Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, Abba Ruma, said on Monday that the nation needs over 100 million metric tonnes of cassava annually to meet up with local demand.

The minister, who stated this in his presentation at an inter-ministerial retreat, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, added that improved production of cassava would go a long way in guaranteeing food security for the nation.

Ruma disclosed that increased cassava production from the current abysmal 49 million metric tonnes would also have a multiplier effect on bread making as it would go a long way in helping to attain "a 10 per cent cassava flour inclusion in bread making."

The government under the new policy of enhancing food security for the nation has also set out to meet annual rice demand of 4.64 million metric tonnes at 32 kilogrammes per person annually as recommended by Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO).

Ruma noted that the direction of government was to "attain self sufficiency in rice production by 2010."

The ministry has also set an ambitious 6.5 million metric tonnes of millet through improved farming inputs and irrigation with a local target of wheat put at three million metric tonnes to replace excessive dependence on importation, he said.

According to him, other areas where the government plans to shore up production include sugar with a target of 192 metric tonnes by the end of 2008, using 20,000 hectares of land, tomato, 20 tonnes and cocoa, 449,000 metric tonnes of production by 2012.

The minister listed the agricultural development challenges to include among others, inconsistent agricultural policies, dearth of reliable planning statistics, ageing and unorganised farmers, poor uptake of research results, seed-stock poor yield potential, rain-fed production and low irrigated land area.