormous potential to improve food security and the livelihoods of people in Africa. Cassava is an important food crop both for urban and rural consumers in Sub-Saharan Africa. Cassava is a basic staple food in Nigeria, Mozambique, Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ghana, Malawi, and Tanzania. Recently, cassava has increasingly gained importance as a cash crop for smallholder farmers in the region. Africa is the largest cassava producing region in the world accounting for nearly 55 percent of the world's cassava production. However, Africa's yields are the lowest in the world standing at only 10 tonnes per hectare compared to 26 tonnes per hectare in India (African Agricultural Technology Foundation, AATF, 2017).
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