Policy Reforms and Investment Priorities in the Cassava Value Chain - Policy note

Jul 19, 2026

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The policy note summarizes reforms and investment priorities needed to raise productivity and competitiveness across Nigeria’s cassava value chain. It identifies critical constraints confronting value chain actors and links them to actionable reforms and investments. Drawing on granular lessons from Vietnam’s experience, it explains how Vietnam’s shift toward an industrial crop and stronger coordination enabled better returns, jobs, farmer incomes, and rural structural transformation, offering targeted guidance for Nigeria’s future development.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

Benchmarking Nigeria against Vietnam

Key message #1

Key message #2

Critical Challenges Facing Value Chain Actors

Production constraints

Research and development needs

Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized NIGERIA © Arne Hoel/World Bank Public POLICY REFORMS AND INVESTMENT PRIORITIES IN THE CASSAVA VALUE CHAIN Policy note, December 2021 2 I page Policy Reforms and Investment Priorities in the Cassava Value Chain This note aims to summarize policy reforms and investment priorities required to increase the productivity and competitiveness of the cassava value chain. It discusses the critical challenges faced by value chain actors, outlines the reforms and investments needed to address those challenges, and draws and shares granular lessons on successful models of cassava value chain development based on the Vietnam experience. The note was prepared by Elliot Mghenyi and Ashwini Sebastian and draws largely upon the World Bank report1 titled “Transforming Agribusiness for Inclusive Recovery, Jobs Creation and Poverty Reduction: Policy Reforms and Investment Priorities,” authored by Elliot Mghenyi, Cora Dankers, James Thurlow, and Chidozie Anyiro. Benchmarking Nigeria against Vietnam Key message \# 1. Nigeria can draw important lessons from Vietnam’s successful transformation of the cassava value chain and the country’s emergence as a global leader in agribusiness. • Vietnam has emerged as a global leader in agribusiness and a major exporter of rice and several other commodities and products that are important in Nigeria’s agribusiness sector. In 2019, Vietnam generated exports of cassava, seafood, vegetables and fruits, rice, cashew nuts, coffee, tea, black pepper, wood and wood products, and rubber worth approximately US$40 billion – with cassava alone contributing over US$1 billion in export earnings. • Vietnam’s competitiveness in these value chains is founded on productivity growth in the on-farm and off-farm segments, and better coordination of investments across the value chains. • Access to remunerative export markets has increased returns on investments for agribusinesses, created jobs in agribusiness value chains, raised the incomes of farmers, and increased foreign exchange earnings and public revenues. • The rise in farmer incomes and agricultural wages contributed about 75 percent of the poverty reduction in rural areas between 2010 and 2018. • The strong performance of agricultural value chains in Vietnam has ushered a model of structural transformation that could serve Nigeria very well. Farm incomes have been invested in rural sectorsand created job opportunities outside farming, leading to broad-based growth in the rural economy. Labor released from farming has been productively absorbed in the rural non-farm sector, which differs from the usual pattern where labor migrates to urban sectors leaving rural sectors without skills and a lack of services and goods necessary to catalyze rural development. Source: World Bank, 2020. 1 The report can be accessed at [https://imagebank2.worldbank.org/Search/33064869](https://imagebank2.worldbank.org/Search/33064869) Policy Reforms and Investment Priorities in the Cassava Value Chain page I 3 Key message \# 2. Cassava in Vietnam transitioned to an industrial crop around 2000, driven by a growing demand from factories processing starch for exports, mainly to China. In Nigeria however cassava has remained a staple food crop that is mostly used to prepare traditional dishes. • Vietnam is the world’s third largest exporter of cassava, with export revenues exceeding US$1 .3 billion in 2017, and the eighth largest cassava producer in the world. About 85.6 percent of Vietnam’s cassava production is exported as starch or dried cassava. Starch exports have been growing rapidly and accounted for about 72 percent of total export value of cassava products in 2017, a massive increase from zero in 2008. On the other hand, dried cassava exports have declined significantly from being the only product exported in 2008 to accounting for 27.5 percent of export value in 2017. These

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the policy note?

It summarizes the policy reforms and investment priorities required to increase productivity and competitiveness in Nigeria’s cassava value chain, while drawing lessons from Vietnam’s development experience.

What key lesson does the note highlight from Vietnam for Nigeria?

Vietnam’s transformation was driven by productivity growth and better coordination of investments, which improved access to remunerative markets and increased returns, jobs, farmer incomes, and public revenues.

How does the note describe the difference in cassava use between Vietnam and Nigeria?

Vietnam transitioned cassava into an industrial crop for starch production largely for exports, while Nigeria has largely kept cassava as a staple food crop used for traditional dishes.

Jul 19, 2026

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