The Federal Government has raised an alarm over a recent virile disease, Cassava Brown Streak Disease, ravaging East and Central Africa now making its way to West Africa.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Muhammed Umar, said this in Abuja at the 2019 Cassava Investment Forum.
The Permanent Secretary represented by Head, Font and Tuber Crops in the ministry Ayodeji Bobby, called for a collective effort in securing Nigeria and West African region against the virus.
He said that the disease had caused over 90 per cent loss in a cassava farm in the country.
He therefore urged the professionals at the cassava forum to use their vast knowledge and experience to advice the ministry on areas that were key to the development of cassava sub-sector in Nigeria.
The permanent secretary said that Nigeria remained the largest producer of cassava, adding that a total of 36.8 million matric tonnes of cassava were harvested from 3.13 million hectare in 2013.ns��T�p
