When I first learned of the trade agreement to export Nigerian cassava to China, my instant assumption was that China needs this multivariate food product to feed her teaming population.

My next assumption was that probably in the next few years, China could be one of the leading producers of cassava tubers in the world, knowing full well that cassava is a stubborn crop that can thrive in almost every soil.

This would not be the first case of its kind. The first oil palm seedlings in Malaysia were taken from Nigeria in the 1960s and today Malaysia is the world's No 1 producer of palm oil.

I was taken aback when I learned that China already cultivates and produces more than 3 million metric tons of cassava tubers annually and only needs Nigeria cassava to meet the surging energy demand of its rapidly increasing automobile industry.

Cassava tubers are processed along three main channels: starch, flour and ethanol with several other smaller value added markets such as glucose and citric acid.

In line with the Kyoto Protocol of 1997 to reduce global dependence on fossil fuel to cut global emission of greenhouse gases, countries are already turning to alternative energy sources. One of these is ethanol.

Nigeria has the double advantage of being the world's largest producer of cassava as well as the sixth largest producer of crude petroleum. At present Nigeria imports all of the more than 100 million liters of ethanol it consumes. Until 2005, Nigeria consumed all of the more than 34 million tons of cassava produced annually, mainly as food.

China already is the world's third largest producer of ethanol, most of which comes from corn and wheat. Worried about food security and car fuel shortages, China is switching over to cassava chips, both domestic and imported.

In the very near future cars in all of China's southern region may be running on ethanol fuel from cassava.

The first major export of Nigerian cassava was 40 tons of cassava chips to China in April 2005. Since then, Nigerian farmers have been unable to meet the demand, forcing up the price of Nigeria's hitherto cheapest food.

Although the latest Nigerian presidential initiative on cassava production, commercialization and export aims to boost industrial development and foreign exchange, it appears the emphasis is on foreign exchange.

The International Institute of Agriculture in Nigeria and the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) have jointly developed quality criteria for cassava products for industrial use and export.

The government of Nigeria is aggressively promoting the cultivation of cassava through loans, its commodity board and establishment of demonstration cassava processing centers in rural areas. The government has also instructed local manufacturers such as feed and flour mills to either input or increase cassava content in their products. In 2007, the government hopes to earn about $5 million from cassava export alone.

Experiences over the years suggest that small and medium scale plants are best for sustainable industrial growth. At present there are only three to five small and medium scale operational cassava starch or flour factories in Nigeria.

Experts estimate that for Nigeria to meet its current domestic demand for cassava starch, it may need at least 15 to 17 starch plants. These plants could support employment for hundreds of people along the commodity chain.

To meet the national demand for ethanol, Nigeria needs about 120 small scale (5,000 liters per day capacity) plants. One plant of this size will be able to provide employment for at least 400 to 500 persons along the commodity chain in one year.

However the greatest challenge to the ordinary cassava farmers in Nigeria is to develop an efficient labor-saving harvesting technique.

These are areas for our Chinese friends to check to avoid the soured colonial relationship between Africa and Europe. Nigerian engineers and their Chinese counterparts can cooperate to develop efficient tools for harvesting and processing cassava.

Chinese investors can enter Nigeria's cassava processing industry, initially on a small scale because of the nature of the agricultural system in Nigeria.

The Chinese will definitely benefit more by investing in the downstream cassava industry rather than mere imports of the harvested tubers.

This will ensure the continued supply of quality cassava chips to China while helping the development of local industries in Nigeria.

While China is developing it must also assist the economic growth of other developing nations. In the true spirit of globalization every country and region should devote attention to its area of comparative advantage and assist others in their own areas of advantage to avoid unhealthy competition.

S. Idowu Ola, PhD, is with the Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria

(China Daily 03/01/2007 page11)