A cement company has moved into the garri business. Dangote Cement has commissioned a cassava processing plant in Ogun State that will process cassava into garri, fufu and other products, in a move the company frames as an intervention in food security, according to BusinessDay.
Built for the Host Community
The plant sits in the Kajola host community of Ewekoro Local Government Area and was delivered under a Community Development Agreement signed with host communities in 2022, the Ibese plant director, Ayyagari Subbaraidu, said at the commissioning, as BusinessDay reported. The company described the facility as a strategic intervention aimed at boosting agricultural value addition, reducing post-harvest losses and strengthening livelihoods for rural farmers and women.
Processing Where the Roots Grow
The plant was commissioned against a backdrop of rising food prices and persistent concern over food security, with the facility handed over to the Kajola community as a state-of-the-art garri and fufu processing operation, according to Megastar Magazine. Siting processing capacity close to where cassava is grown matters because the crop is bulky and perishes quickly once harvested, which is why so much of it is lost between farm and market.
Garri is one of the cheapest staples on a Lagos table and one of the most closely watched. FoodPrices Nigeria tracks verified garri prices across Lagos markets, where added processing capacity in neighbouring Ogun could eventually ease supply pressure.