Cassava vs Yams

Nigeria's cassava conundrum

2012-01-03T09:40:00.003+07:00

Keen to advertise self-sufficiency, Nigeria's government needs to clamp down on rice and wheat imports and promote the usage of cassava. The plan appears sound, however farmers stay sceptical.

Every day, on the outskirts of Abuja, Nourou Salisu produces practically 10,000 loaves of bread in his conventional clay ovens. Nigeria's buzzing capital offers a prepared-made market for his output, however that may very well be about to change following the federal government's announcement of insurance policies designed to wean one fifth of Africa's inhabitants off its dependency to wheat.

Africa's most populous nation, once seen as the regional breakbasket, wants to curb persistent dependence on overseas meals by clamping down on rice and wheat imports and introducing a raft of monetary incentives ahead of subsequent yr's budget. The intention is to kick the sluggish agriculture sector into life.

Salisu, nonetheless, is sceptically in regards to the plans, even when they are aimed toward lifting millions like himself out of starvation and poverty. "No one will chop [eat] cassava bread. The cassava starch won't permit the bread be tender," he said, when instructed of insurance policies that can compel bakeries to start substituting wheat flour for cassava flour.

"We do not have the science [technology] to grind the cassava, to make the bread soft. Our customers won't purchase it and it will spoil," he added, gesturing in the direction of the handfuls of luggage of flour stored within the sweltering bakery.

Final month, President Goodluck Jonathan - eager to persuade his people to patronise locally-grown merchandise -publicly shared a loaf of unsweetened cassava bread together with his vice-president and ministers. Nonetheless, his try and open an inside marketplace for the world's largest cassava grower isn't new; virtually a decade ago, former head of state Olusegun Obasanjo tried and didn't pressure bakers to use no less than 10% of the tuber in breadmaking.

Billed as a central a part of the brand new administration's "transformation" agenda - a sign of how badly Nigeria's agriculture sector wants fixing - proposals in a preliminary finances to slash a $68bn import bill embrace a 100% levy on rice and wheat imports subsequent year. Wheat prices the federal government a staggering $3.9bn annually, while Nigeria is the world's largest rice importer - at a cost of $6.25m a day - though its local weather is ideal for rice growing.

Cassava is being touted as a possible source of food self-sufficiency for Nigeria. By banning its import from next yr, and providing tax rebates for millers who use a minimum of 40% of cassava flour in breadmaking, the federal government hopes to encourage manufacturing and spur businesses to purchase it.

With the continent still reeling from meals riots over the previous two years, agriculture and water resources minster Akin Adesina believes these policies might spark the sort of "green revolution" which has largely bypassed Africa.

"We have now a situation the place we are coping with large numbers of unemployed people and high ranges of poverty, and these are the priorities of the federal government," he said. "We must create jobs regionally through import substitution."

In accordance with the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, Africa has greater than doubled cereal imports over the past three decades, a trend some countries have begun making an attempt to reverse by proactive policies. In Uganda, for example, rice output more than doubled in the area of 4 years after a seventy five% tax was imposed on imports. The responsibility additionally spurred the development of latest mills, lowering the value of domestically refined rice. Malawi, meanwhile, one in every of Africa's poorest countries, reversed its meals deficit in simply two years via a targeted subsidy programme that helped finance fertiliser for farmers.

Brushing off criticisms of protectionism amid a global downturn, Adesina argued Nigeria could follow go well with: "Each nation on the earth protects its markets and farmers. Nigeria's farming population is made up of more than 70% of smallholder farmers. Our policies are directed at creating new market alternatives for them."

Plans are underway to duplicate a 2009 authorities-funded scheme that resulted in maize yields rising from 1.5 tons to 4.2 tons per hectare in taking part farms. But experts say a scarcity of funding will make it troublesome to produce 2.5 million metric tons of rice - enough to feed the nation and go away an extra of 500,000 tons - by 2015.

Nigeria was once a net food exporter, but poor infrastructure, lack of finance and misguided policies meant agriculture was progressively shunted aside as the main target shifted to oil. However the nation's vast oilfields have enriched solely a tiny minority, leaving many of the country's a hundred and fifty million farmers poor and hungry.

Past form has left many doubtful that the federal government has the potential or political will to implement effective change. "The problem we have now is that a few of the financial institutions and a lot of the infrastructure is weak," mentioned Kamar Hamza, a Nigeria-based financial consultant. "On paper, the insurance policies are very good. But in relation to implementation, we've a parasitic civil service whose primary curiosity is earning money from government policies. They will easily hijack the plan."

Another issue is the federal government's monetary commitment to agriculture. It has only allotted 2% of the price range (around $500m) to agriculture, making it considered one of eight nations that have didn't assign a minimum of 10% of annual price range to agriculture, as agreed below the phrases of the Complete Africa Agricultural Development Programme adopted on the African Union summit in Maputo in 2003.

A string of failed agricultural insurance policies has bred skepticism among farmers. Many complain that micro credit funds allotted to them routinely disappear into the nation's labyrinthine political system. "And anyway, there are no roads. There is a fuel shortage. Are we to hold all the pieces we develop on our backs to market?" muses Sunday Alachi, a subsistence cassava farmer.

His fears maybe echo these holding again potential private-sector buyers, who're needed if government insurance policies are to bear fruit.

IPB College Studentt Production "Mo Mie" from Cassava

2011-10-30T11:25:00.001+07:00

JAKARTA - Students Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) re-discover innovations of modern food products ready-named "Mo Mie".

These foods are also meant to ensure diversification. What is Mo Mie ? Mo Mie is the "instant noodles" are made from raw cassava starch modified or Modified Cassava Flour (MOCAF) and Tempe flour. Tempe or Tempeh is a traditional soy product originally from Indonesia. It is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process.

Selection of cassava as raw material Mo Mie is quite reasonable. Given the cassava crop is one of considerable potential in Indonesia as a source of carbohydrate, whose production is not optimal because it is still considered less economical.

Meanwhile, the addition of “Tempe flour” as a food source of protein, because protein content in the noodles is considered quite low.

Therefore, Mo Noodles has several advantages compared with other instant noodles, which is due to high protein content and safe to eat.

There are three types of products "Mo Mie" offered by the "dry Mo Mie”, Mo Mie Spaghetti, and Mo Mie Sozzilatos.

As is known, instant noodles commonly consumed by people are usually made from raw wheat flour. The use of wheat flour in Indonesia is quite high in the manufacture of instant noodles. It was proven that Indonesia as a country both the consumption of instant noodles per year based on the world's largest wheat. Whereas in Indonesia wheat flour is obtained by importing from abroad.

"It is therefore necessary to develop a cassava-based new food products to enhance the economic value of cassava as an alternative substitute for flour and food diversification efforts," said Nur Hasanah Laeli, students of the Department of Community Nutrition Faculty of Human Ecology (FEMA) IPB, which conducted the study “Mo Mie, in Jakarta.

Laeli along with four colleagues said, that a food product should pay attention to food safety aspects.

One is the use of food preservatives should be in accordance with the recommended standard of government. Therefore, instant noodles their research results free of preservatives are dangerous because in the manufacturing process does not use harmful chemicals.

"Looking from the aspect of nutrient content and secure, instant noodles really support the food needs of the world community," said Megawati Simanjuntak, Supervisor of this research.

Laeli further explained, MOCAF is a product derived from cassava to cassava by fermentation modification principles. MOCAF contribute little protein so the protein source material needed to boost the protein content in the noodles.

One good source of protein and enough potential in Indonesia is Tempe, because Tempe is able to compete with animal protein in terms of quality, quantity and price. Additionally, Tempe is rich in amino acid lysine. Therefore, the addition of Tempe flour as a protein source is expected to improve the nutritional value MOCAF-flour noodle mixture.

Mortgaging of cassava to begin quickly

2011-10-29T09:52:00.001+07:00

The government next month will start a loan programme for 15 million tonnes of cassava at costs among 2.70 and 3.00 baht a kilogramme.

Deputy Commerce Minister Poom Sarapol mentioned the programme may begin on Nov 15 and run for 6 months with tiered prices ranging from 2.70 baht a kg in November. The worth will increase via 5 satang each month for cassava roots with 25% starch content.

The current value of contemporary cassava roots is between 2.20 and 2.30 baht a kilogramme.

The ministry in advance anticipated a funds of 10 billion baht for the production of as much as 6 million tonnes. Nevertheless, the subcommittee on advertising and marketing of tapioca agreed it needs to be extended to cover 15 million tonnes of the harvest so the funds must be enlarged.

"The specified price range may be large but precise spending could be decrease than that quantity as recent cassava roots are in demand in the market, and farmers can promote directly to traders. They do not must pledge with the federal government," stated Mr Poom.

The problem might be thought of by the Nationwide Tapioca Committee next week and later via the cabinet.

Thailand is expected to produce no less than 20 million tonnes of cassava roots this 12 months, a slight drop from 21 million final year. Production is decrease than demand, which is forecast at 26 million tonnes, of which 15 million are to be used for starch manufacturing, 10 million for tapioca chips and 1 million for ethanol.

Tapioca is a key crop for the nation, growing jobs and revenue for more than 500,000 households, with plantation spaces of almost 7 million rai.

The ministry is also making an attempt to shore up rice costs by a mortgage scheme, and it pronounced 115,096 tonnes of unmilled white rice have been pledged with the government after the legit release on Oct 7. Aromatic rice shall be harvested on the finish of November.

Permanent secretary Yanyong Phuangrach mentioned that of the 671 millers joining the programme, solely 231 were currently accepting paddy from farmers. They are unfold amongst 34 provinces with a high concentration within the crucial region.

Farmers have complained about costs being negotiated down as a consequence of high moisture content.

The ministry will mill all paddy pledged inside 10 days and require the delivery of all milled rice and damaged rice to the Public Warehouse Agency and Advertising Organisation for Farmers. Millers will get 500 baht a tonne for the milling cost.

He stated millers with inventory volumes too low for supply may seek permission to lengthen milling by one week.

Paddy value is steady because the floods are more seemingly to harm paddy manufacturing greater than last week's estimation.

"I wish to ask the marketplace to accept that the loan price [15,000 baht for white rice] is suitable as Thai farmers have misplaced a significant amount from the floods. They planted two times however can only harvest one crop," mentioned Mr Yanyong.

FG kicks off cassava transformation action plan

2011-10-28T10:45:00.001+07:00

ABUJA- The federal Government, Tuesday, kicked off its Cassava Transformation Motion Plan, CTAP, to increase income by at least $450 yearly of about 1.eight million farmers and create 1.2 million jobs in the cassava sub- sector of the nation’s financial system in the next 4 years.

Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, who disclosed this in Abuja, additionally announced the obligatory substitution of 10 per cent of High Quality Cassava Flour, HQCF, into composite wheat flour for bread baking in Nigeria.

The Minister, who made this identified on the kick-off programme in Abuja, said the 1.2 million jobs could be created by means of a doubling of production, processing and advertising of cassava within the cassava-rising belt of the country.

He stated under the motion plan, cassava farming could be run as an funding, not as challenge with the state governments, adding that the Federal Authorities will move step by step into more organised cassava sector and set up Cassava Market and Commerce Development Company, CMTDC, to coordinate farmers and provide marketplace for their produces.

“To construct around farm clusters market institutions for long run sustainable growth of the cassava sector by way of the institution of a Cassava Market and Commerce Improvement Corporation (CMTDC),” he said.

Adesina recognized lack of access to farm inputs, unavailability of market to little produces and low stage of expertise of farmers in Nigeria as main hindrances compelling farmers to sow in hope and reap with tears in the country.

He lamented that only eleven % of farmers in Nigeria get fertilizer and that the fertilizer was of the low high quality, in contrast with other nations, noting that they had been working to place in place necessary things wanted for them to put them out of dungeon and boost meals manufacturing within the country.

His phrases: “It can be crucial as a result of science has prove it that with 10% you possibly can have great bread, I do know our flour mills went by way of hell, but they need to understand that we face a particular problem. Right now, our farmers can’t discover a market for cassava, their income is dropping, unemployment is rising whereas we flood this place with imported flour.

“I've talked to them, I'll rise up for the interest of farmers of this country; I don’t assume it is too much to ask for 10%, the federal government has three options, it may well ban wheat, enhance the tariff on wheat or flour import or use 10 % substitution inside baking bread. That 10% substitution alone is four hundred,000 metric tons of top of the range cassava flooring and 1.6million metric tons of cassava tuber.

“We've got reached agreement with flour mills industry a week ago, I’m happy with that. We should build Nigeria and add worth to what we produce and create work for our personal farmers. With that 10% substitution going forward and the cassava transformation motion plan is how flip again agreement into fast motion on the state degree, organising the farmer and cassava processors, to see that there's contractual agreement between them and ensuring that the settlement is fulfilled.

“We're going to monitor it very intently as a result of it is in regards to the farmers of this nation, not about any physique else. I'll wish to ask for state commissioners as they work with the cassava transformation staff put collectively a frame work for close monitoring.

“In every country, whether or not in Netherlands or Brazil, I'm very sure you will not see the farmers with hoes and cutlasses, you'll not find farmers which are poor, they're supported earlier than planting, even after planting, they are supported in term of stabilizing the prices.

“However Nigerian farmers don't have any support around them it's as if you have any person, you placed on a rickety boat within the Atlantic ocean and you say sail or sink. Farmers on this nation have been deserted and they're unable to benefit from they commodity they produced.

“These are a few of the reasons they haven't been in a position to profit from the new technology. Should you have a look at the cassava we're speaking about at this time, the foundation and tubers usually are not too good, compared with Brazil. Basically, they haven't been in a position to get entry to the know-how that can elevate their productivity. Subsequently, Nigerian farmers usually are not with the ability to compete.

“Secondly, they aren't gaining access to most elementary inputs, fertilizer. In case you look across the country in the present day, the government’s assist for farmers is fertilizer but solely eleven percent of the farmers really get it. So, because of that, the typical level of use of fertilizer within the country is simply 14 kilogram per hectare. That 14 kg/ per hectare is so low, compared to those that we are competing towards, the global average is a hundred kg per hectare.

Talking on the memory and future of cassava manufacturing in Nigeria, Deputy Director Root and Tuber Crops, Dr. Victor Odeyemi, defined that the ten% Excessive Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF) composite wheat flour was introduced by Obasanjo’s administration but was not revered by millers as a result of it was a coverage assertion without authorized backing.

“In order to ensure that produced tubers are processed, he (Obasanjo) introduced the inclusion of 10% high quality cassava flour into composite wheat flour. Many SMEs for HCQF had been put in place within a short period. “Nevertheless, many of them soon closed as a result of non-patronage by millers because the ten% was a coverage statement without any legal backing.

“That is where we're at present and on this , the present administration is constructing on by ensuring legal backing for every coverage and make agriculture a business which shall be private-sector driven, using 1000's of individuals along the value chain and ensuring meals safety,” he said.

IPB college students develop cassava noodle

2011-10-27T10:29:00.000+07:00

JAKARTA: Bogor Agricultural College (IPB) college students have developed Mo Mie, an on the spot noodle created from cassava and tempeh flour.

Laeli Nur Hasanah, a pupil in IPB’s public health division, advised information portal okezone.com that her workforce developed the noodle to diversify staple foods, find replacements for flour and to improve the economic value of cassava.

Manufacturing of cassava, an Indonesian staple, has been stymied by its low economic value. The scholars added the tempeh for protein.

Mo Mie can be a substitute for conventional flour-primarily based immediate noodles, Laeli said. Indonesia is the world’s second largest flour-based on the spot noodle shopper, regardless of being a web flour importer.

DA to spice up cassava production in 3 ARMM provinces

2011-10-26T10:22:00.000+07:00

ZAMBOANGA CITY, The Department of Agriculture (DA) will distribute 46 units of cassava grater and presser to the three island provinces of the Autonomous Area in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to boost cassava manufacturing in these areas.

The cassava graters and pressers, which were promised by Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, can be distributed before the year ends to the provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

Edgardo Tabal, regional Agricultural Extension Program Division officer-in-charge, mentioned the distribution of the tools would help the cassava farmers within the three ARMM provinces enhance their income.

Cassava is plentiful within the three provinces as a lot of the farmers plant the crop as their main livelihood in addition to for domestic consumption.

Cassava is broadly grown within the three provinces among the various crops on alluvial, sloping and foothill areas, and some farmers intercrop it with coconut or with upland rice and corn.

Dr. Algerico Mariscal of the Philippine Root Crops Analysis and Training Center in Leyte State College said that the ARMM has the most important consumption of cassava within the nation based on the data of the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics.

ARMM is followed by Zamboanga Peninsula, Bicol, Northern Mindanao, Sorsogon, and the Nationwide Capital Area, Mariscal said.

Tabal said cassava is included as one of many country’s major crops and is also identified beneath the DA’s Food Staple and Stability Program instead that will scale back rice importation.

Cassava may be processed into totally different food products with increased economic value.

Cassava can also be used within the manufacture of commercial products like as a raw materials within the manufacturing of ethanol aside from being used as food and feed ingredients.

Tabal said they just lately performed a Expertise Coaching and Program Orientation on Cassava for Meals Undertaking in this city.

The topics included cassava varieties for meals, cropping system, cultural management, postharvest practices, and cassava meals preparations.

Except for Mariscal, the coaching’s different useful resource speaker was Dr. Candido Damo, nationwide cassava project chief of DA.

Damo said the DA has set a separate funding help to promote cassava and different root crops as major products.

Lethal cyanide present in cassava

2011-09-26T14:15:00.000+07:00

Cassava based mostly merchandise are establishing a growing foothold in the Australian well being meals market, nevertheless, new analysis reveals that some imported merchandise comprise harmful levels of the poison cyanide.

A staple meals for around 800 million folks, the root of the cassava plant, when not correctly processed, accommodates cyanide, which might cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, dizziness, weak spot and death.

New analysis carried out by Asssociate Professor Ros Gleadow, Dr Anna Burns and Dr Timothy Cavagnaro of Monash University’s College of Organic Sciences, along with Dr J. Howard Bradbury from the Australian Nationwide University, examined the cyanide content of a number of merchandise presently obtainable in Melbourne and Canberra.

The testing occurred both earlier than and after the introduction by Meals Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) of a really helpful cyanide restrict of ten parts per million.

Affiliate Professor Gleadow stated the outcomes indicated that while highly processed merchandise and those manufactured in Australia since January 2011 adhered to food safety standards, some imported products contained comparatively high levels of the poison.

“Probably the most alarming instance of this trend is 262 ppm in a single brand of cassava chips. A baby weighing 20 kg would wish to eat 40g to 270g of these chips to succeed in the deadly dose - doubtlessly that’s only one bag of chips.

“The protection requirements are having a positive effect, nevertheless it’s not clear that there’s any testing or enforcement occurring, which is worrying. We would advocate the introduction of proper labelling and enforcement of the safety standards.”

Professor Gleadow mentioned that because cassava-based mostly meals was not extensively consumed in Australia, it was not perceived as a risk.

“If you happen to look to African and Asian nations, where cassava is a big a part of folks’s diets, the risks of consuming large quantities of the unprocessed root are clear. One of the most devastating outcomes of a monotonous cassava-primarily based food regimen is Konzo, a disease which might trigger everlasting paralysis.”

Worth Addition Key to Cassava Revolution in Nigeria

2011-09-22T13:38:00.000+07:00

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has stated that for the nation to spice up cassava production, it should pay extra attention than ever before to value addition.

The Director Common, IITA, Dr. Peter Hartmann, mentioned other than bettering farmers’ incomes, value addition has the ability to address the increasing degree of unemployment in Nigeria.

He spoke at a stakeholders’ forum in Ibadan, Oyo State, to mark the end of the CFC-funded Cassava Worth Chain Project in Nigeria carried out by IITA and its national partners.

Hartman, who was represented by a scientist with IITA, Dr. Gbassey Tarawali, mentioned the establishment of cassava processing centres in Masaka, Lafia, and Kuje for the production of garri, fufu, cassava flour and starch is producing constructive outcomes by providing new streams of incomes to the benefiting communities.

He added that with an annual production of about 44 million tonnes of cassava, Nigeria was in the present day the world’s chief of cassava, but confused that the country was but to harness the maximum benefit from cassava attributable to inadequate processing amenities, and stated this subjects the crop to seasonal glut.

Everlasting Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Funding, Dr. Abubakar Abdullahi, mentioned worth addition to cassava would assist flip around the fortunes of farmers.

The permanent secretary stated cassava provided large alternatives that might broaden the nation’s economic viability and enhance its competitiveness notably in the non-oil sector.

“Nigeria as the largest world producer of cassava can profit immensely from this great crop if concerted efforts were made at harnessing its numerous potentials,” he mentioned,

“Let me name on all key players within the cassava industry and prospective buyers to take a cue from the cassava prototype tasks with a view to putting in standard processing crops to utilise the volume of cassava produced in the nation as a supply of income,” he said.

Nigeria’s Challenge Coordinator, Mrs. Omololu Ope-ewe, said that the approach used in the mission was to strengthen farmers, processors and entrepreneurs by means of the introduction of appropriate technologies.

“The cassava challenge was very profitable in all venture websites namely Kuje (Shabach Food), Mararaba (Joe Beg Farms) and Angwa village in Lafia, Nasarawa State. All the challenge websites got varied intervention measures including building structures, cassava processing tools, packaging materials etc. The products from the websites had been accepted by NAFDAC,” she said.

The IITA-CFC Regional Coordinator, Prof. Lateef Sanni, known as on the beneficiaries to benefit from the processing centres. He urged policymakers and the non-public sector to make the most of the untapped alternatives available within the cassava sector, especially processing.

Stick to rising cassava for good harvests

2011-09-21T17:25:00.000+07:00

Tanzanian farmers ought to stick to rising drought resistant crops in the event that they wish to enhance their harvests in view of world climate modifications that always lead to insufficient rainfall.The recommendation was given yesterday by the minister for Agriculture, Food Safety and Cooperatives, Professor Jumanne Maghembe, in Dar es Salaam to mark the Cassava Week.

Officiating on the launch of the exhibition held at Karimjee grounds, the minister mentioned cultivating drought resistant crops, comparable to cassava, would enable Tanzania overcome the perennial meals shortages.

“With the current world weather changes, which extra typically result in inadequate rainfall, cassava stands out as the suitable crop in most parts of the country. Improving production and productivity of the crop will, subsequently, guarantee meals security and earnings to native and international farmers and the nation,” said Prof Maghembe.

He said cassava was a drought resistant root crop, tolerant to low soil fertility and most pests. The crop can be saved underground safely and conveniently compared to other food crops, he said.Further, he went on to say, it allows for extensive flexibility in planting and harvesting time, the outcome being the potential for having a crop all the year round.

Prof Maghembe said if cassava could be grown and stored in good situations a farmer could realise 20 tonnes of cassava or more. He stated the crop contributes significantly to family food security, earnings and employment opportunities for 500 million people around the world.

“Because of being a strategic food safety crop, cassava might be among crops with high productiveness potentials that may considerably contribute to poverty discount within the country and livelihood basically, thus being a key player in fostering rural improvement,” he said.

Giving examples, he mentioned China needs 500,000 tonnes of cassava from Africa annually. Thus he suggested farmers to extend the crop’s production in order to satisfy the world market.Prof Maghembe mentioned despite its significance, production of the crop was still very low in the country, estimated at six tonnes per hectare in opposition to the potential of over 30 tonnes per hectare.

Tapioca flour and exports growth areas

2011-07-13T09:04:00.000+07:00

The Thai tapioca industry will focus on flour exports and Asian markets as part of its growth strategy over the next five years, when the exports of tapioca products could reach 100 billion baht.

The Commerce Ministry projected that by 2016, domestic demand for cassava roots in ethanol production will surge to 13 million tonnes, while exports could top 22.5 million tonnes, totalling 35.5 million tonnes, up 42% from the current production levels.

Speaking at the World Tapioca Conference 2011, Yanyong Phuangrach, the ministry's permanent secretary, said Thailand should focus more on exporting tapioca flour to substitute for a reduction in the export of tapioca chips and pellets.

The proportion of flour exports is expected to rise to 65% from 51% now, with chips and pellets making up the rest.

Mr Yanyong said the country should build a good image and accept the standards of its tapioca flour and other products to create confidence among importers, buyers and local consumers.

Thai exporters should also expand in promising markets, especially in Asia countries such as China, India and Indonesia, to ensure flour quality and lower transport and insurance costs.

Sharing his view was Pramote Kongthong, president of the North Eastern Tapioca Trade Association, adding that tapioca flour has high potential to be used in food, energy and other industries.

He is confident Thailand's exports of tapioca products will exceed 100 billion baht over the next five years. Currently, there is more investment in tapioca flour factories to supply major customers in China and India.

Tapioca is a key economic crop for the country, creating jobs and income for more than 500,000 families, with plantation areas of about 6.5 million to 7 million rai.

Thailand harvests approximately 20-25 million tonnes of cassava roots each year, 75% of which are processed for export.

Last year, the country shipped 7.27 million tonnes of all types of tapioca products worth US$2.15 billion (68.3 billion baht).

Seree Denworalak, president of the Thai Tapioca Traders Association, said tapioca exports this year were projected at 73 billion baht, of which 44 billion baht would be tapioca flour.

However, the figures may change after a survey on cassava root production in September.

School's giant cassava find

2011-07-12T09:01:00.000+07:00

TEACHERS and students of Bulileka Sanatan Primary School in Labasa got a shock when a seven-month-old cassava plant bore a 20 kilogram crop.

Students from the school uprooted the plant on Thursday.

Headteacher Narsamma Naidu said they were thrilled to see such a gigantic crop in their yard.

"This is a rare sight and we are really surprised that we have this big crop right here in our school garden," Ms Naidu said.

"I asked the garden teacher to dig up a cassava plant for our morning tea because we decided to have tea with cassava this morning," she said.

Ms Naidu said they would cook some for morning tea and the rest would be shared among the teachers who were interested.

She said the growth of the plant would have to be attributed to soil fertility given the creek that flowed nearby.

She said five students planted the crop in December.

Cassava prices continue to climb

2011-07-07T12:51:00.000+07:00

Cassava prices continued to move up into the second half of 2011 although the movement is slower than last year. Data from the Ministry of Commerce noted in the consumer price of cassava has risen 1.13% in the first half of 2011, the average price in January Rp 2988 per kilogram (kg) to Rp 3022 per kg in June 2011.

Rhomy Irawan, Second Secretary Cassava Farmers Association of Indonesia (Aspesindo) said the current high price increases that occurred in cassava farmers. From an average price of fresh cassava maximum of Rp 600 to Rp 650 per kg to Rp 900 to Rp 1100 per kg, this price varies depending on the type of cassava and cassava garden access.

"The price of land has increased beyond our expectations, this might be because there is a rise in demand. But we still observe whether the increase is only temporary because there are speculators or will be stable," said Rhomy via telephone on Tuesday (5 / 7).

Cassava Indonesia Society Head I Suhayo Husen said the price increase is driven by high demand from both domestic industry and overseas. Husen said Indofood demand for semi-finished cassava processed into chips alone reached 200,000 tons to 300,000 tons per year, whereas to produce 1 kg of chips it takes about 3.5 kg of fresh cassava.

Husen mention half the price of processed cassava is also increased from an average of Rp 1,500 per kg in January 2011 to Rp 2,000 in June. The high demand and prices offered by the food processing industry is made from raw cassava by Husen create more incentive to cassava production.

"People who were not planted cassava is now so willing to plant cassava. In East Kalimantan, opened 600 ha of new cassava fields, in Central Sulawesi, there are 600 hectares as well, then there is 3000 ha in Cianjur," Husen said when contacted Tuesday (5 / 7 ).

Rhomy premise that the additions of cassava plantations up to 35% from the end of last year due to weather factors that make farmers switch vegetable planting cassava. He also said Aspesindo currently pioneering the cultivation of cassava in Sukabumi is expected to increase local production by 50%.

Besides expanding production area, Husen stated farmers MSI members also use the seeds of cassava and cassava Manggu Darul Hidayah which has production capacity of up to 100 tons per hectare (Tonnes / Ha). Whereas ordinary cassava seedlings only has production capacity of 20 Ton / Ha. Husen said with this addition, the production of cassava this year could reach 25 million tones to 26 million tons, up about 10% of 2010 production of 23.9 million tons.

Husen said the business potential of cassava is still wide open due to the domestic industry only require an average of 1 million tons of tapioca flour per year, whereas to produce 1 kg of tapioca starch is needed 3.5 kg of fresh cassava. The need for modified cassava flour (Mocaf) also reached an average of 1 million tons per year. Not to mention the demand for cassava chip exports to China are one factory alone could require up to 4 million tones of cassava per year. From this demand, according to records MSI, Indonesia can only meet 5% or about 200,000 tons of cassava chips.

But worrying about the price of fresh cassava Rhomy can sag back to a level of maximum USD 700 if the supply is abundant and demand was rising from the current position. Moreover, if farmers are still only offer fresh cassava alone, the potential for export business could be released.

"Demand for export out of it in processed form, while to hold a cassava cutting machine and dryer that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars for one machine only. If for cooperatives or farmer groups combined (Gapoktan) is still a little heavy," said Rhomy.

"Cassava War" Bustling Tela's Festival

2011-07-06T12:22:00.001+07:00

Center souvenirs Cake Tela Clark held a "Festival Tela Indonesia" (FTI) first in Yogyakarta. Activities that are packed with a variety of creativity, will take place at the Square Puro Pakualaman on July 16 to 17 later.

FTI chairman of the Committee, Firmansyah Budi Prasetyo said that this event will be displayed in more than 100 processed foods from cassava and non-cassava. With the purpose of promoting the branding tela as food quality is not inferior to the other foodstuffs.

"All this is still viewed tela ndeso products that are less appreciated by the community, especially as they still lay on local food products. In fact, Yogya is the main cassava-producing areas in Java with the production of more than 800 thousand pounds per year," he said on Monday ( 4 / 7).

To that end, advanced Word, people should know that the processed products tela which has now grown with different variants of processed food and non food-grade and high flavor.

This event will be enlivened by Tela War or the "Cassava War" which will be followed 100 people who are members of various communities. The war in question is using tela already crushed for the smear to each participant.

"Cassava War" wants to show it is a struggle to introduce more refined products at a time when Indonesia tela flooded with imported food products, "he said.

Event FTI also enlivened by the "Ball Grebeg Tela" tela form of raw materials and other tubers to be paraded from the town square towards Bintaran Pakualaman by Bregada. Arriving at the location, raw materials will be incorporated into processed products tela, which in turn will be contested by the public.

"This grand event we hope to be able to break the record Muri with the highest category of processed products initiated Agency for Food Security and Guidance (BKPP) DI Yogyakarta," said Word.

Collaboration on cassava-based ethanol

2011-06-25T09:30:00.000+07:00

Thailand has teamed up with neighbouring countries to develop ethanol from fresh cassava, aiming to turn the kingdom into a regional technology and production centre for cassava-based renewable fuel.

Under a programme called South-South Technology Transfer: Ethanol Production from Cassava, which is funded by the Global Environmental Facility (GIF), Thailand will be a focal point in forging cooperation with Vietnam, Laos, and Burma.

The four-year project, which will be launched next year, includes two pilot ethanol plants to be built in Thailand and Vietnam. The facilities could be developed for commercial-scale production in the next phase through a partnership with interested investors and banks.

The Thai pilot project will be located at an alcohol production plant of the Liquor Distillery Organisation (LDO) in Bang Khla, Chachoengsao, to produce ethanol from fresh cassava between 2012 and 2013. Next month it will test ethanol production from tapioca chips, and it has produced molasses-based ethanol in the past.

"The main problem for ethanol production in Thailand now is the relatively high cost of raw materials, as the price of molasses is increasing," said LDO director Ittithep Visessmit.

Tapioca chips are now priced at seven baht per kilogramme, compared to three baht per kg for fresh cassava, which also generates a higher yield for ethanol production.

"Once we can produce ethanol from fresh cassava, we will contract with farmers to lower the cost of raw materials," he added.

The pilot plant in Hanoi will be operated between 2013 and 2014 with capacity of 50 litres a day of E100, less than the 200 litres at the Thai plant, said the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, a partner in this project.

The National Science and Technology Development Agency will receive 80 million baht from GIF to help with technology transfer to neighbouring countries, as Thailand is more advanced in this area.

Thailand is the world's largest exporter of tapioca products, with annual production of 25-30 million tonnes.

Cassava exports increase as China prices surge

2011-06-24T08:23:00.000+07:00

Viet Nam exported US$638 million of cassava in the first five months of the year, nearly equal to 110 per cent of the entire export revenue of last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Although the domestic price has risen to VND5,800 a kg, cassava is still exported to China in large quantities because it can fetch higher prices.

In recent years, exports to China accounted for about 5 million tonnes annually.

Viet Nam has about 510,000ha of cassava planted, with an annual output of nearly 9 million tonnes.

The ministry estimates the country's domestic demand for cassava this year will be 8.12 million tonnes.

Of that figure, 1.89 million tonnes are used for producing ethanol, and the remaining volume for animal feed and confectionary products.

Pham Duc Binh, deputy chairman of the Viet Nam Animal Feed Association, said cassava accounted for 30-40 per cent of input materials in animal feed production.

However, cassava is also exported so domestic animal feed plants have not been able to buy enough for production, Binh told Viet Nam Economic Times.

Le Khac Triet, director of the Viet Nam Cassava and Cassava Starch Club, said since 2009 cassava had become an agricultural plant with high economic value.

The price of cassava has increased to VND5,700-6,000 a kg, compared to just VND200-500 a kg in 2007-08 and VND4,000 a kg in 2010.

Farmers in central provinces have expanded the area under cassava cultivation, raising concerns among local authorities about forest protection and transferring to cassava cultivation.

In Quang Ngai Province's Son Ha District, for instance, farmers have cleared protective forests upstream of the Thach Nham River to grow cassava.

Ta Tien, acting head of the Son Tra District Forest Protection Bureau, said this situation had happened over the past few months.

In 2006-10, Quang Ngai had planned for 13,500 ha of cassava in 2010, but the area had increased to 21,000ha in 2010, and is continuing to rise.

In Ha Tinh Province, hundreds of households in Ky Anh District had also destroyed protective forests to grow cassava.

Triet warned that cassava had become a hot product and when output exceeds demand, the price could drop as it did in 2007-08.

At that time, it would be difficult for farmers to switch to other crops because the fertility of the soil would be eroded after three to four years of growing cassava, he said.

To resolve the cassava material shortage, the cultivation area should not be increased, but measures should be taken to increase productivity, Triet said.

Farmers in some countries have harvested cassava output of 40 tonnes per ha a year while in Viet Nam output is only 17.2 tonnes per ha.

Measures to increase cassava productivity include applying advanced farming techniques and finding high-yield cassava strains, he said.

He added that his club had found new cassava strains with a high yield of 40 tonnes per ha a year.

Farmers chop down sugar cane to grow cassava

2011-06-14T09:41:00.000+07:00

For the last 37 years, Quang Ngai province has been considered the “sugar cane metropolis” of the central region. However, farmers in Quang Ngai province do not grow sugar cane any more, but cassavas instead. Cassavas can bring higher profits than sugar cane. The area for growing sugar cane has been reduced gradually in the central province.

Currently, dozens of intermediary merchants are competing fiercely with cassava processing plants to collect cassava from farmers. Plants are purchasing fresh cassava from farmers at 1800 dong per kilo, and merchants have also raised the purchase price to 1800 dong per kilo. Cassava slicing machines have been running day and night, while merchants have been going to every corner in villages and communes to collect cassavas.

As the demand for cassava has increased, farmers have given up sugar cane farming and shifted to growing cassavas. In Tinh Tan Tay commune in Son Tinh district, which had been well known as a sugar cane area, 2/3 of the sugar cane plants have been chopped down to make way for cassava cultivation. People in the commune now rush to sell cassavas to merchants, though the harvest will only come in two months.

Nguyen Thi Hai, a farmer in Tinh An commune, said that last year, she sold fresh cassava at 400,000-500,000 dong per ton, while she now can sell it at 900,000 per ton. If she sells dried cassavas, she will get 1.8 million dong per ton. Hai said that farmers can have two cassava crops a year, while they do not need to spend much time to take care of the cassava fields. Meanwhile, sugar cane only has one crop a year, while the price of a ton of sugar cane is lower at 700,000-750,000 dong per ton.

Since the profits brought in by cassavas are double those of sugar cane, farmers have rushed to grow cassavas. As a result, sugar refineries have been seriously lacking sugar cane to process, while cassava processing plants have been enlarging.

According to Le Tuan Toan, Deputy General Director of Quang Ngai Farm Produce and Food Company, the company now has five cassava processing plants, including two in Quang Ngai, one in Phu Yen, one in Dak To, and one in Tay Ninh province. A bio-fuel plant that makes fuel from sliced cassava is now under construction in Quang Ngai province.

East Java Developing Cassava as Substitute Rice

2011-06-13T09:27:00.000+07:00

To anticipate a food crisis due to extreme weather conditions, the East Java Food Security Council (BKP) has begun to create a substitute-rice to replace the real staple food. The mocaf-based (modified cassava flour) ‘rice’ is undergoing testing prior to production.

“We have been developing it since 2011. We are seeing the results now. Hopefully, we can launch it by October at the Food Security Day,” said Apriyanto, the head of East Java BKP Food Consumption and Diversification Board, yesterday.

According to Apriyanto, the process to produce this substitute-rice was conducted jointly with the Jember State university’s Faculty of Agricultural Technology. Although it is a substitute the nutritional value of this cassava-rice will be no less than the natural rice.

The nutritional value of the substitute- rice—like natural rice—fulfills at least three nutritional requirements: protein, regulatory nutrients, and the same carbohydrate content as natural rice.

Apriyanto explained that in order to obtain the same flavor as natural rice, the substitute rice is a mixture consisting 30 percent natural rice flour and 70 percent of mocaf-based flour. “We even made it look like natural rice. The flour will be formed into grains the size of original rice,” he said.

According to Apriyanto, the same appearance of the substitute rice was aimed at accelerating the adjustment of its consumption. “People’s first impression is from its look and its taste,” he said.

Contacted separately, Wibowo Eko Putro, the East Java Agriculture Council chairman, said that the cassava flour was selected to produce this rice-substitute because of the high cassava production in East Java. In 2010, for example, East Java ranked the highest in Indonesia for cassava production, about 3.642 million tons per year. “The center for the mocaf-rice development contributed around Rp5 billion to the effort,” said Eko.

The development of the mocaf is also intended to reduce East Java’s dependency on wheat imports which amounts to about 7 million tons this year.

From tapioca to biofuel

2011-06-06T13:53:00.001+07:00

SWEET tea-time treats may soon find their way into your car’s petrol tank — a research team from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman’s (Utar) Faculty of Engineering and Science is studying the use of cassava, better known as tapioca, and sweet potato in the production of biofuels.

“Rising global crude oil prices has prompted the search for alternative energy sources to reduce the reliance on crude oil, and this has opened up a lot of opportunities worldwide,” says Dr Low Chong Yu, who leads the research team comprising students Lim Syly, Koh Cin Cong and Voon Meng Seap.

Dr Low says unlike fossil fuels which are depleting, biofuels are renewable energy sources, which can not only reduce air pollution and greenhouse effects caused by burning of fossil fuels, but also enable sustainable development that provides employment and improves economy.

Dr Low adds that the development of biofuels in other countries is quite advanced. For instance, ethanol as a biofuel is widely used in gasohol – a mixture of gasoline (petrol) and alcohol – in Brazil, the United States and Thailand.

Although the development and use of biofuels is critical, it remains unpopular in Malaysia — a fact that Utar hopes to change by encouraging its Chemical Engineering students to study the development of biofuels.

“Our studies involve using cassava and sweet potato as raw materials to produce biofuels; through fermentation, they produce ethanol, a type of alcohol,” says Lim.

Koh concurs and says, “Both cassava and sweet potato are rich in starch and suitable for the fermentation process to produce ethanol.”

He adds that ethanol can replace petrol and as it produces less carbon dioxide, it reduces the greenhouse effects.

Furthermore, the country’s tropical climate is conducive for planting these two crops, which grow quickly and have no special cultivation requirements.

P20M assistance for cassava farmers

2011-06-02T12:24:00.000+07:00

Cassava farmers in Cebu’s northern towns are going to get financial assistance from the Cebu People’s Multi-Purpose Cooperative (CPMPC) which is allocating P20 million to boost their production.

The said endeavor is in partnership with the Coop-National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO) Party-list and the San Miguel Corporation where the latter is going to buy the farmers’ cassava products.

“We will help in raising that amount for our cassava farmers to boost their production,” said Coop-NATCCO Rep. Cresente C. Paez. “I recently met with our cassava farmers in Bantayan Island during the Harvest Festival and I witnessed a tremendous excitement on their part,”

Paez added that said financial assistance will benefit 1,000 farmers not only on this island but also those in Tuburan, Daan Bantayan, Bogo and Medellin as the expansion of cassava production in those towns is now being facilitated by the CPMPC.

Based on studies, each farmer will earn up to P30,000 to P40,000 per cropping season for every hectare.

Moreover, to facilitate the release of the P20 million financial assistance,Coop-NATCCO will tap the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) through the Cebu Credit Surety Fund.

Company spurs cassava planting

2011-06-01T12:22:00.000+07:00

Cassava (“balinghoy” or “balanghoy”) is staging a comeback in Negros with Ginebra San Miguel Inc. providing a ready market.

Farmers with standing cassava crops from Cauayan, Sipalay and Hinobaan have so far supplied the company’s distillery in Bago City, Negros Occidental with over 290,000 kilos of dried cassava chips.

The distillery needs four million kilos of dried cassava chips monthly as raw material for its alcohol production, said Joel Guevarra of GSMI. However, due to the current lack of supply of quality chips coming from Negros, GSMI has to source its needs from Mindanao, Thailand and Vietnam.

Ginebra procures its Negros supply in tandem with its accredited local assemblers. These assemblers, in turn, source the chips by inking a Production and Purchase Agreement, with local farmers possessing idle lands.

GSMI is specifically tapping idle lands to provide additional income and livelihood opportunities for rural folks, Guevarra said.

Under the PPA, the assemblers provide farmers with free cassava planting materials, and commit to buy their produce in dried chips form not lower than a guaranteed minimum price which they agree on and set prior to actual planting. Farmers are also given training on sound cassava farming practices, and soil conservation in support of sustainable agriculture.

If the prevailing market price of dried chips is higher than the set minimum purchase price come harvest time, farmers give GSMI’s assemblers the first option to buy the chips at the prevailing price before they sell to the open market. Farmers may also opt to sell their chips directly to Ginebra which the company buys at P8 per kilo delivered to its Bago City distillery.

Over a hundred farmers with idle lands from Southern Negros have already entered into the agreement since its introduction last year. Their first harvest is expected by the coming third quarter.

GSMI is anticipating a further increase in the number beneficiaries with the addition of at least 600 hectares set to be planted with cassava beginning this May. This includes idle lands in Silay City, EB Magalona and Hinigaran, Negros Occidental; Basay, Bayawan and Sta. Catalina in Negros Oriental.

Meanwhile, harvest is ongoing in the company’s demonstration farms located in Victorias, Bago City, Pontevedra, Talisay and Candoni. Similar farms were also opened recently in San Carlos City and the municipality of San Lorenzo in Guimaras. These farms were planted with the popular food grade Golden Yellow variety along with the industrial-grade KU50 and Rayong 5 originally from Thailand. Average fresh tubers yield in these demo farms are at 20,000 kilos per hectare.

GSM is inviting other farmers with idle lands from Cadiz City, Negros Occidental down South to Siaton, Negros Oriental to partner with their accredited assemblers in growing cassava. The company has already started distributing free planting materials among listed participants in preparation for the start of the planting season this May and June.

Region could look into cassava sector

2011-05-08T11:08:00.001+07:00

Agriculture remains the source and cause of the largest news in the region. Inflation, particularly the rising price of food in all of the region, seems to have hit many headlines.

This can be attributed to the unpredictable weather patterns and to a great extent poor planning and anticipation by both farmers and governments alike.
However, there seems to be an opportunity in all of these situations when it comes to the issue of food security.

For every challenge, there is an opportunity. The answer, in part, lies with a primary solution to rural household food consumption and to a large measure household/commercial gains. One such product is the cassava crop.
Carbohydrates is one of the three major nutrients which supply the body with energy after fat and protein.

Cassava is the third-largest source of carbohydrates for meals in the world, and has been described as the ‘bread of the tropics.”
Cassava is grown all of over the East African region. It is a drought-resistant crop, not labour intensive, easy to tend and is used both as a bread and its leaves as a source or gravy.

It can be eaten raw, steamed, boiled, roasted and fried. Cassava is also dried and milled as a flour.

Cassava has proven unlimited uses. Besides its nutritional attributes, cassava is used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, bio-fuels, alcoholic beverages and animal feed. Cassava starch is now a major ingredient in the paper industry.
Starch is also used in textile manufacturing. It is a popular base for adhesives, particularly those designed to bond paper, glass, mineral wool and clay.
There have been attempts by some countries in the world, notably India, Vietnam, and China will grow cassava on a large scale. In Africa, Nigeria has shown the way and has reaped dividends.

In the region, a project spearheaded by the Rwanda army is setting a precedent whose success could be a case study of how organised commercial agriculture could spur rural development.

However, a regional scheme, funded by member countries, bolstered by integrated scientific research and collaborative initiatives is a good way to garner integration and get our communities out of poverty.

Urged to rethink the plan to develop cassava plants

2011-05-07T19:59:00.001+07:00

Cassava products have been selling like hot cakes. Meanwhile, the consumption is expected to increase further in the next years. However, development programmers still have been called to reconsider the plan to develop cassava plants.

The rise of the cassava plants
It is now the second time that Vietnam has witnessed the boom of cassava plant since 1975. The first time occurred during the first years after the country’s union, when the rice and maize output was low. Just within three years, since 1979, the cassava growing area increased by two folds, to the record high of 461,400 hectares, while the output also climbed to the record high of 3.422 million tons.

Later, when Vietnam became a rice export power, cassava plants became less attractive in the eyes of farmers, who preferred to grow rice to earn money.

However, cassava plants, once again, have become “favored” by farmers, which have hindered the development of many other kinds of plants. The cassava growing area has increased by 7.6 percent to 496,200 hectares, while the output has increased by 15.7 percent to 8.522 million tons.

Vietnamese farmers have been rushing to grow cassava because they can see the high demand from the Chinese market.

In 2010, Vietnam exported 1.7 million tons of cassava products in total, of which, China alone consumed 92.4 percent. The percentage was 94.1 percent in the first two months of the year. Fresh cassava has also been carried out continuously to China across the border gates.

Why cassava?
While Vietnamese farmers feel happy with the money they earn from exporting cassava to China, experts have called on to reconsider the plan on developing cassava plants.

Nguyen Dinh Bich, a well known trade expert from the Trade Research Institute, said on Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon, that Vietnam is not the country which has advantages in developing cassava plants for export. In the world, only the countries with large area and thin population density can reserve many areas for growing cassava. This explains why in the world, only four countries have the cassava growing areas of more than one million hectares, namely Nigeria (3.8 million hectares), Brazil (1.8-1.9 million), Thailand (1.3 million) and Indonesia (1.2 million).

Besides Ghana, there are only three other poor countries in the world which have the cassava growing areas exceeding Vietnam’s, including Angola, Tanzania and Mozambique.

Regarding the yield; though Vietnam’s cassava output in 2009 was high at 16.8 tons per hectare, which was much higher than the average yield in the world, the figure is still lower than the average level of 20.2 tons per hectare in Asia and 22.7 tons per hectares in Thailand.

The demand for cassava is believed to increase sharply in the time to come, as enterprises need cassava to make many kinds of products. Cassava is being used in making seasoning powder, used in food industry. Especially, the demand for animal breeding alone is at 1.5 million tons per annum. Besides, Vietnam also has five ethanol factories and tens of other factories making alcohol of different kinds, which also need cassava.

However, Bich has pointed out that Vietnam cannot compete with China, even though the cassava yield has been increasing considerably in recent years. Since the cassava prices have been increasing too sharply, many enterprises have to shift to use other kinds of materials, which explain why the imports of maize and wheat have been increasing rapidly.

The third problem that experts have pointed out to persuade development programmers to put a brake on the cassava growing area development, is that while growing cassavas mostly serve the demand from foreign countries, Vietnam would lack land to develop other important farm produce, because the agriculture land fund will not be enlarged.

Statistics show that while cassava plants see “hot development”, the growing areas of many other kinds of plants has been decreasing. The cotton growing area, for example, has reduced by 6.9 percent per annum, while the sugar cane area by 1.3 percent per annum. Especially, the cashew growing area has been decreasing for the third consecutive years by 11 percent in total.

Govt launches sh72b cassava project

2011-04-07T08:12:00.001+07:00

THE Government has launched a $30m (sh72b) project to promote food security through sustainable cassava production in the country.

The project is also aimed at improving peoples’ incomes and promoting commercial farming.

The project coordinator, George Lukwago, said Uganda would lead regional research in cassava through the regional centre of excellence.
“Uganda is providing leadership in cassava research that will take the East African countries to the levels of world class success stories,” Lukwago said.

The five-year project will be implemented by the National Agricultural Advisory and Research Organisation (NARO) through the agriculture ministry.

Funded through a World Bank loan, the project will also be implemented under the Eastern Africa agricultural productivity programme (EAAPP).

Under the EAAPP project, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia have received $30m each to promote cassava, dairy, rice and wheat growing on a commercial scale.

The cassava centre of excellence, one of the components of the project, was recently launched by the agriculture minister, Hope Mwesigye, at the national crops resources research instituite at Namulonge in Kampala.

“This is the time to increase local production and safeguard our communities from hunger and unproductive livelihoods,” Mwesigye said.

Training to reduce post-harvest cassava losses

2011-04-06T08:42:00.000+07:00

The small Industries Development Organisation (SIDO) in Dar es Salaam has initiated a training programme for cassava farmers aimed at adding value and reducing post harvest losses.

Speaking to this paper recently in Dar es Salaam, the SIDO regional manager Hamwel Meena, said the programme trains farmers on adding value to the crop hence reduce post harvest losses and poverty.

It was not easily established how much is lost for the cassava crop during post harvest period nationally, but all the country crops losses amount to between 35 to 40 percent.

“We are training farmers how to preserve cassava in a modern way in order to add value to the crop and reduce post harvest losses,” he said.

He said they train farmers on how to refine cassava for value addition and hence enable the farmers to get more money than when selling the crop in unprocessed form.

Meena said the price of fresh cassava from a farm is quiet different compared to the preserved one.

He said already SIDO has trained cassava farmers in Mvuti, Ilala District where they have started to process the crop.

Todate at least 15 groups of farmers have already received training provided between December last year and January this year.

"However, for this new technology to be beneficial, medium and large-scale investors need to get involved in exploiting cassava as a source of industrial raw material and not just as a food crop," he added.

Industries in Tanzania can consume up to 47,000 tonnes of raw cassava in form of high quality cassava flour, starch and cassava chips that can substitute expensive imports in breweries, textiles, food, adhesives, bakeries, and animal feed mills.

Cassava is highly marketable raw material but the transition of the crop to an industrial commodity is greatly constrained because its processing is in the hands of small-scale entrepreneurs, according to agricultural experts.

Speaking to this paper, one of the farmer identified as Hasan Mjopeka, said they have been motivated by the ready market for cassava flour.

Cassava farming gains ground

2011-04-03T09:00:00.000+07:00

A growing number of farmers with idle lands in southern Negros are looking forward to earning extra income from planting cassava or “balanghoy,” as Ginebra San Miguel Inc. accelerated its program encouraging cassava farming in unproductive areas throughout the island.

Representatives of GSMI recently explained the program during a visit to farmers from Siaton and Bayawan City in southern Negros Oriental, saying that Ginebra is specifically tapping idle lands to provide income and livelihood opportunities in the areas with the company as the guaranteed market for the produce.

The program also promotes sustainable agriculture by training farmers on sound crop production and management practices including soil conservation.

Speaking before officers of the Lapay Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Multi Purpose Cooperative, and the Siaton Federation of Farmer Cooperatives, GSMI’s head for Advocacy, Joel Guevara, said Negros was the hands down choice for propagating the crop being the site of the company’s distillery – Distileria Bago - which uses both dried cassava chips and molasses as raw material for its alcohol production.

Due to the lack of supply and quality of chips, the company is presently sourcing its supply from Mindanao, Thailand and Vietnam. Its Starch Milk Plant alone requires four million kilos of chips a month.

To date, over a hundred farmers from Calatrava, Cauayan, Sipalay City and Hinoba-an in Negros Occidental already entered into an agreement with Ginebra San Miguel through the company’s accredited assemblers.

Those from Basay, Bayawan and Siaton in Negros Oriental are set to sign separate PPA agreements, Guevara said.

Under the scheme called “Production and Purchase Agreement,” farmers plant, harvest and process cassava into dried chips. GSMI’s assembler, in turn, provides them with free cassava planting materials, and guarantees to buy the chips at a minimum floor price which is set prior to actual planting.

Should the prevailing market price for dried cassava chips be higher than the agreed minimum on price by harvest time, farmers shall give the assembler the “Right of First Refusal,” the first option to buy their chips at the prevailing market price. If the assembler waives this right, the farmers can then sell their produce to the open market.

Farmers may also opt to sell their cassava chips directly to GSMI as a last option. Ginebra currently buys dried cassava chips at P8 per kilo delivered to its distillery in Bago City.

Cassava, also known as “balanghoy”, is a perennial root crop grown throughout the country for food, animal feeds and alcoholic drinks, among others. It is widely adaptable to varying weather and environmental conditions such as typhoons and droughts.

GSMI has planted the popular Golden Yellow variety and industrial-grade KU 50 and Rayong 5 in some 160 hectares of idle lands in eight demonstration farms.

These farms are located in Victorias, Bago, Pontevedra, Talisay, San Carlos, Candoni and San Vicente in Guimaras island. Average yield of the industrial grade varieties in these demo farms are at 20,000 kilos per hectare.

Government agencies supporting Ginebra San Miguel in the program are the departments of Agrarian Reform and Agriculture.

Expects Over 15,000 Tonnes of Cassava Harvest

2011-04-02T09:00:00.000+07:00

The Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF), expects a large harvest after the recent expansion of its cassava farm located in the Eastern Province.

Brig. Gen. Alex Ibambasi, the CEO of RDF's new production arm, Agro Processing Industries Ltd, explained the expansion.

"We have expanded and added over 600 hectares and we now have a total of 1,400 hectares," Ibambasi said adding that harvest begins next month.

"We expect a minimum of 15,000 tonnes but it could go up to 19,000. We will sell it. We will not process it because, currently, we don't have processing plants," Ibambasi said.

The cassava project in employs over 500 people.

Beans are also planted within the cassava plantations.

In Gabiro, on a 2,000-hectare farm, about 4,000 tonnes were recently harvested.

Ibambasi said that they now plan to plant soya beans on 2,000 hectares in addition to 2,000 hectares of beans.

"We also have about 100 hectares of pineapples that have just been planted. We have 10 coffee washing stations, all over the country, and we will start buying coffee from growers, next week. We target to get 500 tonnes of green coffee."

Agro Processing Industries Ltd also has a big plan for silk production (raising silkworms).

"We are in the process of building silk rearing houses so that we can export silk, in the near future," Ibambasi said.

New Cassava Factory Nears Completion

2011-04-01T09:00:00.001+07:00

A new cassava processing plant in Ruhango district, worth Rwf5billion, is expected to boost economic activity, once complete in September.

The plant will have the capacity to process 250 tonnes of raw cassava and produce 60 tonnes of cassava flour on a daily basis.

Rwanda Development Bank (BRD) is funding the project.

According to Jack Kayonga, the BRD Managing Director, the state-of the-art facility will benefit both the residents and the country's economy

"The factory will increase the residents' incomes and provide market for the local cassava farmers," Kayonga said.

"This is a step towards development and will enable Rwanda to compete in the regional market and reduce dependence on imported cassava products," he added.

Kayonga noted that it's the duty of the bank to propel such development programs, which have been set by the government.

The Local leaders noted that the plant will buy Cassava from farmers in other districts, including Ruhango, Kamonyi, Bugesera and Nyanza.

Vitali Rwibasira, a representative of cassava farmers noted that once completed, the factory will bring a smile to farmers who had in the past lost hope in cassava production due to lack market.

He also noted that business and trade in the community will be boosted and social welfare will improve.

The Cassava plant will create 68 full time jobs and many other temporary ones.

Cassava streak hits Nebbi

2011-03-31T09:28:00.001+07:00

CASSAVA brown streak disease has hit Nebbi district, destroying over 33 acres of cassava gardens under the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) programme.

Anthony Okwir, the district production coordinator, said the cassava variety (T.M.E 204) that was supplied for food security had been affected.

Okwir identified the three worst hit sub-counties as Wadelai, Nebbi and Erussi, which are known to be the food baskets for the region.

“We are working hard to contain the disease before it spreads further,” Okwir said.

According to Okwir, the disease is spread through propagation of infected cuttings and by a white fly vector (Bemisiatabaci).

Okwir said an infected cassava tuber shows a corky and yellow-brown necrotic root.

He urged farmers in the district to burn all the cassava stalks from gardens that have been infected.

“We have set a committee to see that the disease does not spread in the district by restricting the replanting of the infected stalk,” Okwir said.

Betty Adima, the resident district commissioner, called for help from the relevant ministries.

Geoffrey Orom, a farmer in Erussi sub-county, said: “We are worried and the Government needs to intervene to avert this situation, otherwise we predict shortage of food in the region.”

Cassava can be Nigeria’s mega export earner

2011-03-12T14:05:00.001+07:00

THE World Bank has said Nigeria as the largest producer of cassava, could develop its economy by exporting quality cassava and other commodities other than oil.

World Bank’s Country Director in Nigeria, Mr Omo Ruhl, said this at a forum in Abuja.

“You have the most cassava in the world but apparently it is not the best. The quality may not be there. So let us focus on how we increase the standard,” he said.
The Country Director said that one of the greatest problems with the Nigerian economy was its over reliance on oil, as well as the mono-revenue and export economy system.

“Nigeria is not a mono-product economy. It is a mono-revenue economy and a mono-export economy because in the other sectors, there are no exports, very low fiscal revenues. That is where your challenge is, but oil is only 17 per cent of your GDP, 83 per cent is everything else taken together,” Ruhl said.

He added that Nigeria stood to benefit a lot in developing its agriculture and the wholesale and retail services sectors, which, he said, were actually bigger than the oil sector.

“Oil is actually the fourth largest sector of the Nigerian economy.

The largest sector is agriculture, the second largest sector is wholesale and retail and services is the third largest

Cassava beer plans mature

2011-03-11T14:07:00.002+07:00

The UK-listed brewer, like many food and beverage companies, is seeking to localise sourcing – in this case, switching barley for domestically grown cassava in Africa – in an attempt to secure supplies and cut costs.

Additionally, SABMiller hopes that having a cheaper beer will allow it to tap the vast swaths of drinkers who now stick to home brew.

But the obstacles proved bigger than the brewer envisaged.

The beer is now expected to go on sale in Mozambique in six to nine months’ time, nearly a year after the initial launch plans for late 2010. Assuming this is successful, the beer will then be rolled out to other parts of the continent.

“Where we are and what we have achieved in the timing we have set, we have done quite well,” said Gerry van den Houten, technical, supply chain and enterprise development director at SABMiller’s African operations.

“But if we could have done it six months earlier, that would have been great.”

The original plan was to brew the cassava beer in Angola, and the group built a state-of-the-art brewery just outside the capital Luanda.

The setbacks ranged from political and financial – when oil prices fell in late 2009, the crunch on foreign exchange meant SABMiller could not get enough to pay suppliers – to technical issues.

The squeeze on foreign exchange prompted SABMiller to move the pilot project from Angola to Mozambique, where it has succeeded in winning concessions on excise tax: the cassava beer will pay just one-quarter of the duty payable on mainstream beer.

That, in turn, means SABMiller can sell its beer at 65 to 70 per cent of the price of mainstream beer, a level at which it aims to bring in a whole new set of drinkers. It believes the brand could account for about one-fifth of its portfolio in the region.

Mr Van den Houten said the company was now “90 per cent there” in terms of processing technology after several headaches along the way.

Cassava is largely made up of water, making it heavy and expensive to transport, and also suffers from a short shelf life once harvested.

The brewer has got around this by developing mobile processing units capable of squeezing out the water and bringing the plant to a stable (and lighter) state ready to be transported to the mill.

Despite the travails, Mr Van den Houten is confident localising the supply chain will prove beneficial.

“It has cost advantages, shortens the supply chain and gives us an opportunity to get involved in local entrepreneur initiatives and job creation,” he said.

SABMiller now imports some 80 per cent of its raw materials, including packaging, mainly from Europe and South Africa.

Cassava is Africa’s largest crop in terms of tonnage, but is very much a subsistence crop according to Mr Van den Houten.

Depending on how much drinkers take to the new brew, he reckons the company could take crops from 2,000 smallholder farmers in Mozambique.

Cassava farmers scramble to meet the demand from Okinawa

2011-02-20T20:01:00.000+07:00

Cassava farmers in Batu, East Java, be besieged importers from Okinawa, Japan. "The market in Okinawa is very promising, but we had difficulty getting supplies from farmers in sufficient quantities," said Luki Budiarti, Chairman of the Joint Group of Farmers in Sub Bumiaji Arjuna Partner, Stone Town, on Thursday (17 / 2).

According to Luki, who is also the owner of CV Arjuna Flora, in at least six times a year shipment volume of cassava to Okinawa with an average of four containers. One container with a capacity of 635 tons and valued at USD 250 million. In total the farmers can be pocketed at least $ 1 billion. Yam-shaped pasta that is sent is frozen, the cooling in temperatures of minus 18 degrees Celsius.

The difficulty of getting supplies because not many farmers who are interested in cultivating sweet potatoes or cassava on a large scale. As a result, Mitra Arjun forced to seek supplies from farmers in other areas, such as Nongkojajar in Pasuruan and Mojokerto.

To overcome this, the government is expected to foster farmers involved, as well as build its processing industry facilities. In Okinawa, the cassava is processed into one chinsuko making materials. These cakes have a variety of flavors, types, and forms to become a preferred tourist souvenirs.

Cassava farming is a goldmine for youths

2011-02-19T19:33:00.000+07:00

Feeding a population of 150 million is a big challenge because of the high cost of labour and equipment needed in farming. In this interview with BUKOLA FASUYI, the Managing Director, Sam Mike & Vic Nigeria Limited, Segun Adewunmi, looks at ways of addressing the challenge; opportunities available to youths in cassava farming. Excerpts:

You have expressed displeasure on the policies of the Federal and state governments. What do you want them to do?

You are very correct. I think we should have a National Advisory Board or Committee comprising stakeholders in commercial farming who will use their experience as the basis for their advice and proposal, especially to the Central Bank on the right and correct ways to finance agriculture. Right now, the approach is based on the belief that finance through loan is the only problem of farming. This is very incorrect. The real problem is lack of planning and commitment on the part of the government to build the people who will build the nation through agriculture. For example, there is usually three yearly glut and scarcity circle in the cassava market.

In the year of scarcity, farmers rush to the farm and this results in a glut in the following year to the extent that cost of harvesting and transportation of the roots to the market usually surpasses the value of the product. The real fact is that cassava being a world prime product should not suffer any glut. Our glut is caused by the cost of production of cassava, especially in the south which is about N18,000 per tonne compared to other countries that produce a tonne at N2,500. These countries sell to the world market at between N4,000 and N5,000 per tonne and still make profit. But the Nigerian farmer who sells below N22,000 per tonne will run into a loss. Whereas the Nigerian environment has a comparative advantage over the countries that produce cassava cheaply if only the various governments live up to their duties and responsibilities.

What is the way out of this doldrum?

Please permit me to use the situation of the Southwestern states of Nigeria as an example. At the time when the transporters of agricultural products had some issues with the road officers and their products could not come, did you not see the food crisis that ensued? Many social activities were cancelled because people could not get pepper, onions and tomatoes. Chief Obafemi Awolowo built the former Western Region now know as Southwestern zone into a zone that became the envy of other geopolitical zones mainly on agriculture. He scored the first place in education, media, industries and road infrastructure not only in Nigeria but Africa, with the money made from Agriculture. The succeeding governments have run the same geo-political zone into hunger and serious food crisis. Food secures the people more than military weapons. We have a good example in the situation of the Soviet Union. If (God forbid) something happens to the River Niger bridge, how will the south feed?

Another area where the government should show responsibility is in empowering the people. I am aware that Southwest states have the following cassava processing industries.

• 400 metric tonnes per day in Ibafo Lagos Ibadan Expressway;

• 150 metric tonnes per day at Aiyede Ogbese on Owo Akure road;

• 150 metric tonnes per day at Asejire near Ibadan;

• 150 metric tonnes per day in Ososa near Ijebu Ode; and

• 60 tonnes per day at Ikoya in the riverrine area of Ondo states.

The five processing factories with a single shift will consume 910 metric tonnes of cassava roots. If the shifts are doubled, it can use up to 1500 metric tonnes of cassava daily. There could be other factories that I do not know. Within this geopolitical zone alone and upon the existing processing industries that we know we need a minimum of 500,000 metric tonnes of raw cassava roots per annum. Both cultivation of 500,000 tonnes and the industries that will consume the products will give employment to at least 10,000 skilled and unskilled youths. But the government is not doing anything in this direction.

With the prevailing situation, do you think the programme is feasible?

I interacted with one of the top officials of a state government in the Southwest recently. We were impressed by the performance of the government, because within two years of governance the entire infrastructure of the state have received a tremendous uplift. The reservation expressed by the government official is the feasibility of the cassava programme, moreso now that the Federal Government has lifted the ban on importation of agricultural products including industrial starch. My explanation is this, one of the factories listed above produces among the world’s best cassava starch which it sells at N128,000 per tonne but the imported industrial starch goes for only N70,000 per tonne. This particular company goes to Nasarawa State to buy cassava at N6,000 per tonne. Cassava has 70 per cent water and must be processed within 24 hours of harvesting to prevent fermentation. That company’s logistics to transport the cassava quickly cost another N6,000 per tonne. This brings cassava input to between N12,000 and N13,000 per tonne.

The factory requires five tonnes to produce a tonne of starch. It means cassava requirement alone cost the company N65,000. She goes to Nasarawa State to buy because Nasarawa and Kwara states provide a good environment that enables the farmers to produce and sell at good profit of a tonne for N6,000. The Southwest state is more well-suited for cassava production than Nasarawa if the government will clear the land freely for the farmers and provide other enablements that Nasarawa State provides. If this particular factory whose product is superior to the imported industrial starch can find cassava at N5,000 locally, the cassava input for a tonne of starch shall be N25,000 so that the fear of imported industrial starch will not arise. While the government of this particular state is doing wonderfully well to improve the state I would wish that it goes further to empower the people not by doling out cash to them but create environment for them to prosper.

How will you assess Osun State, the only state in the Southwest that has just announced its plan to cultivate 30,000 hectares for cassava production?

This is a welcome development but how will this be done. For example, like some other states, the state may desire to go for farm settlement or village farm system leading to misplaced priority and complete waste of fund (by placing emphasis on housing rather than focusing on the real objective which is agriculture). What we need at this time is serious mindedness on the part of the government and the people towards building individuals as potential farmers. Farm settlement was the idea of Israel to settle the arriving Jews with a measure of cultivable land and cottage homes for each family. Chief Awolowo copied this by establishing farm units in different parts of the Western Region far from the major towns.

He, therefore, built some modest structures that the farmers could use during the week days. Even though the intention was good, it did not succeed with the succeeding governments. Most of those structures even those made by the Federal Government for the same purpose have been abandoned. With the advantage of mobile phone and improved transportation system, this method of farming is outdated. Besides, we are advocating commercial farming. We want the money to go to direct farming. We do not want a situation where N5 billion is allocated to farming and 70 per cent is used to provide accommodation and recreation facilities; N5 billion if properly spent, will clear the land, relocate refuse and demarcate into blocks of five hectares each, 25,000 hectares of cultivable farmland. If we give a block to every participant we shall have 5,000 fully employed youths apart from other service providers.

Our plan is that the successful ones will have additional five hectares, the following year and this will continue until each farmer has 25 hectares. But a situation where N3.5 billion out of N5 billion goes to building and provision of recreation facilities the remaining 1.5 billion will cater for only 1,500 farmers. Besides, one of the objectives of a programme like this is to develop the rural areas. There is no way we can have 2,000 hectares and not have 10 to 20 villages within the area of the land. Let development come naturally as it came to the university towns of Ago Iwoye in Ogun State and Akungba in Ondo State. Money meant for agriculture should go directly to agriculture.

Another problem is that where such housing programmes are provided if any amenities break down the participants will commence agitation and riot. Let us do pure commercial farming, devoid of over pampering that reduces the whole programme into a joke and destroy the continuity beyond the regime that initiates it.

When I was the Chairman of Ondo State Cassava Growers Association, registration fee nationwide was N600 but I insisted on N2,500 for Ondo State. My point is that if I would have to sign a loan form for anyone, that person must demonstrate to me that he can work. Let him go and do labour work to earn N2,500. It is time we stop the short-sighted approach to serious matters such as agriculture. Whatever money the Osun State government raised for agriculture should go to direct farming. The project will attract needed infrastructure into the rural area if such are necessary.

Second helpings of Cassava pudding

2011-02-12T13:30:00.001+07:00

FRANCIS MUTUNGI, a farmer in dry eastern Kenya, stands engulfed by his cassava plants, the bright green leaves spreading out like six-fingered hands to touch his shoulders. Some have been dug up; their roots (the edible bit of the plant) lie like giant beached starfish.

Luckily, he planted a variety resistant to a disease that is ravaging Africa’s second-most-important crop in terms of calories. A neighbour’s cassava is barely knee-high; its leaves are blighted, its roots shrivelled and rotting.

Cassava (also known as tapioca or manioc) is the world’s fourth-largest calorie provider. It grows in hot, arid regions where other crops will not thrive. It resists drought and climate change better than cereal crops like rice. It has to be processed within a couple of days of harvesting, and is vulnerable to huge post-harvest losses (40% in some places). So it is not much eaten by city dwellers.

But it has one amazing plus. It will keep in the ground for years. That makes it “the perfect food-security crop”, says Claude Fauquet, of the Danforth Plant Science Centre in St Louis, Missouri, which researches Africa’s overlooked crops. You plant it alongside maize or beans. If those fail, eat the cassava; if they thrive, save it for another year. (Less happily, with no need to stop for the harvest, wars in cassava-growing lands can be continuous.)

Now two viruses—cassava mosaic disease and brown streak disease—are destroying up to half the crop in areas they infest. In Africa, where the diseases are rampant, farmers get about 8.5 tonnes a hectare; in Vietnam, where they are unknown, the yield is 17 tonnes; in South India, 26 tonnes. The result is that cassava remains a subsistence crop in Africa, but in Asia is something on which you can build a business (it can also be used to make clothing, paper and biofuels). Mr Fauquet reckons a yield of 20 tonnes a hectare means money in the bank; 25 tonnes means a house and private school for the children. But below 12 tonnes, it traps a farmer in poverty. The diseases make a vast difference.

One problem is that viruses cannot be killed by fungicides and other agrochemicals. Another is that planting stem cuttings, the usual way of propagating cassava, passes down disease more readily than propagation by seeds. Mr Fauquet has managed to breed disease-resistant plants in his laboratory. But field trials have only just begun for mosaic disease and do not start for brown streak until later this year. He thinks genetic modification of this humble crop, so far from the world of advanced science, will provide the most comprehensive defence and be the best way to boost yields.

Cassava packs a protein punch with bean genes

2011-02-11T13:18:00.001+07:00

A DEADLY poison could save the lives of millions of African children, thanks to the discovery that cassava can be duped into turning about half of the cyanide it makes into extra protein.

Although cassava is a major source of carbohydrates for 700 million people, mostly in Africa, it normally contains only small amounts of protein. Claude Fauquet of the Danforth Plant Science Center in St Louis, Missouri, and his team bumped up the protein content to 12.5 per cent by adding bean and maize genes to make a protein called zeolin. They were surprised to find that the plant used its natural supply of cyanide to provide the building blocks of the new protein. "Cyanide is a source of nitrogen within the plant," explains Fauquet.

While non-modified cassava supplies just one-fifth of daily protein requirements, the extra protein is enough to supply the needs of infants on a typical cassava-based diet (PLoS One, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0016256). Fauquet says his root could save 1 in 4 African children from a potentially fatal condition called protein-energy malnutrition.

However, it will be some years before it is rolled out. Although identical to the one eaten by a billion people worldwide, the added bean protein resembles one that causes rare allergic reactions. So the team has developed another version with extra protein from sweet potatoes that won't cause allergies. "We hope to launch it in Africa in four to six years," says Fauquet. He adds that the project, which is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is purely humanitarian so the cassava would be offered free to poor farmers.

Other modified staples include the "protato" developed in India, and aubergines, recently denied approval in India because of objections from groups opposed to genetically modified crops.

Resistant Cassava Types Still On

2011-02-10T13:14:00.001+07:00

It is estimated that viruses are causing $60m (about Shs138b) in losses per, annum out of the revenue contribution the government is supposed to realise from the production of cassava.

That is why Ugandan scientists are investigating ways to come up with cassava varieties resistant to cassava mosaic virus and cassava brown streak. The team still has a long way to go because they aim at eradicating four types of viruses that are destroying the crop from farmer's fields in cassava growing countries throughout Africa.

Crop scientists at the National Agricultural Crop Resources Research Institute in Namulonge are currently conducting research using both the conventional and biotechnology method in a bid to come up with cassava varieties that are resistant to virus.

The research work that has been going on since 2005 is an initiative of a United State research based centre, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Centre in collaboration with USAID and Uganda government.

The chief investigator of the project Dr Titus Alicai said in 2005 the National Biosafety committee housed at Uganda National Council for Science and Technology gave his team a permit to proceed with the research where the team undertook to study the general behaviour of the virus before embarking into real research work.

The team in the 1990s did conduct research in a bid to eradicate cassava mosaicvirus which was a major problem that time. However later in the year 2000, scientists discovered another deadly virus, the cassava mosaic Virus.

The two viruses have since been identified having two types of viruses each namely, Cassava Brown Streak Virus (CBSV), Uganda Cassava Brown Streak Virus (UCBSV) which was first spotted in Uganda, African Cassava Mosaic Virus (ACMV) and East African Cassava Mosaic Virus (EACMV).

The ongoing research is aimed at finding solutions to curb all types of viruses.

According to Dr Alicai, it is estimated that these viruses are causing $60m in losses per, annum out of the revenue contribution the government is supposed to realise from the production of cassava.

Further estimates show that farmers especially those in the districts of Mukono and Luwero are experiencing 100 per cent loss as a result of cassava brown streak epidemic.

As the team was studying the behaviour of the virus, they got an alternative method of breeding varieties using conventional breeding. Conventional breeding is a means of developing new plant varieties by selecting the best varieties with the existing gene in plant species. Here, scientists transfer the genes by crossing the female part of the plant to the male part.

Conventional breeding employs processes that occur in nature, such as sexual and asexual reproduction. The product of conventional breeding emphasises certain characteristics which are not new to the plant

As far as the research at Namulonge is concerned, the team obtained resistant varieties from Tanzania and Colombia, and crossed them to some screened local varieties here. The breeding process here involves cutting part of the male flower from the foreign cassava and crossing it to the female flower of the local variety in order to come up with a new variety.

The team also screened about 1,000 local varieties and conducted the same crossing exercise. So far the team has identified six varieties that seem to be resistant to the viruses but are being evaluated at selected farmer's fields throughout the country to establish stability of yields and tolerance to the virus.

Once the evaluation process is done, the team will collect the data and apply to the Variety Evaluation Committee at the ministry of Agriculture to give them a go ahead to release these varieties to the farmers.

Dr Alicai is optimistic that his team will release the six varieties to farmers by next year. However the research team is not convinced that the conventional breeding method will solve the problem of eradicating the virus the reason they are conducting research using the Biotechnology method. What is different here is that the resistant genes are introduced to the local varieties in the laboratory.

Last year the scientists were conducting research to establish resistance against the EACMV. The work that was concluded in September showed some good results but for purposes of validating the exercise they are repeating the research work.

According to Dr Alicai, the next exercise is to test the same genes against the rest of the viruses. Later the team will merge the exercise against all the viruses in order to come up with cassava varieties that are resistant to all the four types of viruses.

The team hopes that by the year 2015 they would have identified the best gene that is resistant to all the viruses. The challenge of using the biotechnology method according to Dr Alicai is that since the work is done in the laboratory, there is need for reagents that are used to contact the research to always be in place but sometimes they are not available because sometimes the suppliers take long to supply them.

Protect Vital Cassava Farming in Africa

2011-01-23T13:19:00.001+07:00

Cassava is a starchy root crop whose tubers are a primary food source for about 800 million people worldwide, including about 250 million people who live in Africa. A relative to the rubber plant, cassava grows well in marginal conditions: its leaves remain green during Africa’s seasonal droughts. The fallen leaves give enough nutrients back to the soil that the subsistence farmers can grow it without fertilizer. Also, the cassava tolerates poor farming, making it a crop that can be grown, for example, by a farmer who is weak from malaria.

For having such a central role in the diets of so many, though, the cassava tuber is a relatively poor source of some important nutrients. Dr. Richard Sayre, head of the BioCassava Plus Project, envisioned a "super" cassava with more protein, zinc, iron, vitamin A, and vitamin E. Additional goals for the Project included increasing the size of its tubers, reducing its toxin levels (tubers contain varying levels of a form of poisonous cyanide), and boosting the plant’s resistance to diseases.

Five years ago, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation gave Dr. Sayre and the BioCassava Plus Project a $12 million grant to use genetic engineering to significantly improve the cassava. Because cassava is propagated by cuttings, genetic engineering methods represent a time-saving shortcut over conventional selective breeding. Before too long, however, cassava "improvement" was forced to encompass the challenge of a terrible new viral disease that still threatens Africa’s food supply. It injected a new urgency to the scientists’ work.

A virus mutation in 2004 spurred an "explosive" spread of the Brown Streak Disease from the East Africa coastal lowlands to the higher inland areas, including Uganda. These viruses are spread by tiny whiteflies. Unlike the tamer coastal version, the newer Uganda strain kills cassava plants and riddles the tubers with brown discoloration, rendering them inedible, as shown in the photo. Brown Streak Disease (for its markings on stems) has created an emergency for many farmers who are left without enough plants to produce cuttings for the upcoming season.

In the face of this cassava crisis, plant scientists have met or exceeded the goals of their research proposals, including resistance to the devastating new virus. In mid-2009, Dr.Claude Fauquet, an expert in the single-strand DNA geminiviruses that infect cassava, announced that he and his team had succeeded in creating a strain of cassava that is resistant to both versions of Cassava Brown Streak Disease. They used the same technique – called RNA interference – that had been used to create disease-specific resistance in new papaya and plum tree varieties. Dr. Fauquet’s achievement with cassava that is resistant to the Brown Streak Diseases builds on the success in increasing protein by a factor of 4, iron by a factor of 4, and vitamin A by a factor of 30, not to mention the other goals reached or exceeded.

The hope is that the new cassava will succeed during field trials in East Africa and be available to the farmers there by 2015, if not sooner. (Genetically modified crops are always carefully field-tested.)

The epicenter for U.S.-based cassava research is in St. Louis, Missouri, at the Donald Danforth Plant Sciences Center. It is home to Dr. Fauquet as well as the BioCassava Plus Project and Dr. Sayre, the grant awardee, who joined the staff in 2008. Indeed, the DanforthCenter has been a powerhouse for cassava research for a long time. Although the Center was founded in 1998, two of its most esteemed plant virologists, Dr. Fauquet and Dr. Roger Beachy, were pioneers in this area of study: in 1991, while at the Scripps Research Institute, they co-founded the International Laboratory for Tropical Agriculture Biotechnology (ILTAB).

Dr. Fauquet also founded (and still co-chairs) the Global Cassava Project. He pushed for the sequencing of the cassava genome, an initiative also funded by the Gates Foundation. The genome sequence was completed in 2009 by a team led by University of Arizona scientists and a subsidiary of Roche called 454 Life Sciences, the world leader in genome-related technology. Free access to the genome data is expected to be an invaluable resource to future endeavors.

Interest in cassava extends beyond food: China now grows it for ethanol, and a recent study of it grown in Alabama for ethanol was promising.

Indications are that experienced plant scientists in Africa who were, in large part, trained in the United States, are recognizing the need for more agriculture doctoral programs in their universities. They have been inspired by the many scientists who are responding to Africa’s cassava crisis. They liken current efforts to help Africa’s farmers to those of agriculture professors of the U.S. land grant universities during India’s Green Revolution. They helped India learn to "feed itself" during the 1950s to 1960s; by the late 1980s, India had become a net exporter of food.

Today, genetic engineering is not without its critics. However, according to a 2009 report in the Chronicle of Higher Education, most students studying agriculture in Africa’s universities argue in favor of genetic engineering. One of the new doctoral students interviewed for that article noted that GE technology could halve the time required to develop better crops for the hungry continent. "Africa missed out on the Green Revolution," he said, "so we shouldn’t miss out on the Genetic Revolution too."

Cassava farming seminar slated

2011-01-22T14:11:00.000+07:00

Representatives of Ginebra San Miguel Inc. will be in Silay City, Negros Occidental, Thursday for an Orientation Seminar on Cassava Farming Technology though the Agricultural and Fishery Council of Silay, AFC chairperson Reynaldo Sazon said yesterday.

Sazon said they plan to go into cassava farming once they are sure of the market, with the help of the GSMI. He said they were able to see the high potentials of the crop when GMSI presented its possible uses in beer production last December.

Sazon said high yield varieties of cassava can produce 30 to 50 tons per hectare. The tonnage can be translated into high income if the production is this much, he added.

Silay City has more than 30 hectares of unused land that can be used for cassava farming, Sazon said.

The land conversion is possible through the approval of the Silay City government and other stakeholders like the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, and the 25 cooperative and associate members of AFC, he also said.

He admitted that they do not have the post harvest facilities for cassava, they have issues with its flexible price, and they do not have the appropriate technology for its full operation.

However, the seminar that will be provided by GSMI will give them an idea how far they can invest when it comes to cassava farming, Sazon said.

China plans to import cassava

2011-01-21T13:15:00.000+07:00

The project – which is also set to include a processing factory – aims to produce 150,000 tonnes of cassava per year, largely for export to the People’s Republic of China.

“We hope the project will be successful, which can create a new market for farmers to sell their products and to earn more income for the national economy,” he said.

Cassava is often used in ethanol production. Yields on Khaou Chuly Development Company were targeted at 30 tonnes of cassava per hectare per year.

Construction of the production facility was slated to begin near to the end of this year.

While production of the crop now generally occurs in the Kingdom’s western provinces, Khaou Phallaboth also said there was plenty of land available in the northern reaches of Cambodia.

The land, he said, had strong potential for high yields.

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery undersecretary of state Kit Seng said that cassava production often produced high yields, but added planting for the long term could damage the quality of the soil.

Still, he said the Agriculture Ministry supported cassava production – especially as it was a priority crop, with companies receiving encouragement from the government to grow.

In December, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced an agreement with China aimed at increasing cassava exports to Asia’s largest economy.

Ministry of Agriculture figures show that cassava was grown on 200,821 hectares of land for the 2010 to 2011 harvest season, an increase of 40,495 hectares from the previous season.

Biotechnology to help speed up cassava breed

2011-01-20T13:07:00.000+07:00

Breeding new plant varieties via conventional methods usually takes more than a decade, but with the assistance of biotechnology, the Thai Tapioca Development Institute (TTDI) hopes using a DNA fingerprint will shorten the time for cassava strain development and result in new varieties for specific uses.

A DNA fingerprint will be applied to match different cassava varieties with desired characteristics before selected varieties are crossbred in the field to see the actual result of the new variety.

Conventional methods entail repetitive crossbreeding of one variety with many others until a satisfactory trait results. The new process can be tested on a computer first to rule out crossbreeds that will bring about unsatisfactory outcomes, leaving only the breeding of carefully selected varieties.

The TTDI is now developing a waxy starch in cooperation with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, whose scientists have succeeded in deriving a mutant strain with the waxy or amylose-free trait.

This waxy mutant will be crossbred with commercial local varieties to develop waxy tapioca.

Adul Vinaiphat, the institute's vice-president, said waxy tapioca will have much higher value than the regular kind, as waxy starch is in demand by several industries and cannot be substituted by modified starch derived from normal tapioca.

The TTDI expects waxy tapioca to be ready for commercial planting within the next three years. Meanwhile, it must figure out how to protect the expected new plant variety through patent registration to ensure maximum benefit for cassava planters.

"If planters have to pay a high price for their cassava trunks, they'll be in trouble, so we must figure out how to handle this without causing them problems. At the same time, we'll have to find ways to control the smuggling of new varieties to neighbouring countries," said Suthiporn Chirapanda, an adviser to the TTDI.

Searching for high-value varieties is a sustainable solution for the development of the local tapioca industry, which involves some 400,000 households, he said.

Due to an infestation of pink cassava mealybugs for almost two years now, production of fresh cassava roots is estimated at only 21 million tonnes, while demand stands at 30 million tonnes. That means cassava will most likely stay above three baht a kilogramme this year.

Mr Adul said price problems will not plague planters this year, but industry may be worried about quality, as some planters may dig up their cassava roots too early - at about six months instead of the usual nine months.

Roots that are too young contain a low percentage of starch.

This practice may also cause quality issues for the next crop, as planters may not have strong cassava trunks for crop expansion.

Therefore, the institute recommends that planters keep some of their roots in the ground until measurement for use in breeding the next crop.

Yet another potential problem is adulterated tapioca chips from small factories popping up to compete in buying cassava roots from planters, said Mr Adul.

The substandard chips will result in low-quality starch and higher costs for flour factories.

Giant sweet cassava

2011-01-19T12:30:00.000+07:00

Jamaica, Valerie Martin, vice principal and 4H co-ordinator at Port Antonio Primary School, shows of this giant sweet cassava reaped from the 4H garden at the back of the school last Friday morning.

Martin said this was the first time they had reaped a sweet cassava this size and that it was only a portion of the plant that was dug up over the Christmas holidays.

She said they will use the cassava to make bammies, starch and dumplings as they demonstrate its various uses to the 4H students.

The cassava is three feet, eight inches tall and weighs about 30 pounds.

Cassava and the Future of Thailand

2011-01-18T12:32:00.001+07:00

Companies from the US, Europe and elsewhere are racing toward commercial-scale production of biofuels that utilize a variety of new technologies and processes. This is excellent news for those interested in the growth of clean, renewable fuels. However, as companies scale up, they face the challenge of securing long-term supplies of affordable feedstock in quantities that are beyond what many regions can guarantee. The country of Thailand, already one of the world’s leading agri-food exporters, believes it can attract investment in the advanced biofuel sector by providing a solution to this problem. And for Thailand, a major part of the solution is cassava.

Efficiency of cassava as a feedstock

Cassava, a tuber cultivated widely in tropical and sub-tropical regions, is currently one of the world’s most cost-efficient biofuel feedstocks. A recently published article in the African Journal of Biotechnology found that cassava is more efficient compared to other energy crops, such as sugar cane, sweet sorghum, corn and wheat. One hectare of farm land cultivated with cassava is able to produce on average 6,000 kg of ethanol. The closest competitor in terms of efficiency is sugar cane, which can produce 4,900 kg of ethanol annually per hectare (sugarcane is Thailand’s second major feedstock). Ethanol made from cassava costs $0.68/L while molasses-based varieties were $0.87/L. Of course, both feedstocks beat out corn in terms of efficiency: one hectare of corn only produces 2,050 kg of ethanol per year, a little over a third of the same area as cassava.

Production and export potential in Thailand

Thailand is the world’s largest exporter of raw cassava. Due to Thailand’s strength in the cultivation of this crop, twenty-five of Thailand’s thirty-six ethanol facilities utilize cassava as a feed stock. The potential for ramping up production is enormous. Production in Thailand only reached 1.72 million liters per day in 2009, but the Thai Board of Investment estimates that Thailand has the capacity to produce 7.3 million liters of cassava-derived ethanol per day.

One of the primary challengers to Thailand in the East Asian biofuels market is Brazil, the world’s largest ethanol producer. Thailand commands lower transportation costs, giving it a $0.03/L advantage in Asia over Brazil. In terms of production costs, ethanol produced from Thai cassava ($0.26/L) is cheaper than ethanol produced from US corn ($0.27/L), Australian sugar cane ($0.33/L) or EU sweet sorghum ($0.51/L).

Challenges to cassava cultivation

Cassava cultivation in Thailand was threatened this year after an infestation of aphids, a destructive species of small sap-sucking insects. From 2009 to 2010, ethanol produced from cassava fell from 1.72 million liters a day to just 0.75 million liters a day. However, the Thai government has taken steps to combat the infestation which caused the production drop. A group of Thai scientists and their commercial partners have introduced wasps, which are natural predators of aphids, to help quell the infestation without the use of harsh pesticides. So far the wasps have proved effective and the Thai government predicts that ethanol production from cassava will recover within the next two to three years.

Cassava and other bio-based industries

The recovery of cassava cultivation will prove to be important over the next several years as Thailand is also seeking to increase the production of value-added bio-based products. For example, PPT Aromatics, a large Thai petroleum refining company, has announced that it will invest over $150 million dollars into the construction of a new jet biofuels facility. The new facility will be unique in that it will be the first to produce bio-based aviation fuel that will meet new European regulations set to come into force in 2012. Furthermore, two bioplastics firms, the Italian Novamont SpA and US-based NatureWorks LLC, are both eyeing Thailand as the site for future manufacturing facilities.

Cassava / Tapioca Cake Low Sugar

2010-12-15T11:24:00.000+07:00

This tapioca cake is another common dessert in Malaysia. It is made from freshly grated cassava so it is less processed than some others that are made from tapioca flour. What you get from the stalls are usually too sweet, whilst our recipe calls for a lot less sugar so that you can enjoy both the natural flavour of cassava root and the sweetness.

Ingredients:

400gram cassava, grated and strained
225gram unsalted butter
120gram brown sugar
3 eggs
100gram flour
200gram yoghurt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Preparation:

Heat the oven to 175°C.
Beat the butter and sugar till the mixture is soft and light. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
Add in the flour, yoghurt and baking powder gradually. Mix well.
Add in the grated cassava and the vanilla essence and till batter is well mixed and smooth.
Pour batter into a medium size deep cake mould and bake for 50 minutes, or till a skewer inserted into the centre and comes out clean.
Leave to cool before turning it over to a serving dish to cut.

Versatility Note:

If you really need to have an extra sweet cake, you can modify the amount of sugar as you like it. However, too much sugar will destroy the flavour of cassava.
Add in some natural food colouring should you wish to make the cake look more interesting. We suggest using dragon fruit or beetroot juice for red/pink colouring.

Cassava with Garlic Sauce (Yuca con Mojo)

2010-12-13T11:14:00.002+07:00

Instead of serving the same old potato side dish, serve cassava with garlic sauce. This dish combines the pungent taste of onions and garlic with the mild cassava root.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pound cassava (peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks)
1 to 2 large onions (thinly sliced)
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tablespoon cilantro (chopped)
6 garlic cloves (minced)
1/4 cup olive oil
orange wedges for garnish

Preparation:

Boil the cassava in salted water until tender, about 30 minutes.
Drain the cassava, set in serving dish, and set aside.
In a bowl, combine the onions, orange juice, lime juice, cilantro, and garlic. Pour over the cassava.
In a heavy pan, heat the olive oil until hot. Pour hot oil over the cassava.

Don charges National Assembly on cassava bill

2010-12-12T11:12:00.000+07:00

Head of Department, Agricultural Economics and Farm Management, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (UNAAB), Professor Adewale Dipeolu has called on the National Assembly to expedite action on a bill that would allow 10 per cent inclusion of cassava in wheat flour.

Speaking at the Farmers’ Field Day organised in Igbaga, Ijebu East Local Government Area as part of the activities of Cassava: Adding Value to Africa (C:AVA) Programme by the Ogun State Agricultural Development Programme (OGADEP), Dipeolu, who is the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, C:AVA Country Office, noted that Nigeria stands good chances of generating huge revenue from the law that makes it mandatory for all flour millers to include 10 per cent cassava flour into wheat flour.

He said, “If the bill is passed into law, it means that for every bag of wheat being used for baking, there will be 10 per cent of cassava flour in it. That way, if the demand for bread and other confectionary increases, for every bag of composite wheat flour that you buy, then it would translate to better income for the farmers at the village level.

“We would love the National Assembly to pass the 10 per cent addition to wheat flour bill. Once that is passed into law, it becomes mandatory for all flour millers in the country to include 10 per cent cassava flour into wheat flour. In Brazil, for instance, you have what is called 100 per cent cassava flour bread.

“Cassava is our own gold, we must find a way to make sure that it brings in money, not only for ourselves in terms of domestic prices but in terms of international prices. So, government should wake up to its responsibility. We should have policy that would protect what we have here at home.”

Equally, the don condemned government’s policy which encourages importation of cassava into the country, stressing that government should rather develop the local farmers’ capacity to produce for both domestic and international needs in a bid to make the agriculture sector sufficient and sustainable.

Meanwhile, as part of efforts to increase farmers’ productivity and income, the OGADEP has urged cassava farmers to embrace TME 419, a new cassava variety reputed to be high-yielding and disease-tolerant.

Director of External Services, OGADEP, Otunba Moyo Owootomo, made case for the new variety during the event. C:AVA is an intervention programme being sponsored through the grants of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a United States-based philanthropic organization, dedicated to reducing inequities and improving lives around the world.

The event, which featured the distribution of spraying pumps and cutlasses to the local farmers, was graced by Alhaji Ade Balogun; Zonal Manager, OGADEP Ijebu zone, Mr. Olusola Olutogun; and the Oba-elect and Oyebola of Igbaga, Ijebu-Imusin, Evangelist Ayodele Adebanjo.

In his remarks, Owootomo said the farmers’ field day, which was carried out on a demonstration plot of cassava in the town, was intended to showcase the potentials of the cassava varieties distributed to farmers under the C:AVA project.

He disclosed that no fewer than 340 farmers across Ijebu East and Ijebu North East Local Governments have been encouraged to maintain the cassava field.

According to the OGADEP chief, the new cassava variety would yield three times compared to the local variety planted in the locality.

Owootomo said that TME 419 is a new variety of cassava that is found to be high-yielding, disease-tolerant and something that will increase farmers’ income.

According to him, the expected benefit of the new variety is that it’s going to increase the farmers’ productivity, adding that, based on findings in other locations where the variety has been established, it was found it yielded about three times compared to the local variety.

“Consequently, the farmers’ income will be increased and of course, it increases standard of living.”

Meanwhile, Owootomo identified funding as the major challenge confronting the cassava farmers, adding that the spraying pumps and other farming implement were donated to them in a bid to alleviate their problem.

While giving insight into the C:AVA project, Zonal Manager, OGADEP Ijebu zone, Mr. Ade Balogun explained that it aims at developing value chains for high quality cassava flour (HQCF) to improve the livelihoods and incomes of at least 90,000 smallholder households as direct beneficiaries in five African countries namely Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Nigeria and Malawi.

He added that the project was designed to promote the use of HQCF as a versatile raw material for which diverse markets have been identified in pilot studies.

The traditional chief, who spoke on behalf of the farmers, expressed gratitude to OGADEP and C:AVA for introducing the cassava variety, adding that the farmers are eager to harvest greater yields more than they used to.

“This new variety is different from the cassava variety we have planted before and I hope its yield would be greater than what we used to harvest in this town. We will continue to partner with OGADEP in ensuring that our cassava produce are of high quality,” Adebanjo said.

Cassava-Gate?

2010-12-11T09:06:00.000+07:00

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Cranz.) is a shrub-like plant native to South America which produces tubers rich in carbohydrates. It is now widely cultivated across the southern hemisphere and the tubers are an important food staple for an estimated 750 million people. In addition, the plant leaves are also consumed in some areas.

The scare
In 2009, the Australian biologists Dr. Roslyn M. Gleadow of Monash University, Victoria, Australia, and coworkers published a research paper entitled “Growth and nutritive value of cassava (Manihot esculenta Cranz.) are reduced when grown in elevated CO2” [1]. The abstract of that paper also is clear in describing the (potential) significance of the findings in glowing terms, it includes the following statement: “The responses to CO2 shown here point to the possibility that there could be severe food shortages in the coming decades unless CO2 emissions are dramatically reduced, or alternative cultivars or crops are developed.”

To add fuel to the fire, the co-editors of this special issue of Plant Biology (which represents the proceedings of a symposium on Plant Functioning in a Changing Global Environment, held at Creswick, Australia, in Dec. 2008, with M. Tausz as chairman), say in their introductory editorial [2]: “Given that cassava tubers are a staple food in many of the poorest regions of our planet, and that leaves are often eaten as a protein supplement, this is an alarming result.”

Furthermore, the study by Gleadow et al. also found a substantial increase in cyanogenic glycoside concentrations of the cassava plants when grown under elevated CO2 levels. Cassava leaves and roots both contain such glycosides that break down to release toxic hydrogen cyanide when chewed or crushed, potentially another reason for concern.

Not surprisingly then, this paper created quite a stir. Believers of the “CO2-climate change connection” were ecstatic and took it as evidence for a supposedly undesirable effect of rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere.

The facts
What was not reported though, was the fact that Gleadow’s findings were entirely opposite to previous work of the same kind. For example, Imai et al. [3] observed a fourfold increase in cassava biomass when growing the plants in soil with additional fertilizer and in an atmosphere of 700 ppm CO2, relative to 350 ppm CO2. In contrast, Gleadow et al. reported a severe reduction in plant growth with an almost identical increase of CO2 in the atmosphere and with cassava grown in a synthetic nutrient broth.

Gleadow’s three sets of experiments used CO2 concentrations in the air of 360 (more or less ambient conditions), 550 (elevated CO2), and 710 ppm (highly elevated CO2). The plants were grown in a synthetic nutrient broth, called Hewitt’s solution, with two levels of nitrate ions, namely at one mM (nitrate deficient) and 12 mM (a standard level) nitrate. As Gleadow et al. mention, the type of results to be expected when plants are grown under elevated CO2 levels, namely an increasing plant yield, was observed for soybeans and cotton plants grown in the same greenhouse.

Of course, there are many variables determining the optimal nutrient and other conditions affecting plant growth. In addition to the main nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium salts), there are also micronutrients (such as iron and other metal salts), which are required for plant growth, particularly when grown under hydroponic conditions. It is not clear if such micronutrients were supplied. Furthermore, cassava is known to have other requirements, unlikely to have been fulfilled in Gleadow’s experimental setup. For example, Leihner [4] states that “for healthy growth and good yield, cassava depends strongly on mycorrhizal symbiosis.” It is also unlikely that Gleadow would not have been aware of that.

Reviews
Another severe shortcoming of the paper is that the results by Imai et al. [3] with a very similar CO2 regime have not been referenced. It is unlikely that Gleadow would not have been aware of that paper. In any event, Gleadow’s omission to cite Imai’s work also raises a question about the peer review standard for this supplemental issue of Plant Biology.

Any serious peer review would have picked up on that omission too and would have demanded the paper by Imai et al. to be referenced and the results of Gleadow’s own work to be discussed vis-à-vis the results of Imai et al. Therefore, it would appear that the “rigorous, independent peer-review system” claimed by the journal, had not been followed for this special issue.

In 2010, Timothy Wells, a free-lance TV producer interviewed Gleadow to shed more light on the relevance of her study. As John O’Sullivan [5] reports, though she had agreed to the interview in advance, Gleadow abruptly ended the interview when Wells asked about details of her study, to the point of calling campus security.

Conclusions
What is at issue here? Very simply, the question is whether or not Gleadow’s experiments were employing realistic (natural) growth conditions for the cassava plants to prosper in the first place. The results by Imai, and other work, make that unlikely. Gleadow’s refusal to discuss such critical questions speaks volumes by itself.

Gleadow’s study appears to have been designed, perhaps inadvertently, in order to produce some spectacular results rather than to assess the effects of elevated CO2 on cassava growth under realistic and common natural soil conditions.

While it may appear to be a good piece of scientific work on first sight, on closer inspection, Gleadow’s et al. work has the hallmark of junk science. In fact, it looks like “cassava-gate” to me.

Cassava commercialization boosts framers' income

2010-12-10T11:03:00.000+07:00

Lagos, Nigeria - Women farmers from several African countries now have access to another sources of income through the cassava value addition chain programme funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) tagged 'Unleashing the Power of Cassava (UpoCA)', according to a release from the Ibadan-based International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).

'Now we can fulfil our financial obligations to educate our children and improve our livelihoods,” Marie Borbor, a member of the Tongea Women's Development Association in Sierra Leone, one of the beneficiaries said. “We will do all within our power to sustain the MPC as a viable asset. Long live the American people,' she added.

The statement said the project, which was being implemented in seven African countries - Nigeria, DR Congo, Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Sierra Leone - by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, had benefited thousands of farmers in these countries.

The Tongea Women farmers in Sandeyalu community are happy the USAID project located at Sandeyalu, 486 km from Freetown, was overrun by rebels in 1991.

The entire population of nearly 4,000 people took refuge in camps in Kenema where they lived for over 10 years as internally displaced persons (IDPs) until the war ended in 2002.

Interactions in the camp brought the Sandeyalu people together to form a formidable association called Tongea Women's Development Association comprising of 54 women and four men. It was named after one of the three mountain peaks overlooking their home township called Tongea.

The group initially raised funds through “coping mechanisms,” such as cutting and selling firewood and soap making as IDPs in Kenema.

The statement said with the advent of the IITA-UPoCA project and subsequent inauguration of a Microprocessing Centre (MPC), cassava was now an added financial window of opportunity to thousands of farmers.

Incomes from USAID projects such as UPoCA have helped the people of Sandeyalu in rebuilding their community.

'We are very happy to partner with you in all you have accomplished in these years. We are very happy to be your partner. Not too many years ago, this town was in ruins but, now, look at what you have accomplished. We are very proud to work with you,” the United States Ambassador to Sierra Leone Michael S. Owen said while handing over the keys of the IITA-UPoCA-built cassava microprocessing center to the Tongea women farmers.

Since 2009, IITA-UPoCA scientists have opened up more than five hectares of their land for cassava cultivation and distributing over 2,500 bundles of improved cassava varieties to more than 500 cassava farmers.

The programme manager of IITA-UPoCA, Braima James, explained that in March this year, 60 women and eight men received hands-on training in cassava processing, product development, and packaging in Sandeyalu town.

The statement said the success story of IITA-UPoCA was not limited to Sierra Leone alone.

It transcends and cuts across other countries across Africa. In Malawi, the project, among other activities revived a moribund starch factory - the first in that country.

Besides, thousands of farmers benefited from improved cassava cuttings, training and capacity building for processors.

The situation in Nigeria was no different as the project linked up processors to farmers for steady production/supply of cassava roots, provided improved cuttings, training and also helped build the capacities of farmers and processors.

Maize and cassava crop guarantees extended

2010-12-09T10:00:00.002+07:00

The Agriculture Ministry has extended the income guarantee program for maize and cassava to help planters affected by recent floods.

The extensions would also cover planters who initially failed to join the program because they lived in remote areas, according to Agriculture Minister Theera Wongsamut.

The minister said he had received numerous complaints from planters from many flood-hit provinces, who said natural disasters had barred them from participating in the program.

The current program required maize growers to register by mid-December and enter contracts with the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Co-operatives by mid-January.

Mr Theera said the registration deadline would be moved to the end of this month and the contract date to Jan 31.

The income guarantee program is also being extended for the 2010-11 cassava crop from May 31 to Sept 30, 2011.

Guarantee programs were introduced this year for three major crops - rice, cassava, and maize - to finance small farmers directly.

Under the plan, the government through the BAAC would pay farmers for the difference between the market price and the reference price.

The guarantee price for 2010-11 maize is 7.14 baht a kilogram, up from 7.10 baht in the last crop, and cassava is 1.90 baht, up from 1.70 baht.

The reference prices of rice and payments to farmers are announced every two weeks. The reference price of Hom Mali fragrant paddy this week is 13,696 baht a tonne and the state would pay 1,604 baht for the difference since the market price is higher.

The BAAC reported earlier that it would use about 32 billion baht to fund this year's program.

About 3.5 million rice farmers, 401,002 maize growers and 448,042 cassava planters are expected to apply for the schemes this year.

Cassava industry gets boost

2010-12-08T10:59:00.001+07:00

About P30 million will be infused monthly to cassava growers of Negros Occidental for their produce to be used for the production of alcohol by Ginebra San Miguel Inc. for its distillery in Bago City, Negros Occidental, GSMI business farming operations head Edmundo Yonque said yesterday.

Yonque said the Bago distillery needs 4,000 metric tons of dried cassava chips monthly as raw material for alcohol production. The company now buys dried and chipped cassava at P7.50 per kilo which translates to P30 million if produced by Negrense cassava growers, he added.

GSMI business procurement group head, Redentor Galura, said the company wants to make use of the idle and unproductive lands for a profitable alternative and regular source of income as well, he added.

He said the company’s cassava project will also allow the company to help rural development and alleviate poverty through sustainable agriculture and a way of diversifying the crop production in the province.

GSMI also invited the cassava growers to sell their produce to authorized GSMI buyers. They can also enter through the production purchase agreement with the company, Galura said.

Through PPA, the company will provide the cooperatives with free cassava planting materials and guarantee that they will buy the produce of fresh and dried cassava at a price agreed upon by both parties, he also said.

Galura added that farmers can also retain half of the planting materials that they can either re-plant or sell to other farmers.

The company is importing 20,000 tons raw material from Vietnam and Thailand that costs them P260 million. He said that if the local cassava growers can provide enough materials, this money will be redirected to Filipinos.

GSMI has planted 160 hectares of idle lands with industrial-grade golden yellow, KU 50, and Rayong 5 cassava varieties in the eight cassava demo farms in the province, Galura said.

Ada Singkong Raksasa Seberat 100 Kg

2010-11-27T11:08:00.000+07:00

Cassava belongs Tumarjo Gatot Kaca (65), Kebasen Village, District Kebasen, Banyumas, Central Java, really big.

One bunches weighing approximately 100 kilograms of cassava is different from the others. When compared with ordinary cassava, it will show if cassava Gatot Kaca this magnitude is more than 50-fold.

The length of cassava can also be reached one meter in size circle cassava reached fifty centimeters. Because of the large, even cassava can also be to sit a kid.

Cassava is obtained Tumarjo giant from his garden not far from his home. In the garden, Tumarjo currently approximately 20 trees to plant cassava Gatot Kaca.

According Tumarjo, cassava is an experimental combination of two types of cassava cuttings of cassava and cassava ordinary rubber. But he did not expect if the results of its cassava cuttings will be very big.

In fact he claimed to have harvested cassava weighing 150 kilograms with the planting period of one year.

"I have a few months ago even had time to harvest by weight reaches a half-quintal. Cassava cuttings is itself the result of my experiment, "said Tumarjo, cassava plantation owner.

cassava can be eaten in general. In fact, some neighboring villagers who eat cassava is admitted if it feels more comfortable and soft from cassava is usually

Head of Department of Agriculture Banyumas Wikanto Joko said, cassava is a big fast because the soil is fairly fertile planted location. Also, because cassava is not too deep in the soil, so the sun easily entered. As a result, cassava is easy to be great than usual.

"The land is fertile and sun that easily fit into the soil to be one factor is the amount of cassava," said Joko Wikanto.

Tumarjo pleaded not going to sell this giant cassava. But for local people who want to enjoy the cassava is welcome to direct Tumarjo fry in a stall in the village of Kebasen, Banyumas

SRI-CSIR develops fertiliser for Cassava

2010-11-26T10:50:00.000+07:00

The Soil Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (SRI-CSIR), has successfully conducted trials on fertilisers that can be used for increased cassava starch yield and quality cassava.

Dr Joseph Cobbina, a Technical Specialist at the CSIR, made this known to farmers and M.Phil. students from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) who undertook a field trip to the Kwadaso Agricultural College in Kumasi.

He said the research was still underway and that results were expected to be shared by all member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The research is under the auspices of the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Project (WAAPP) and is being implemented in Ghana by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA).

DR Cobbina said WAAPP was being funded by the World Bank to strengthen research institutions in three countries — Ghana, Mali and Senegal — to generate improved technologies to increase agricultural productivity of important crops in line with regional priorities.

He said the aim of the project was to fund demand-driven technologies, generate and disseminate improved technologies in priority sectors of the region and facilitate regional collaboration and integration.

The field trip to the Kwadaso Agricultural College formed part of efforts to enhance the dissemination of increased cassava technologies, as well as to offer a platform to showcase the nature and efficiency of the new technologies for cassava.

Under the WAAPP project, Mali is conducting research into rice with Senegal researching into cereals, while Ghana focuses on improving root and tubers (cassava, yam, cocoyam and sweet potato).

Giving a background to the project, Dr Cobbina said in 2003, it was realised that although governments in West Africa were supposed to devote 10 per cent of their budgets to agriculture, that was not being done.

He said the WAAPP was then developed with a focus to improve the export competitiveness, biodiversity, land administration and management, technology diffusion, trade facilitation and market access.

He said in Ghana, although various varieties of cassava had been released by the CSIR, it was realised that lack of improvement in soil fertility, made it difficult for farmers to achieve the expected results.

Global consultations on cassava as bio-fuel open

2010-11-15T10:38:00.001+07:00

Minister of Food and Agriculture, on Monday noted that the commercial cultivation of cassava as an alternative source of bio-energy, would not compromise Ghana’s agricultural lands or threaten its food security.

The Minister argued that Ghana has a vast land area of about 23.8 million hectares out of which 13 million hectares are for agricultural purposes. However, only seven million hectares are currently under cultivation.

There is, therefore, more land for the cultivation of food crops as well as alternative crops for bio-fuel production.

Mr Ahwoi, who was addressing the opening session of a two-day Global Consultation to assess the impact of cassava as a potential crop for bio-energy production, explained that the Ministry of Energy is at the fore-front of carrying out studies on various forms of renewable energy to supplement hydro- power.

He said the Energy Ministry is also pushing for the passage of a Renewable Energy Law and also working on a draft Policy and Regulatory Regimes for bio-fuel production and use in the country.

Mr Ahwoi said even though Ghana would soon join the league of oil producing countries, government is eager to identify and promote the development of cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternative fuel sources that could guarantee sustainable economic development in rural communities.

He said the high global demand for cassava in the bio-energy sector, therefore, presents a golden opportunity for farmers in many vulnerable countries including Ghana to improve upon their financial as well as foreign exchange earnings.

The consultation is being supported by Italian and Finnish governments, together with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.

It would identify issues including the breeding, production through to processing and the treatment of wastes of cassava and also develop the potential of the crop to meet both food and fuel needs of the rural poor without compromising food security and environmental considerations.

Mr Ahwoi noted that with large populations and limited production of cassava, many Asian countries are looking to Africa for agreements to supply their ethanol industries with feedstock to develop their mandatory gasoline lends.

He, however, stressed that while welcoming these developments for their potential to provide rural African farmers additional incomes, all necessary precautions must be taken to ensure that cassava did not become a major source of bio-fuel for foreign countries at the expense of food security in Africa.

The Minister suggested an initiation of special programmes to at least double cassava yields in Africa, increase funding of research to study cassava genome of selected varieties with the view to sequencing of cassava genes to make the variety highly responsive to bio-fuel development.

He also recommended the use of biotechnology and nuclear research methods to develop new varieties of bamboos capable of producing biomass of 100 tonnes per hectare or more for the production of bio-fuels and charcoal.

Mr Rodney Cooke, Director, Policy and Technical Advisory Division, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), explained that the Consultation which was the third in the series, is expected to guide future research that IFAD and its partners in the Programme for the Development of Alternative Biofuel Crops, may finance to develop appropriate technologies to intensify bio-fuel feedstock production.

It was also meant to study the economics of rural energy provision and assess its impact on poverty.

He said cassava was selected because the crop had been accepted globally as one of the most important food crops for most underprivileged communities and had remained beneficial to tropical regions as its roots and leaves provided essential calories and incomes to the people.

Solomon Islands exploring possibility of cassava export

2010-11-14T23:36:00.000+07:00

Solomon Islands is exploring the possibility of exporting cassava, one of its staple food crops, to Canada.

The Foreign Affairs Minister, Peter Shanel Agovaka, says he’ll be visiting Canada towards the middle of next year to tee up trade arrangements.

He says after that a group of Canadian officials will visit Solomon Islands to assess the quality of cassava grown there.

Agovaka says the Canadians are after a container of the root crop a month.

“On Guadalcanal itself cassava grows easily and if you can tee up all the farmers to plant and harvest cassava and sell to an agent who can export, I think that’ll be what I’m looking at.”

Peter Shanel Agovaka says the other islands are also interested in contributing to the export market so he hopes there would be enough cassava left over for the local market.

Will New Gluten-free Cassava Flour Rock

2010-11-05T08:44:00.001+07:00

American Key food Products (AKFP) has announced a patent application for the production process for a gluten-free cassava flour. The company also announced that it has begun initial production of this new gluten-free flour at its manufacturing facility in Brazil.

Gluten is the protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. Gluten provides the structural elasticity in kneaded dough products, permits leavening, and supports the crumb structure and chewy texture of traditional baked goods.

In the last few years, a number of manufacturers have produced gluten-free flour and starch products for gluten-free baking. However, creating baked goods without gluten is challenging, and the resulting baked goods can often be dry, crumbly, or gummy products.

Cassava, or tapioca flour, has been one of the more promising ingredients for gluten-free baking. However, most traditional cassava flours have a coarse texture, similar to corn meal.

According to AKFP technical sales director Carter Foss, the company has spent more than a year developing the flour to have baking characteristics that closely mimic wheat flour in structure, texture and taste.

The result of the AKFP process, which uses the complete root, is a fine, soft flour that contains both protein and fiber. The patent application covers various aspects of the manufacturing process, including particular milling and drying procedures, as well as the resulting flour itself.

“During the processing of it, we have to get the physical characteristics made correctly or the flour fails. It over-bakes and turns to dust,” Foss said.

Foss says that AKFP cassava flour can replace combinations of flours, starches and hydrocolloids in gluten-free baked goods, allowing for a simpler ingredient statement.

After the pilot runs are completed at its new Brazilian facility, AKFP intends to have continuous production on line by the beginning of 2011.

Rivers cassava initiative attracts partnership

2010-11-04T08:43:00.000+07:00

Rivers State government cassava initiative has attracted the government of Netherlands and other business concerns towards developing rural cassava farmers from subsistence to commercial income generating entrepreneurs in the state.

This followed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Dutch government represented by its Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr Berth Ronhar, International Fertilizer Development Centre (IFDC), Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Union Bank to actualize the vision.

After signing the MoU for the establishment of a 30,000 tons of cassava processing factory at Government House, Port Harcourt, Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, urged the partners to go beyond signing of the MoU to ensure proper actualization of the project because Rivers people are expecting to see the outcome of the event.

Amaechi commended the Dutch government for identifying with the initiative, assuring that the state government was prepared to partner with them anytime they wish and expressed happiness with their readiness to assist the state in alleviating poverty and ultimately reduce crime in the area.

He thanked all the partners for their interest in the project and enjoined them to work together to achieve the purpose, while calling on Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA) to increase its cassava farm holding because of the availability of a processing plant.

The state chief executive said it takes a lot of courage for European ambassadors to come to Niger Delta, but the presence of Ambassador Ronhar shows the kind of importance attached to the project by the Dutch government, especially with the poverty alleviation component of it.

On behalf of the partners, the Ambassador of Netherlands, Dr Berth Ronhar, said the discussions leading to the MoU started about a year ago when the Embassy undertook to coordinate and facilitate the partners by bringing them together through the Ministry in the Hague with financial assistance.

He explained that the signing of the agreement was an example of the support given by his government to Nigerian Small Farmers in Cassava production, noting that they were happy to sign the documents because it offers opportunity for self-employment, food security, peace and stability through the development of the rural areas.

According to him, “We are therefore contributing to the unprecedented development of the rural communities by creating income, peace and stability,” adding that the Dutch government is supporting what the Rivers State Government is doing in the state. It would be recalled that the 30,000 tons of cassava processing factory is to be sited at Afam in Oyigbo Local Government Area as an initiative of the state government to improve the socio economic status of the rural areas.

Global consultations on cassava as bio-fuel open

2010-11-03T08:38:00.000+07:00

Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, Minister of Food and Agriculture, on Monday noted that the commercial cultivation of cassava as an alternative source of bio-energy, would not compromise Ghana’s agricultural lands or threaten its food security.

The Minister argued that Ghana has a vast land area of about 23.8 million hectares out of which 13 million hectares are for agricultural purposes. However, only seven million hectares are currently under cultivation.

There is, therefore, more land for the cultivation of food crops as well as alternative crops for bio-fuel production.

Mr Ahwoi, who was addressing the opening session of a two-day Global Consultation to assess the impact of cassava as a potential crop for bio-energy production, explained that the Ministry of Energy is at the fore-front of carrying out studies on various forms of renewable energy to supplement hydro- power.

He said the Energy Ministry is also pushing for the passage of a Renewable Energy Law and also working on a draft Policy and Regulatory Regimes for bio-fuel production and use in the country.

Mr Ahwoi said even though Ghana would soon join the league of oil producing countries, government is eager to identify and promote the development of cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternative fuel sources that could guarantee sustainable economic development in rural communities.

He said the high global demand for cassava in the bio-energy sector, therefore, presents a golden opportunity for farmers in many vulnerable countries including Ghana to improve upon their financial as well as foreign exchange earnings.

The consultation is being supported by Italian and Finnish governments, together with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.

It would identify issues including the breeding, production through to processing and the treatment of wastes of cassava and also develop the potential of the crop to meet both food and fuel needs of the rural poor without compromising food security and environmental considerations.

Mr Ahwoi noted that with large populations and limited production of cassava, many Asian countries are looking to Africa for agreements to supply their ethanol industries with feedstock to develop their mandatory gasoline lends.

He, however, stressed that while welcoming these developments for their potential to provide rural African farmers additional incomes, all necessary precautions must be taken to ensure that cassava did not become a major source of bio-fuel for foreign countries at the expense of food security in Africa.

The Minister suggested an initiation of special programmes to at least double cassava yields in Africa, increase funding of research to study cassava genome of selected varieties with the view to sequencing of cassava genes to make the variety highly responsive to bio-fuel development.

He also recommended the use of biotechnology and nuclear research methods to develop new varieties of bamboos capable of producing biomass of 100 tonnes per hectare or more for the production of bio-fuels and charcoal.

Mr Rodney Cooke, Director, Policy and Technical Advisory Division, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), explained that the Consultation which was the third in the series, is expected to guide future research that IFAD and its partners in the Programme for the Development of Alternative Biofuel Crops, may finance to develop appropriate technologies to intensify bio-fuel feedstock production.

It was also meant to study the economics of rural energy provision and assess its impact on poverty.

He said cassava was selected because the crop had been accepted globally as one of the most important food crops for most underprivileged communities and had remained beneficial to tropical regions as its roots and leaves provided essential calories and incomes to the people.

Mr Cooke said the IFAD’s new Strategic Framework recognised bio-fuel as an emerging market opportunity for the poor, especially those living in remote areas, where almost 70 per cent of IFAD’s projects are located.

Nestle project a boon for cassava growers

2010-11-02T08:35:00.000+07:00

The P4.35-billion non-dairy coffee creamer project of Nestle S.A. in Batangas is seen boosting the local cassava industry.

Nestle Philippines Inc. is expected to locally source glucose syrup, one of the main ingredients of coffee creamer. The syrup is usually processed from corn or tapioca coming from cassava roots.

Nestle is putting up its Greenfield non-dairy coffee creamer production facility on a 270,000-square meter lot at the First Philippine Industrial Park in Sto. Tomas, Batangas.

Nestle will process glucose syrup and hydrogenated palm kernel oil to produce non-dairy coffee creamer. Commercial operation is slated to begin in June 2012, with a manpower requirement of 478.personnel.

Data from the Department of Agriculture shows that demand for cassava is expected to be around 5 million metric tons this year, with projections rocketing to 10 million tons by 2014. Cassava is currently used in the production of livestock feeds, starch, noodles, native pastries and as sweeteners and food seasoning.

It is an ingredient in some medicinal products. It is also added material for glue, plywood, paper, textile and biodegradable products. It is an essential component for bioethanol power plants.

Cassava starch popularly known as tapioca flour has an even wider multitude of uses in various industries. Extracted from the root, it is used in food, medicine, paper, adhesives, mining, textile, mining, biodegradable and other manufacturing industries.

In the food sector, it is an excellent alternative for wheat flour in baked products and it is also employed as a thickener for soups, sauces, baby food and gravies. It is also utilized as a filler to complement the solid contents of ice cream and is a reliable binder for hotdogs, sausages and other processed meat products to minimize dryness while cooking it.

Chips are up with new cassava scheme

2010-10-23T08:38:00.000+07:00

Sanguan Wongse Industries Co, a major producer and exporter of tapioca starch, is confident that government efforts to promote an integrated tapioca industry in Nakhon Ratchasima will ensure manufacturers a steady supply of cassava roots.

A programme that begins today features co-operation between the Agriculture, Energy and Industry ministries, manufacturers and planters in promoting the province as a main cassava source for the animal feed and alternative energy sectors.

A guaranteed steady supply will enable the company to maintain annual production at 250,000 tonnes, said Thidarat Tantiwong, the managing director.

"More importantly, stable production and reasonable prices will prevent our buyers from shifting to other kinds of flour," she said.

The competitiveness of Thai tapioca flour took a big hit this month, when the price soared to US$600 a tonne, prompting users to turn to other ingredients, especially corn flour, which is cheaper at about $500 a tonne.

"The paper and sweetener sectors have opted to use tapioca flour because of its low price, but if our products are more expensive, users will choose other products," said Ms Thidarat.

The price of tapioca starch declined somewhat last week, but production of field corn is expected to increase, pulling down the price of that crop. This year's cassava output will also suffer from drought and mealy bug infestation.

A local industry study forecasts the coming season's output at only 21 million tonnes, down 4.55% from the previous crop and 30% from the 2008-09 season.

"Falling output is expected to intensify competition for supply among manufacturers for tapioca products _ starch, pellets and chips," said Ms Thidarat.

About half of last year's total crop of 22 million tonnes of cassava was acquired by the starch industry and the rest used in chips and pellets for animal feed. This year's shortage will be exacerbated by strong demand from a new major user, ethanol plants.

Of the 30 million tonnes of cassava roots produced in 2008-09, only 2.42 million went to ethanol plants, and the volume will be much lower this year. The price of roots soared to more than 3 baht a kilogramme in recent months, dropping back to 2.20 last week as the new harvest began.

To obtain more of the supply, Ms Thidarat said tapioca flour producers would offer a higher price to planters, 2.50 baht. The Northeast is a major hub for the flour industry, home to 80 of the country's 148 factories that together shipped 2.5 million tonnes of native and modified starch last year.

The Agriculture Ministry said the integrated industry programme would ensure satisfactory prices for farmers under the contract-farming model. Besides a guaranteed price, the estimated 1,000 planters participating will receive assistance including dissemination of high-productivity strains and management training.

"This is a long-term project aimed at promoting a sustainable cassava industry in which planters can earn sufficient income and manufacturers can conduct their business," said Ms Thidarat.

The programme will turn Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand's biggest cassava production base with about 25% of output, into a prototype supply destination for the food and fuel industries.

It will also attract new investment from Sanguan Wongse in the form of a 200-million-baht biomass power plant that uses waste from the flour production process.

Brazilian university to build cassava processing factory in Angola

2010-10-22T08:36:00.000+07:00

A cassava processing factory is due to be built in the location of Zâmbia, Amboim municipality, in Angola’s Kwanza Sul province, by Brazil’s Santa Cruz do Sul University (Unisc/Brazil), the advisor to the university’s chancellor said Thursday in Sumbe.

Silmo Schuler told Angolan news agency Angop that the execution of the project would benefit 1,000 families, which would ensure the supply of cassava produced in an area of 2,000 hectares, as well as 80 direct jobs at the factory.

The project includes installation of fruit juice industries, construction of a mini hydroelectric dam and primary and middle schools, a hospital and 1,700 homes, via partnerships with private entities.

"The factory will have a processing capacity of 100 tons of cassava per day, which will lead to 25 tons of starch and 35 tons of husk, which will be used for animal feed," he said.

The beneficiaries of this project will receive training in drawing up and managing budgets, use and protection of water sources and preparation of soil, amongst other matters, both in Brazil and locally.

Schuler also told Angop that Santa Cruz University had broad-ranging experience of cassava production.

With four campuses, Santa Cruz do Sul, Sobradinho, Capão da Canoa and Venâncio Aires, the University of Santa Cruz do Sul currently has 525 professors and over 11,000 students. (macauhub)

Solomon Islands Looks to Cassava

2010-10-21T08:30:00.000+07:00

Solomon Islands are exploring the possibility of engaging in large scale export of cassava to the Canadian market.

Speaking during a media conference this week Minister of Foreign Affairs, Peter Shanel, has confirmed holding bilateral talks with Canada on the possibility of exporting cassava.

Peter Shanel, who arrived early this week from New York, said that instead of selling cassava at local markets, farmers will be able to sell their products for much better returns overseas.

The cassava export markets are primarily in Europe and North America, which includes Canada. There are a number of important but smaller markets in Asia, such as Japan, Korea and China.

An expert in agricultural export says that there are certain barriers the Solomon Islands should be aware of should it choose to enter the cassava market.

"There are issues such as quality requirements, variability in price, and the established contacts between European and North American importers such as Canada with other major exporters such as Thailand and Indonesia."

"This is not to say that other cassava producing countries cannot enter these markets, but they need to realize that the export market is not for all cassava producing countries."

The expert says that for the Solomon Islands, one of the key requirements that must be considered carefully is that of quality, "they have to meet internationally accepted standards in order to enter the Canadian market."

"I think one of the first step government should do is to set up its own testing facilities, to ensure that cassava and other crops qualify for these markets, it is a hugely lucrative market not just for cassava but other root crops, but the barriers to entry is quite high - but not impossible to reach."

Research has shown that the annual growth rate of fresh cassava imports into Canada is 30%, proving it to be one of the more lucrative markets for cassava.

In recent times Canada imported well over 2,900 metric tonnes of fresh, dried, chilled and frozen cassava.

Cassava exports decline by 18%

2010-10-20T08:27:00.000+07:00

Viet Nam exported 70,000 tonnes of cassava and cassava-based products worth US$30 million in September, according to a report published by the General Statistics Office.

Last month's figures brought the country's total export value during the first nine months to $384 million, a year-on-year decrease of 18.1 per cent.

Director of the Information and Statistics Centre under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Viet Chien attributed the decline to waning Chinese consumption.

"China consumes 90 per cent of Viet Nam's cassava and cassava-based exports products. They have stopped importing the goods due to the products' high price," said Chien.

The national cassava export market last year was hectic and it pushed up prices during the beginning of this year, said Chien.

According to a ministry report, about 87 large and 300 small-sized manufacturers process cassava in Viet Nam. Each year, the manufacturers produce 985,000 tonnes of starch and 150,000 tonnes of cassava.

In the past few years, cassava plantation shrank because of the crop's low demand. However, cassava demand has increased because the crop is used to produce feed and ethanol.

Viet Nam is the second leading cassava exporter in the world.

The ministry wants to create national quality and manufacturing standards to further develop the cassava-export sector.

Setting up a cassava manufacturers' association should also be launched, reported the ministry.

Agro2 Pioneers Ethanol from Cassava in Panama

2010-09-15T12:23:00.000+07:00

Agro2 announces it will be the first company to research and produce ethanol from cassava in Panama, thanks to funding from FACT Foundation and the Global Sustainable Biomass Fund of NL Agency, a division of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs commissioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“We are very excited about this project and are eager to stimulate cassava as a sustainable biomass source,” said Maartje op de Coul, Global Sustainable Biomass Fund Coordinator.

Dutchman Frans van Hulle, Agro2’s founder, has been growing cassava for three years, and is constructing a demonstration ethanol plant in Veraguas and will begin testing this year.

Agro2 is exploring cassava’s feasibility as a sustainable ethanol feedstock for the Panamanian market. The project aims to provide income for local farmers who produce cassava. Agro2 has been collaborating with local farmers, businesses and NGOs to research and analyze local and foreign cassava varieties.

The company, which is a member of CLAYUCA—the Latin American and Caribbean Consortium to Support Cassava Research and Development and part of CIAT— is organizing a farmer’s association to organize farmers for the roll out of the planned 1,000 ha. in the next 3 years.

Van Hulle says his goal is to become a sustainably certified supplier of ethanol for local markets. “In Panama, all of the fuel we use is imported, but what I would like to see is cars in Panama City powered by locally grown, sustainable cassava.”

Agro2 is a private Panamanian company founded in 2007 and is passionate about growing and processing cassava for export as well as for the local market and plans to start producing ethanol from cassava in Q4 2010. Agro2 uses sustainable agriculture practices and works to promote positive socio-economic impacts in the Veraguas province of Panama.

Creating more markets for cassava

2010-09-14T12:18:00.002+07:00

The Cassava Value Chain Development Project has again inaugurated a cassava processing center in Sierra Leone, bringing the number of processing centers commissioned under the project in that country to six, thanks to the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC)the initiator and financier of the project.

The center which is located in Walihun, about eight hours drive from the capital Freetown in the southern part of the country, will help resource poor farmers in that region to process cassava roots to several products including gari, and fufu.

It will also ease the pains associated with the traditional or manual system of cassava processing, says Mr. Olu John, President of the National Association of Farmers in Sierra Leone.

In December 2009, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)the implementing agency, and the Sierra Leone Agricultural Research Institute (SLARI), commissioned five cassava processing sites to ease the burden of processing, create additional markets for cassava products and more importantly generate wealth in local communities through increased cassava production.

The five centers were Gbotima processing center in Bo District; Njala Agricultural Research Center, in Moyamba District; Adamaris cassava processing center in Bombali District; UPWARDS cassava processing center in Port Loko District; and another center in Waterloo in the Western Rural District.

John said farmers were glad over these projects but added, we request for more to process and boost cassava production.

Beneficiaries of the project commended IITA-CFC West Africa for putting the project in their community.

Mr. Samuel Konde, leader of Walihun Farmers Association, said the project would turn around the fortunes of cassava farmers in the community.

We are happy because help has finally come, he said.

In Sierra Leone, cassava is a key crop because of its ease of cultivation and culinary qualities such as straightforwardness of preparation. Usually, the roots are either boiled or eaten in raw form. Cassava leaves are also a delicacy that is served with several dishes.

The project, which seeks to diversify and make more products from cassava, will allow farmers access to more money, says Prof. Sanni Lateef, Project Coordinator, IITA-CFC West Africa.

Our project beneficiaries now have the opportunity to process quality cassava products and make more money, he stressed.

Lateef called on beneficiaries to jealously monitor and to tap the enormous potential of the enterprises.

According to him, IITA, the Food and Agriculture Organization, SLARI and other partners will continue to train stakeholders in areas such as effective hygienic practices, equipment maintenance, and enterprise management to ensure that beneficiaries get sustainable income and nutritious foods.

Impact from cassava price

2010-09-02T10:46:00.000+07:00

Increasing tapioca starch prices will likely delay some cassava-based food additive projects, say manufacturers.

Domestic prices of tapioca starch have been rising strongly in line with costly cassava roots, as output has dropped due to drought and an invasion of pink cassava mealybugs. Starch prices hit 19.50 baht a kilogramme on average this month, driving export prices above US$600 per tonne, compared with 12 baht per kg and $400 a tonne earlier this year and eight baht a kg and $280 a tonne last year.

"Considering these high prices, we might opt to wait and see before investing in making cassava-based maltodextrin," said Chanchai Chaodee, managing director of Chaodee Starch Co.

Chaodee, a producer and exporter of tapioca starch, plans to invest 200 million baht to produce maltodextrin, a polysaccharide used as an additive in food and medical products.

Strong starch prices decrease the competitiveness of cassava-based maltodextrin compared with imported products produced from other kinds of flour. Corn-based starch from China is now 23-24 baht per kg, compared with 27-29 baht for cassava-based maltodextrin made here.

Cassava production is estimated to drop to 20-21 million tonnes this year, or 30% from the previous season.

The company, located in the Northeast, uses about 2,000 tonnes of cassava roots a day to make 500 tonnes of starch for local paper makers such as Siam Cement and for export to China, India and Japan.Plans to produce ethanol from cassava have also been put off until production returns to normal levels, he said.

The maltodextrin project received support from the Industrial Technology Assistance Programme (iTAP). iTAP has teamed up with the Suranaree University of Technology to provide technical support for the project, which plans to produce about 50 litres of maltodextrin a day.

The agency is also helping the company to turn cassava waste into bio-fertiliser.

Davao region pushes cassava production

2010-09-01T10:43:00.001+07:00

DAVAO CITY -- The Davao Region is looking at taking advantage of the growing demand for cassava, an official of the regional Agriculture office said.

Herna M. Palma, Department of Agriculture regional coordinator on corn and cassava, said the domestic demand for cassava has risen to five million metric tons a year and the figure is expected to double by 2014.

In some hinterland areas, particularly in Talaingod, Davao del Norte, the plant has become a main crop for farmers.

Ms. Palma said that getting adequate supply has gotten tougher in recent years as Luzon-based companies start to buy in commercial quantity from Mindanao.

Cassava is used for feeds, confectionery, medicines, glue, liquor and ethanol fuel, among others.

For food requirements alone, demand for cassava will increase to 1.3 million metric tons by 2014 from 654,000 metric tons this year, Ms. Palma said. For feeds, demand will reach 8.2 million metric tons four years from now, from just about half of the demand this year.

Norlito P. Agduyeng, regional technical director of the Department of Agriculture, said the increasing demand for cassava has offered a window of opportunity for farmers.

"We have a ready market for our cassava products, which includes San Miguel Foods, Inc., and other small and medium buyers. All we have to do is to produce high quality and quantity cassava," said Mr. Agduyeng. The government will help farmers increase production by providing them with planting materials that yield better, technical assistance and even post-harvest facilities, he added.

In a related development, Datu Gabriel Sayad, leader of the Council of Elders of the Ata-Manobo tribe, said his community has signed with a consolidator that buys cassava for giant food conglomerate San Miguel Corp.

10,000 acres of cassava to support the Ayensu Starch Factory

2010-08-25T15:39:00.001+07:00

The Ayensu Starch Factory at Bawjiase in the Central Region, which has remained idle for almost four years, will soon be given a new facelift by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Mahama Ayariga, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, said during a visit on Friday.

He said the ministry was aware of the numerous challenges facing the factory and would map out strategies to ensure that the factory became fully operational early next year.

He said one of the key elements of the industrial policy of the ministry was to have a strong industrial material base to feed growing industries in the country.

Mr. Ayariga said the ministry would collaborate with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to cultivate about 10,000 acres of cassava to support the factory to reduce the importation of starch into the country.

Samson Abbey Armah, Logistics Coordinator of the factory, said the plant had been grounded since 2006 due to inadequate supply of cassava, the raw material needed to feed the factory.

Mr Armah appealed to the ministry to expedite plans to restore its operations.

Mr. James Biitir, the farm supervisor, said "the Ayensu Starch Factory does not produce poisonous cassava, and our cassava is good for food and industrial starch in all circles".

He appealed to the ministry to help improve the working conditions of the workers on the cassava farm.

Cassava processing centers

2010-08-24T17:35:00.000+07:00

The Cassava Value Chain Development Project has inaugurated two additional processing centers in Lanta and Adjahonmey in Benin Republic, bringing the total number of processing centers in that country under the project to four, thanks to the Netherlands–based Common Fund for Commodities (CFC)—the initiator and financier of the project.

The additional two centers will help resource_poor farmers in Benin to add value to the root crop and create more markets for its products.

In 2009 the Cassava Value Chain Development Project, which is being implemented by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, commissioned two cassava processing centers in the Republic of Benin . Impressed by the work done, CFC approved the upgrade of two additional processing sites for the smallholder communities.

Beneficiaries of the project commended IITA and CFC for citing the project in their communities.

Mrs. Kodo Lydia , a women leader, whose group benefited from the project at Lanta said the processing center was a dream come true.

“When we were told of the assistance, we never believed but today we are glad and the processing center will ease our burden and increase our incomes,” she said.

The commissioning attracted the attention of policy makers, non governmental organizations, and other stakeholders.

Coordinators from other CFC_West Africa countries; Nigeria and Sierra Leone also attended the commissioning and thereafter, participated in the experience_sharing meeting among the countries.

The three country coordinators lauded the CFC for the livelihood_boosting project.
According to Dr. Sahr Fomba, the Country Coordinator for Sierra Leone , the project’s focus on the rural population and medium scale farmers is turning around the fortunes of cassava in Sierra Leone .

“Already the model setting up the processing centers is attracting other donors to the project. They want to adopt the same approach,” he added. Fomba said farmers now have more hygienic cassava products such as garri and cassava bread that are widely consumed in Sierra Leone .

For Mrs. Omololu Ope_Ewe, the Country Coordinator for Nigeria , the project is adding value to cassava and opening new markets for cassava products especially in the northern part of Nigeria .

“One of the centers is now processing odorless fufu flour that is in high demand. We are presently assisting the center to get government approval for commercialization,” she said.

“To us in Nigeria , the project is timely and we are glad CFC invested in Nigeria ,” she added.
For David Agbewonu, Country Coordinator for the Republic of Benin , the project is a reference point to other donors in the country. “This is because of the impact it is already having on the communities,” he said.

With its relative ease of cultivation backed by research activities at IITA, cassava has gained appeal from farmers ranking among the most preferred crops for cultivation in Africa .

Breeding work at IITA and national partners has equally boosted the production of the crop with some countries doubling yield.

Prof. Lateef Sanni, IITA_CFC Coordinator, said apart from building and equipping the processing centers, the project would provide the necessary trainings to make it sustainable

Davao region pushes cassava production

2010-08-23T22:33:00.001+07:00

The Davao Region is looking at taking advantage of the growing demand for cassava, an official of the regional Agriculture office said.

Herna M. Palma, Department of Agriculture regional coordinator on corn and cassava, said the domestic demand for cassava has risen to five million metric tons a year and the figure is expected to double by 2014.

In some hinterland areas, particularly in Talaingod, Davao del Norte, the plant has become a main crop for farmers.

Ms. Palma said that getting adequate supply has gotten tougher in recent years as Luzon-based companies start to buy in commercial quantity from Mindanao.

Cassava is used for feeds, confectionery, medicines, glue, liquor and ethanol fuel, among others.

For food requirements alone, demand for cassava will increase to 1.3 million metric tons by 2014 from 654,000 metric tons this year, Ms. Palma said. For feeds, demand will reach 8.2 million metric tons four years from now, from just about half of the demand this year.

Norlito P. Agduyeng, regional technical director of the Department of Agriculture, said the increasing demand for cassava has offered a window of opportunity for farmers.

"We have a ready market for our cassava products, which includes San Miguel Foods, Inc., and other small and medium buyers. All we have to do is to produce high quality and quantity cassava," said Mr. Agduyeng. The government will help farmers increase production by providing them with planting materials that yield better, technical assistance and even post-harvest facilities, he added.

In a related development, Datu Gabriel Sayad, leader of the Council of Elders of the Ata-Manobo tribe, said his community has signed with a consolidator that buys cassava for giant food conglomerate San Miguel Corp.

Cassava Saving Millions Starving Africans

2010-08-16T13:27:00.001+07:00

“We must sing for you, great cassava, we must sing,” wrote Flora Nwapa, a Nigerian novelist and poet, in praise of cassava during the 1967 Nigerian civil war.

Many would not have deciphered the important message contained in this phrase but it has come in handy since cassava has been touted as the only staple food that could get Africa out of hunger bondage.

Ukambani is a place where the great cassava is getting such praises, the hardy tuber will save millions of residents who have survived through perennial droughts.

It is not only Ukambani where the crop has found its way back to the farms, other regions in the country prone to hunger and famine are giving it a shot.

Field trials have begun in a bold effort to make cassava, the primary source of calories for 800 million people worldwide, a better provider of nutrition and increase its revenue-producing potential, especially for farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.

The three-year-old BioCassava Plus project, funded since 2005 by more than 12.1 million U.S. dollars in grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has attracted a team of international scientists that is genetically engineering a range of valuable traits into the low-protein, virus-prone root crop that has a short shelf life and long processing time.

According to Richard Sayre one of the scientists who spoke to Xinhua, the project has eight objectives five of which are nutritional. The scientists sought to put the minimum daily allowances of protein, vitamins A and E, iron and zinc into a single 500-gram adult meal of cassava.

They also plan to make the crop more resistant to viral diseases, which reduce yields by 30 percent to 50 percent in many areas of sub-Saharan Africa; extend the plant’s shelf life from one day to two weeks; and reduce cyanide toxicity.

The cassava plant requires a three- to six-day processing regimen that must begin immediately after harvest to remove compounds that generate cyanide.

“Where we stand now,” says Sayre, “We’ve demonstrated proof of practice for all the target objectives in three years.”

The scientists have created individual plants with each trait, and ultimately they will combine most or all of the traits into a single plant.

Cassava is grown widely in tropical Africa, Asia and Latin America. It is the developing world’s fourth most important crop, with production in 2006 estimated at 226 million metric tons, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Cassava is the staple food of nearly one billion people in 105 countries where the root provides as much as a third of daily calories. However, average cassava yields are barely 20 percent of those obtained under optimum conditions. To engineer a better cassava plant, the scientists began with a model cultivar from Africa, a variety of a plant that is created or chosen and maintained through cultivation.

For each targeted trait, the team transferred into the cassava plant genes from other plants, including cassava, and sometimes bacteria, that could confer the desired traits. The transgenic plants then went through a rigorous biosafety approval process in the United States and were tested in model systems, like human cell lines and sometimes animals, before they were allowed to be grown outside in field trials.

BioCassava Plus now has field trials in progress at a US Department of Agriculture site in Puerto Rico and is working with partners from the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez.

“We have at least three traits in the field and we anticipate having two and maybe more coming by the end of the year,” Sayre said.

The next step is to hold field trials in Africa with partners in Kenya and Nigeria in 2009. After these trials, the scientists can begin the process of combining traits into a single plant.

“Africa is in the process of establishing biosafety regulations for transgenics in most of the countries,” Sayre said. However Kenya and Nigeria, have rules in place.

A preliminary cassava product release, potentially within five years, will have four or five traits, including virus resistance, higher protein, iron and vitamin A.

In Kenya, cassava is grown on more than 90,000 hectares with an annual production of about 540,000 tonnes. Cultivation is mainly in Western (60 percent), Eastern (10) and Coast provinces (30). The crop has been grown by peasant farmers for subsistence.

Boosting cassava production

2010-08-13T09:02:00.000+07:00

Cassava can be found in most parts of the world, but it is mostly found in Africa and Nigeria is the largest producer. But many people do not have the knowledge of how to plant and process it for export . It is often produced only for local consumption.

Against this backdrop, the Cassava Enterprises Development Project (CEDP), a Public Private Partnership (PPP) programme is being jointly sponsored by USAID and Shell Petroleum Development Company to promote cassava production and processing technologies in the South-South and South-East of Nigeria since June 2004. The project was funded with about US$11.9m. While Shell contributed 75 per cent of the total amount, USAID paid 25 per cent, with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) as the implementing partner for the programme.

The projects were demonstrated in the key SPDC states such as Bayelsa, Delta, Rivers, Abia, Akwa- Ibom and Cross River. Though the project did not go without some challenges, it managed to scale through to achieve the aim for which it was designed.

To ensure the success of the programme, the IITA commenced a series of training courses in all the Shell states to educate core farmers on how to plant and process cassava. The training modules and activities included agribusiness and access to credit, competitive cassava production techniques, machine operation/product development, and community analysis. It was anticipated that the four courses/activities would be spread across 200 participants per state. However, it was later reasoned that it would be more cost-effective, and would generate a greater impact by allowing 50 participants per state to benefit from all the four modules. Participants were tested before and after each course to determine existing knowledge and knowledge gained.

The purpose of community analysis was to identify and analyse with community members, their constraints, opportunities, prospects, and priorities with respect to cassava enterprise development.

Participatory tools and techniques were used to explore relevant issues relating to livelihood, wealth and social status, crop production, processing, marketing and problem prioritisation as they affect cassava enterprises. The resource persons were Dr Udensi Udensi and Chyka Okarter.

Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, the Project Manager for CEDP, Dr. Gbassay Tarawali, explained that the four local government council areas that were involved in Delta State are Isoko North and South, and Ughelli North and South; all located within a radius of 10-50 km from Otor Owhe where the analysis was conducted. 42 participants were selected from across 17 communities, comprising 21 men, 11 women and 10 youths (six males and four females) who were involved in focus group discussions.

Crop production and general farming activities were identified as the prominent sources of livelihood involving men, women and the youth, with more than 50 per cent of the women engaged in cassava production. Cassava, yam, plantain, banana, maize and sweet potato were the priority food crops, while oil palm, pineapple, sugarcane, and paw-paw were the major cash crops.

Among the cassava enterprises, the priority activity of the men was the production of stems (30 per cent) and tubers (50 per cent). Making gari was a major enterprise for 80 per cent of the women and 30 per cent of the youth, while trading was the major non-farm livelihood activity for all the three groups.

The major problems with cassava production, common to men, women, and the youth were weeds, high cost of fertilizer, lack of capital/credit, lack of improved varieties, and technical know-how, the land tenure system, and the high cost of labour.

The common problems with cassava processing for all (men, women and the youth) were lack of machines/equipment, high transport costs for moving tubers from the farm to processing points, and poor access to clean water. Proximity to market as well as low and fluctuating prices, poor access roads and trade unionism were the major problems of marketing the produce.

Speaking about the programme, the project coordinators in the South-South and South-East, Dr Udensi Udensi and Chyka Okarter, told the Nigerian Tribune that the project was an intervention for poverty alleviation for farmers on the field and not just farmers who are not practising. It was being used to keep the women, youths and some of the men busy and be able to improve their lives and those of their families. Something that had been a bit difficult hitherto.

The project also afforded the communities to have some corporate farmers unlike the poor farmers of those days who could not even provide enough to eat, talk less of having something to sell to others.

However, today it is a success story for both the farmers and the sponsors of the projects, because they have achieved something from what they learnt about the new improved cassava.

The Nigerian Tribune spoke with some of the beneficiaries of the CEDP project in Warri, Asaba and Port-Harcourt zone who attended a workshop to display the products they derived from cassava and the cassava stems that could be purchased by farmers to get a better cassava plant during harvest time.

Dr. Amoudou, who was part of the training team, stated that, “We teach people how to make a number of products from cassava and today we are proud of what they are making of it. We also ensure they just don’t bag them in any kind of sack as they used to do, like the use of cement, fertilizer or even chemical sacks to bag edible products. Now they package with the name of the company, the address and NAFDAC registration numbers.”

According to him, people have started exporting cassava products for sometime because they now have hygienic methods of packaging. Up till 2009, Africa was the largest producer of cassava with Nigeria as number one followed by Cote D’Ivoire, but unfortunately, Nigeria was the smallest exporter of cassava.

Wasps to Fight Thai Cassava Plague

2010-08-12T08:59:00.000+07:00

BANGKOK — Entomologists deployed the first wave of an army of 250,000 tiny wasps over the weekend in a campaign to eradicate a plague of mealybugs that threatens to devastate Thailand’s $1.5 billion cassava crop.

The wasps, each smaller than a pinhead, home in on the mealybugs, piercing and laying their eggs inside them. The larvae devour the mealybugs from within, emerging in a few days from their mummified shells to seek new hosts.

It is the latest battle in a competition between farmers and predators for the crops that sustain them both, with this species of mealybugs feeding exclusively on cassava and the wasps feeding exclusively on the cassava-eating mealybugs.

“In that sense, it’s the perfect biological control,” said Rod Lefroy, regional research coordinator in Asia for the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, a nonprofit group that has coordinated the release.

The use of wasps, which has been effective in Africa, is expected to also succeed in Thailand, the world’s leading exporter of cassava, which is also known as manioc, tapioca and yucca.

In Africa, where the use of wasps to kill mealybugs was pioneered, a new plague is already threatening vast cassava plantations: a disease known as brown streak, for which no cure has yet been found.

“It’s going to be an international game of cat and mouse,” said Tony Bellotti, an entomologist at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture in Colombia who is a specialist in wasps and mealybugs. “As the cassava mealybug finds its way to new countries, we can send in the wasps.”

Early signs of mealybug infestation have been reported in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, Thailand’s neighbors. “Cassava production in Southeast Asia has enjoyed an extended honeymoon, relatively free of major pest and disease outbreaks,” Dr. Bellotti said.

Thailand, the third largest producer of cassava, after Nigeria and Brazil, accounts for 60 percent of worldwide exports of the root, which is used in foods like noodles, the flavor-enhancer monosodium glutamate and products including toothpaste.

Much larger areas are cultivated in Africa, but Dr. Lefroy said that about 50 percent of production there was consumed locally as food.

Most of Thailand’s exports go to China, which produces 40 percent of its own huge demand for the plant. China’s consumption is expected to double in the next few years, making cassava an increasingly lucrative crop.

The mealybugs, with a life cycle of about a month, can spread quickly, with each insect laying an average of 440 eggs and producing 10 generations in a year. The bugs feed on the tips of cassava plants, stunting their growth with a toxic saliva.

The threat to Thailand’s industry emerged in force last year, when 20 to 25 percent of the crop was destroyed, frightening farmers and driving up prices.

Hundreds of farmers attended the ceremonial first release Saturday in Khon Kaen, some of them gathering up handfuls of wasps for themselves, Dr. Lefroy said.

The tiny wasps neither buzz nor sting, he said. “You’ve got to be an entomologist to even think of them as wasps.”

Trade in cassava stems hits N150million

2010-08-11T08:56:00.000+07:00

Researchers estimate that farmers in Nigeria traded improved cassava stem worth more than N150 million in five years.

Lateef Sanni, a professor at the International Institutes for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) said this at the Food and Culture lecture organized by the Public Affairs Section of the United States Consulate General, Lagos and IITA in Ibadan. Mr Sanni said that this increase came between 2003 and 2008, and attributed it to the cassava revolution in Africa. He added that the cassava stem is a part that is often neglected for having no commercial value. The lecture brought together experts in the food and agricultural sector. Stakeholders reviewed the US agricultural experience and brainstormed on areas that Africa could tap into. In his presentation, ‘Roots and Tubers: Food Security Crops in Nigeria,’ Mr Sanni said cassava was a food security crop in Nigeria and a major provider of employment and income. He said the crop appeals to farmers because of its affordability, ease of cultivation, and high return on investment. “Apart from the stems, cassava roots and leaves are now offering additional income streams to farmers,” he added.

More funds

Despite cassava’s role in the food web, Mr Sanni said more attention by way of support to research was still needed; more importantly, in cutting down post-harvest losses through investment in processing technologies and the creation of an appropriate policy framework were necessary to sustain cassava’s role in ensuring food security in the future. William Masters, professor from Tufts University said that the US government was reviewing its commitment to African agriculture with plans to increase funding for the sector and to achieve productivity growth. Mr Masters, an agricultural economist, explained that consumers in wealthy societies no longer need higher farm productivity for their own prosperity, but instead are seeking foods that embody their cultural values. Giving a scenario of killing the ‘golden goose that laid the golden eggs,’ he, however, expressed fears that consumer preferences for organic, local and traditional foods in the US might limit their support for the kind of agricultural innovations that are needed in Africa.

Agricultural revolution

According to him, the agricultural revolution in America and Europe which sustained industrialization was a product of technological improvement in agriculture and that campaigning against new advances that hold the key to cutting down hunger and poverty in Africa was synonymous to killing the golden goose that laid the golden eggs of new crop genetics and agronomic methods.

Notwithstanding the limiting preference of the US market, African experts at the session agreed that taking Africa’s agricultural sector out of the woods would require the adoption of new technological tools. Paul Ilona, IITA Senior Cassava Trials Manager, said farmers needed improved seeds, fertilizer and other farm inputs such as pesticides to boost productivity. “Anything to the contrary was a disservice to farmers in Africa,” he said.

Cassava Becoming Mainstay Of Ghana’s GDP

2010-08-10T08:55:00.001+07:00

Government will from next year ensure that the cultivation of cassava in the country is given a major boost to help address the challenges bedeviling the sector and help placed the Ghanaian economy on a sound footing.

The Minister for Environment and Science, Mrs. Shirley Aryeetey, disclosed this when delivering an address at a conference organized by the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) last Friday.
The conference, which was under the theme “Improving Cassava Yields in Africa Drought-Prone-Environment”, was aimed at discussing how cassava yields can be improved in drought-prone environments like Africa.

She welcomed the idea of improving upon the production of the crop adding that “cassava has undergone transformation from being a resource poor farmer’s crop to industrial crop”.

The Minister, on that score, labeled the move as a “laudable idea because Cassava has contributed about 22% of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ever since it was introduced by the Portuguese in the 16th Century”.
“The improvement in the cultivation methods will help the nation to improve upon its food needs and also bring foreign exchange into the country,” she added.

The conference brought together researchers from advanced Agricultural Institutes and National Agricultural Researchers across the globe and was organized by the Centre under its Generation Challenge Program (GCP).
The GCP was created in 2003 with the aim of establishing a global network of partners from advanced agricultural institutes and national agricultural research programs to collectively work to improve crop productivity in drought-prone environments.

The partners, since the inception of the program have been able to work together to create public goods from the raw materials of plant genetic diversity and the advanced tools of genomics science for use in plant breeding programs.
Cassava as a crop, according to GCP, was introduced in the 16th Century by the Brazilian-Portuguese culture and has over the years become a major staple for Sub-Saharan Africa because of the many advantages gained from the crop.

The estimated worldwide production of cassava is about 300 million metric tons of fresh roots. The largest producers are Nigeria, Brazil, Congo (Zaire), Thailand, Indonesia and China. High domestic consumption of cassava in Nigeria, Congo and Brazil means their net exports is negligible.

Thailand and Indonesia are the largest suppliers of cassava chips into the world market covering about 80% and 10% of global exports respectively. In 1996 for example Thailand exported about 5 million tons of cassava products. In that same year, Ghana’s total production of fresh cassava was about 5 million tons. Local demand was 3 million tons, leaving a surplus of 2 million tons, which can yield about 700,000 tons of dry cassava products, like chips or starch.

Tiny wasps, Mealybug and Cassava

2010-07-21T13:47:00.002+07:00

An army of a quarter million South American tiny wasps (Anagyrus Lopezi), released into Thailand’s mealybug affected cassava crops, began their work on a silent way.

According to Thailand’s Agricultural ministry, the experiment has worked successfully to thwart a pest decimating one of the country’s largest food exports.

Entomologists deployed the first batch over the weekend in a campaign to eradicate a plague of mealybugs that threatens crops in Khon Kaen province in northeastern Thailand.

The mealybugs, a recognized enemy of cassava crops in South America and Africa from three decades ago, have arrived in Asia.

Scientists confirmed the spread of the cassava mealybug to about 200,000 hectares of farmland in eastern and north-eastern Thailand in late 2009.

The wasps, each smaller than a pinhead will be released in pairs, home in on the mealybugs, piercing and laying their eggs inside them. The larvae devour the mealybugs from within, emerging in a few days from their mummified shells to seek new hosts.

The use of wasps, which has been effective in Africa, is expected to also succeed in Thailand, the world’s leading exporter of cassava, which is also known as manioc, tapioca and yucca.

Early signs of mealybug infestation have been reported in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, Thailand’s neighbors.

Thailand, the third largest producer of cassava, after Nigeria and Brazil, accounts for 60 percent of worldwide exports of the root, which is used in foods like noodles, the flavor-enhancer monosodium glutamate and products including toothpaste.

The mealybugs, with a life cycle of about a month, can spread quickly, with each insect laying an average of 440 eggs and producing 10 generations in a year. The bugs feed on the tips of cassava plants, stunting their growth with toxic saliva.

The threat to Thailand’s $1.5 billion cassava industry emerged in force last year, when 20 to 25 percent of the crop was destroyed, frightening farmers and driving up prices.

Donat Cassava

2010-07-14T10:24:00.003+07:00

Material:
350 gr high protein flour
200 gr of cassava flour
50 gr milk powder
15 gr instant yeast
250 gr potatoes, steamed, mashed
100 gr sugar
75 gr butter
¼ teaspoon salt
4 egg yolks
100 ml ice water
oil for frying

Topping:
100 gr dark cooking chocolate
100 g white cooking chocolate
50 gr almond slices, toasted briefly

How to Make:

Mix the cassava starch, flour, sugar, milk powder, instant yeast, mix well. Enter a smooth potatoes, eggs and ice water and knead until blended and smooth.
Add butter and salt. Knead again until smooth. Dough rest for 15 minutes.
Reduce dough, the dough of each 10 gr. Round it off. Let stand again for 20 minutes, until fluffy double that of the original.
Heat oil over low heat, grab a donut dough, then form rings, enter in the cooking oil while inverted until cooked and golden brown color. Lift.
After chilling, dip the donuts into the white chocolate or dark cooking chocolate cooking, sprinkle with almond slices wait until hard.

For 25 pieces

Tips:
cassava flour used in these recipes are not the same as tapioca flour. Cassava flour is made from dried cassava roots into flour and mashed so. In the market is usually called cassava flour.

Cassava starch processing factory

2010-06-30T15:54:00.001+07:00

Starch is an important raw material that is widely used in the food, textile, paper and pharmaceutical industries. Interestingly, recent a research by the Food and Agricultural Organisation shows that almost all starch varieties can be replaced with cassava starch.

In its latest report on the Global Cassava Market Study, published in www.fao.org/dorcrep, the FAO declares that global demand for cassava starch will increase at an annual rate of 3.1 per cent, while regional growth rates are expected to rise by 4.2 per cent in Asia; 3.4 per cent in Latin America; and 2.3 per cent in Africa.

The report notes,” Local processing of native cassava starch is an attractive option because it offers a means of converting a relatively low cost raw material into a high value product, which can readily substitute for imported starch.

“The market opportunity for cassava starch exists in every country that is consuming more starch in various industrial processes.”

Currently, Nigeria is the world‘s largest producer of cassava, with production capacity estimated at over 49 million metric tonnes per annum. Experts say that the Federal Government’s makes cassava starch processing a worthwhile venture for any enrepreneur.

The National President, Cassava Produce Promoters and Exporters Association of Nigeria, Mr. Markus Magaji, says small and medium scale entrepreneurs are currently investing in various cassava starch processing projects across the country due to availability of raw materials, with prospects of high returns on investment.

He says, ”Today, cassava starch is in high demand in the country. A lot of people are building cassava processing plants across the country. Due to the high prospects, in terms of returns on investment, most of them are acquiring more machines to expand their existing facilities.”

National President, Nigerian Cassava Processors and Marketers Association, Mr. Ayo Olubori, also notes that the growing interest in cassava starch processing is as a result of the wide application of the product, which lends to its profit-generating potential.

According to him, investment opportunities in starch production go beyond the shores of Nigeria.

“ Investors and government agencies from West African countries are already wooing entrepreneurs in Nigeria to their countries. Nigeria is undoubtedly more advanced than many other African countries in cassava starch processing. The recent lifeline given to the textile industry will further boost cassava starch production in Nigeria,” Olubori says.

He says that the technology for processing cassava starch is affordable and can be sourced within the country, adding that functional cassava starch processing machines are currently being fabricated locally.

The main challenges, according to him include insufficient land for cassava cultivation in commercial quantity, limited funding sources and poor power supply, which may raise its cost of production.

He, however, stresses that the choice of equipment, factory location and supply of raw materials and scale of production are critical factors that must be considered before investing in the business.

Olubori says, “A large cassava starch plant requires about 250 tonnes of freshly harvested cassava per day, while a mini plant requires about 20 tonnes per day. Both scales have the potential of producing the same quality. The yield is, however, a function of the age of cassava, variety of cassava, season of production (dry or wet season) and, of course, the efficiency of the equipment. Such a plant is usually fully automated, sometimes with computer controlled devices. Hence, total quality requirement is easier to manage.”

Cassava Production at the Kalinago

2010-06-23T11:21:00.002+07:00

Kalinago (A district on the north east coast now more popularly called the Carib Territory)
It is believed that people Kalinago transported to Dominican cassava plants from South America more than 1000 years ago. Cassava is one of the most respected food Kalinago people, and always an important part of their daily food.

There are various methods of preparation of Cassava in accordance with the purpose to be used. The Yams can be baked, boiled or roasted. It is most often used to make cassava bread. It is also often used to make Farine, which is the fiber of the Cassava after the starch has been removed from it.

When Cassava has reached maturity stage were then harvested and cleaned of all soil and external fibers, including skin before the land use of Cassava Mill.

The Mill Cassava designed and built by people Kalinago own. Grinding the surface of the filter plant consists of aluminum in the wheel. To grind the cassava, the foot is used to turn the wheels of the board is attached, while being fed with cassava grater.

Cassava soil mixed with water in the bath and then squeezed to separate the starch from the fiber. starch that settles at the bottom of the container in which the excess water is squeezed. Dry fibers and then filtered to remove the hard fibers, which make the fibers are ready for baking. Fiber can be incorporated into Farine or fibers with a mixture of starch can be baked into bread Cassava.

When making cassava bread, cassava fiber and starch mixture converted into a dough. This is then followed by placing it into the pan and allow to bake until cooked. Likewise, when making Farine, Cassava fibers are placed in a saucepan and stir until cooked.

Shrimp and Creamy Cassava Sauce

2010-06-22T11:11:00.001+07:00

I made this recipe for the bobo Cybercook. I added red bell pepper, I removed the skin and seeds of tomatoes and not used to puree the tomatoes on the original recipe, also decreases the amount of palm oil.
Funny, I make this dish often, but still had not posted. Cassava is from my backyard that I have planted a few feet and whenever I need a hole and get the piece that I use.

Shrimp Bobo

500g cleaned shrimp
Cassava 250g peeled and cut into chunks
6 tomatoes peeled and seeded, chopped
a handful of chopped chives and parsley
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt to taste
1 red pepper sliced
400ml coconut milk
a handful of chopped fresh coriander
1 x milk
100ml palm oil (less if you prefer)

Place the cassava into a pot, cover with water and bring to a simmer for about 30 minutes, until soft. Then, drain and blend in a food processor with the coconut milk and milk until a smooth paste. Reserve.
Heat palm oil in a pan, saute the onion for 3 min. Add garlic, tomatoes, peppers and cook for about 8 minutes. Add the parsley and chives, season with salt. Place the mashed cassava and cook stirring constantly until mixture is warm. Add the shrimp and wait until they are completely cooked (do not overcook or they will be stiff). Taste and add more salt if needed. In the end, add the cilantro. Remove from heat and serve with cooked rice.

Cassava turns into source of cash

2010-06-21T10:57:00.001+07:00

Nicholas Olum has been running a fabricating business for many years but it is only recently that his patience paid off— he was contracted to fabricate cassava-processing machines by two organisations that plan to change the fortunes of cassava farmers.

At Sh60,000 for every machine, not many cassava farmers could afford it.

Cassava is almost exclusively grown by small-scale farmers in Kenya with little disposable income.

In areas where it grows, the cooperative movement is weak, dashing the possibilities of group-owned small processing machines.

But Mr Olum’s change in fortunes has come from a new initiative that is helping farmers to grow cassava exclusively for semi-processing.

It is funded and co-ordinated by Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, Kenya Agriculture Research Institute and Farm Concern International.

The semi-processed cassava is sold to cattle feed manufacturers.

The aim is to use the dried chips as a raw material, together with maize, to make cattle feeds.

Feed manufacturers said their main raw material, maize, has become scarce and expensive, raising the cost of the animal feeds.

Maize is Kenya’s staple food so there is competition from humans for the same grain.

Connecting cassava farmers to feed manufacturers will provide a reliable source of raw materials to the feed industry since the crop is available throughout the year.

Feed manufacturers need consistent quality supply to maintain the feed formula and stabilise prices.

“Our members have been looking for reliable quality and consistent supply of alternative carbohydrate sources. Pressure on maize is forcing us to think of partial substitutes cassava chips will fill this gap,” said Martin Kinoti, Secretary General of the Association of Kenya Feeds Manufacturers.

Most recently, Kenya has suffered poor weather conditions that have resulted in below average production of maize, opting for imports.

While imports are cheaper, the cost of transport, especially from the port of Mombasa makes the imported maize even more expensive than the locally grown variety

Deadly cassava disease hits Uganda

2010-06-04T17:03:00.000+07:00

CASSAVA brown streak, a new strain of disease that affects the edible part of the crop, has hit several parts of the country.

According to the agriculture ministry, the disease has affected 50% of the country.

“It is spreading fast and we are faced with a more serious situation than we witnessed with the cassava mosaic disease,” Ephram Tumubweine, the commissioner of crop protection, said.

Tumubweine said almost all varieties, bred or selected for resistance to cassava mosaic disease, are susceptible to the brown streak. Only three varieties, 29, 51 and Akena, were resistant.

The disease has been registered in the central region, with Mukono being the worst hit district. It has also affected the north and north-eastern part of the country.

Tumubweine said the disease is spread through distribution, sub-planting and by white flies. He cited the example of the stalks distributed by the World Food Programme in the north and north-east.
The only solution is to destroy the crop, officials said.

The cassava brown steak is a viral infection that affects the tuberous roots, leading to loss of yields.

Unlike the cassava mosaic disease, which affects the whole plant, with brown streak, the plants look healthy, but the tubes are affected.

The symptoms include root constriction and a dry hard rot when the root is cut. It also cracks and discolours the tubers, while the harvested roots have corky, yellow-brown spots.

The disease also causes yellow and green patches on the leaves, a phenomenon commonly called chlorosis.

Dr. Fred Mukulu, the Mukono production officer, said the disease was first reported eight months ago and has spread to four sub-counties, including Kasawo, Ntunda and Nabbale.

Farmers are being sensitised about the disease and how to curb its spread.

Mukulu said they were trying to introduce another variety of the plant in collaboration with National Agricultural Research organisation (NARO).
NARO is in charge of developing disease-resistant and high yielding crops.

In the early 90s, Uganda incurred a loss of $60m per year due to cassava mosaic disease.

Mealybugs threatening cassava crop

2010-06-03T13:56:00.000+07:00

OFFICIALS fear that a pest partly blamed for the devastation of millions of tonnes of cassava crops across the border in Thailand is wreaking havoc in Banteay Meanchey province.

A provincial agriculture official says almost one-third of the total farmed area for cassava crops in Banteay Meanchey has become infected with mealybugs, a small pest that can potentially destroy the crop.

More than 8,300 hectares of cassava farms in three districts were affected between February and April, out of a total planting area of roughly 25,000 hectares, said Heng Bunhor, director of the province’s Agriculture Department. That number is expected to rise when officials tally assessments from May, he said.

Individual farmers first reported the pests, which assemble in small white clumps, earlier this year. Efforts to eradicate the problem, however, have so far proved ineffective.

“We have never had mealybugs here before, and we have no experience to kill them because they are new in Cambodia,” said Heng Bunhor, who added that plans to get rid of the pest have been hampered by a lack of coordination among farmers.

The mealybug infestation appears to have hit Malai district the hardest, said Om Chantha, the province’s chief of cabinet.

“We are worried they will destroy more cassava because the chemical used to kill them is not effective,” Om Chantha said.

Some farmers say they have already lost their cassava crops in part because of the mealybugs. Te Haing said his 400-hectare cassava farm was destroyed by both insects and drought.

“It is very bad for me and other farmers this year,” he said.

Farmer Sok Pov, who owns a 5-hectare plantation, said he lost his crop twice this year.

“I am hopeless, as I have no capital to replant it,” he said.

An investigation released earlier this year by the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) warned of “widespread economic and social implications” if pest infestations, including mealybugs, affecting Thailand’s cassava industry are not kept in check.

Davao City Importance of cassava

2010-06-02T16:51:00.001+07:00

The Department of Agriculture Davao City urged the farmers to embark on cassava production as it is a profitable and up-to-the-minute business today.

According to Milo Gordo, in-charge of the Seed Pieces of Corn and Cassava unit of DA-Manambolan, pointed out that cassava can flexibly be used in many ways.

During his lecture on corn and cassava planting, Milo explained that cassava starch and pellets can be used as animal food, alcohol, mono glutamates, sweetener, medicine, glue, biodegradable products, plywood binder, paper, textile, and food for human consumption.

He said that five percent of cassava production is used as food, 20 percent as starch, and 75 percent as animal feeds.

Milo refuted superstitious belief of farmers that planting cassava makes the soil parched and dehydrated after harvest, discouraging some farmers not to plant cassava.

Milo said that cassavas sold in public markets are mainly used for food consumption which draws a huge demand for animal feeds.

He assured the farmer-participants to the lecture, that San Miguel Corporation guaranteed to limitlessly purchase cassava for P8.50 per kilo in granulated or pelletized form.

Moreover, Milo discussed that the methods of planting the cassava is a factor that every farmer should consider for it greatly affects production and growth.

According to the study conducted by PhilRoot Crops, land preparation for cassava can be through flat, ridge, and flat plus hilling up which have similar effects to cassava production.

Short stems – 25 centimeters – produces high yield compared to longer stem-cuttings at 34.8 root yield (ton per hectare).

The study also reported 47 registered cassava varieties released between 2002 and 2007.

Valeriano Marqueza, 60-year-old corn farmer in Davao del Norte, is one of the participants who received one kilo of hybrid corn during the lecture. He said that the lecture helped him realized a lot about cassava production.

Marqueza added that he will venture on cassava farming in the coming months.

Meanwhile, Jimmy Adeser, a 48-year-old farmer from Asuncion said that he is very thankful of the free lecture on cassava production as he proudly held a liquid fertilizer he got as freebie during the event.

Cassava exports dry up in 2010

2010-05-15T14:14:00.001+07:00

Cassava exports declined sharply in volume and value in the first four months of this year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

In the first four months, 901,000 tonnes of cassava or cassava-based products were exported, worth US$240 million – down 52.4 per cent in volume and 12.8 per cent in value compared with the same period of last year.

The decline was exaggerated by the exceptionally high export volume last year, said experts from the Agro-Forestry, Seafood Processing and Salt Industry Department.

Mainland China is the biggest importer of Vietnamese cassava – followed by South Korea and Taiwan – accounting for 90 per cent of the industry's export value.

After Thailand, Viet Nam is the second biggest exporter of cassava in the world.

In the first quarter, cassava exports totalled 680,844 tonnes, worth $177.3 million – down 50 per cent in volume and 7 per cent in value against the same period last year.

The domestic market is expected to consume 1 million tonnes of dried cassava for animal feed and ethanol production in 2011. That would leave at least 4 million tonnes for export.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Viet Nam has about 508,000ha of cassava under cultivation at present.

Cassava Farmers Bicker Over Missing Funds

2010-05-13T10:09:00.001+07:00

Osun State chapter of Cassava Grower Farmers Association is rolling in cesspool of corruption a investigation has revealed that the leadership of the group appeared to have allegedly used the financial opportunities accrued to the chapter to service some chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who facilitated his emergence as the chairman of the group in the state.

Findings have further revealed that several millions of naira accrued to the group for certain experimentation of the cassava plantation appeared to have lost in transit, for hundreds of group members who were entitled to the funds could not access it in the last three years.

Checks have further shown that a former minister under the defunct draconian the late General Sani Abacha junta, who hails from Ijesaland and another PDP chieftain in the state were the ones who had gotten more than enough of the the funds made available to the chapter by some international and national organizations and governments not because they are farmers, but because they were the facilitators of the chairman, Mr. David Omisade.

It was learnt that Omisade had met with his members sometimes in the past when a lump sum running to N200 million was allocated to his chapter for provision of cassava stems and land cultivation was available to his chapter, where he reportedly informed them about the development.

In order to service his facilitators, according to a source, the embattled farmer hinted his group of his readiness to share the money amongst the registered members so that they could go and find cassava stems of their choice, contrary to the demand, of the international organization that provided the money.

Information at the disposal of OSUN DEFENDER has shown that the organization that provided the funds wanted the farmers to plant special cassava stems that could germinate and grow within a shortest period, contrary to the old species that could take more than a year before it is ready for harvest.

However, another phase of corruption was the way and manner the leadership of the association would be demanding for processing fees from thousands of members across the state with a promise that they would be assisted financially later, only for them to still be living in forlorn hope despite the fact that the expected funds have been collected and developed wings.

According to findings conducted by OSUN DEFENDER, the two benefactors of the chairman have become parasites on the funds accrued to the association, a situation that has made them to feed fat on it on several occasions, only for Omisade to start hoodwinking the unsuspected members who might be demanding the whereabouts of the funds.

Last year, when OSUN DEFENDER contacted the septuagenarian farmer who was said to have attended numerous international seminars on the bill of the association about some improprieties in the association, Omisade took time to explain about the situation surrounding certain funds concerning provision of cassava stems and the cheque made available to his chapter, but could not give details of the expenditure.

When our reporter was raising so many questions, the farmer then began to threaten that he would cancel the gentleman agreement he had with his members, boasting that he would go ahead and buy cassava stems for them.

Three firms sign deal on cassava purchases

2010-05-12T09:37:00.000+07:00

THE Southern Food Corporation, Cambodian Investment and Development, and the Green Trade Company announced Thursday that they planned to jointly invest $US30 million to buy cassava in Cambodia.

Thun Vireak, director general of Green Trade Company, one of the shareholders in the plan, told the Post on Thursday that the three companies would buy about 100,000 tonnes, more than 3 percent of the Cambodia’s annual cassava production, to export to Vietnam.

“We hope that under this cooperation, the three companies will be able to buy enough cassava as is planned,” Thun Vireak said.

According Thun Vireak’s report, the companies will start buying cassava in the up-coming December season in the Battambang and Kampong Cham provinces, the country’s two leading cassava producing areas.

Thun Vireak did not on mention on Thursday the price that the companies would set to buy the product from farmers.

The three companies have a history of working with one another. Representatives signed an agreement together on October 5, 2009, to buy rice and other products in Cambodia for export using total capital of $200 million.

Kit Seng, under secretary of state of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said Thursday that he had not yet been informed about the cassava plan by the three companies.

But he said that he supported the scheme, because it helped increase markets for Cambodian farmers.

“We have plenty of cassava to support their plan because our farmers have grown a considerably large amount of cassava in Cambodia,” Kit Seng said.

According a report from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, in the farming year 2009 to 2010, Cambodia harvested a total amount of 3,497,306 tonnes of cassava.

Of this amount, 3,476,684 tonnes were harvested in the rainy season. The other 24,622 tonnes were harvested in the dry season.

Thun Vireak said that the companies planned to buy not only cassava but also other agricultural products such as paddy and rice.

“We will buy about 200,000 tonnes of [rice products] in Cambodia to export this year and over the next few years,” Kit Seng said.

Cassava has caused it to lose over N19.5 billion every year

2010-05-11T09:33:00.000+07:00

The Federal Government’s non-implementation of policy on cassava has caused it to lose over N19.5 billion every year. In the year the policy was implemented it reduced the importation of wheat by 300,000 metric tons, thereby saving scarce foreign exchange.

These are the assertions of Ayo Olubori, president, Nigerian Cassava Processors and Marketers Associations (NICAPMA).

During Obasanjo’s administration, the government introduced a policy that mandated flour millers to combine 10 percent locally produced cassava flour with 90 percent flour produced from imported wheat. When the policy was first implemented, wheat importation reduced by 300,000 metric tons, amounting to N19.5 billion in the first year.

According to Olubori, even at full implementation of the policy, wheat importation would further reduce creating demand for 1.2 million metric tons of cassava per annum. He said that meant that across 300 working days, about 4,000 metric tons of cassava would be demanded per day. With a metric ton of cassava going for N18, 000, it meant that cassava farmers supplying processors that will in turn supply flour millers would be selling N72 million worth of cassava per day.

According to him, “Prior to the presidential initiative on cassava, we had less than five cassava processing small and medium enterprises in the whole country, but that policy gave birth to 120 cassava processing SMEs within one and half years of its implementation. It was a laudable programme aimed at generating about six million jobs in the country.”

On her part, Eno Akpabio, president of women in agribusiness under the Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA), noted that almost all those firms that were established had collapsed and their promoters now in debt and bankrupt.

10 million metric tons of cassava production by 2014

2010-05-10T09:28:00.001+07:00

BUTUAN CITY (PNA) – The government is targeting at least 10 million metric tons of cassava production by year 2014 due to its huge potential market, officials said over the weekend.

Brielgo O. Pagaran, Region 13 office of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI 13) director, said more farmers in the Caraga Region were planting cassava, a promising agribusiness venture in Northeastern Mindanao.

For its part, the Department of Agriculture (DA) Regional Field Unit 13 also viewed the rising cassava production.

Dr. Candido Damo, cassava project official under GMA Corn Program, said that based on the five-year projected demand established during the recently held National Cassava Stakeholders Meeting, the demand for cassava this year was pegged at five million metric tons and expected to increase to 10 metric tons by 2014.

“As of 2009 production, we are only supplying about 46 percent of the current demand, so there’s still huge market potential,” said Damo.

He said cassava production in the country had not met yet the demand of the market thus opportunity still awaits the farmers.

Due to the gap between cassava production and the demand, some of the processors import supplies from other countries such as Thailand to fill in their requirements, he said.

However, the official expressed optimism that Filipino farmers could meet the local demand of the industry due to positive status of cassava production in the country that continually surge in terms of volume production brought by increased area planted and yield per unit area.

“Today, we have already 2,004 metric tons cassava production and registered higher yield level from eight to 9.7 metric tons per hectare now,” added Damo.

About 80 percent of cassava production, excluding human consumption, goes to feed formulation by feed millers as ingredients for animals and aqua feeds, he explained.

With this development, to boost production in the country, the DA through the GMA Corn Program wherein cassava is a sub-project, focuses on the commodity through the three major interventions.

Cirendeu Village to Become Alternative Food Area

2010-04-25T11:44:00.000+07:00

The Deputy to the Minister of Agriculture, Bayu Krisnamurthi, plans to make Cirendeu Village, in Leuwigajah subdistrict, Cimahi, West Java, an area of alternative food.

According to Bayu, even though this is only an isolated village, the area has never suffered from food shortages.

“This is quite amazing because the villagers never eat rice their whole lives. They live with cassava as their main staple,” said Bayu, Monday (5/4).

As a consequence, he continued, they were never impacted by national rice prices, which are very fluctuating because of Indonesia’s people dependency on it.

Not to mention if a disaster occurred in the region, like a drought or flood, which caused harvest failure.

“This has never become our concern,” a Cirendeu figure, Asep Abbas, told Tempo.

According to him, the amount of national rice stocks eould not affect the community’s food security.

The village where around 300 households live won a food hero village award in 1967.

“Back then there was the revolution and the government was vigorously eradicating the Indonesian Communist Party rebellion. At that time, rice was very rare. There are people who ate because they were starving. We supplied cassava rive to surrounding areas, which we have produced, so that areas around our village were not starving,” he said.
Even though Asep did not appeal to people to switch from rice to cassava, he said that compared to rice, cassava had a greater benefit.

“People around here are healthy, strong and smart, and they can compete in sports. A great number of our children go to study outside of the region and they are successful even though they eat cassava,” he explained.

When health is concerned, Bayu agreed that cassava is good for diabetics, because it has lower sugar level than rice.

Cassava, banana production gets boost in Leyte

2010-04-24T19:47:00.000+07:00

ORMOC CITY—Various stakeholders gathered at the Philippine Rootcrops Research and Training Center here for the signing of memorandum and marketing agreements to implement a component of the Agrarian Reform Communities Project Phase 2 (ARCP2) of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

Leading the signing were private investors Early 7 Marketing (E7M) and SC Coco Global Products Inc. (SCCGPI). Both entered into marketing agreements with cooperatives that will serve as financial conduits on organic cassava and banana production.

E7M entered into an agreement with Sto. Niño Visares Multipurpose Co-op (Savimco) of Capoocan town, while SCCGPI forged an agreement with Omaganhan Farmers Multipurpose Co-op Inc. (OFMCI) of Tabango town and Zaragosa Agrarian Reform Co-op (Zarc) of Matalom town.

Under the agreements, E7M will purchase from Savimco fresh cassava tubers at a floor price of P2 per kilo delivered to the buying station, or P1.75 per kilo if picked up at the assembly area. It will also buy processed (chopped and dried) cassava at P6 per kilo. E7M will also assist Savimco in sourcing a good variety of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides on a “plant now, pay later” plan.

E7M is an agricultural product consolidator, processing and trading company based in Ormoc and contracted by San Miguel Corp. (SMC) to supply dried cassava chips. It supplies the cassava needs of the BMEG feed mill, operated by SMC in Tacloban 100 kilometers away.

SCCGPI has agreed to buy from Zarc and OFMCI fresh (not too mature nor too young) bananas (cardava, aldaba and enaldaba varieties). The company, which produces and exports banana chips, buys only organic raw materials in compliance with European Union organic regulations and the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Organic Program.

DAR information officer John Colasito said they chose Savimco, Zarc and OFMCI for being millionaire co-ops with farmer-beneficiaries identified by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program as members. ARCP2, which covers 16 towns in Leyte, has three components: rural infrastructure, agricultural enterprise development and community development.

Cassava production a promising venture for Pinoy farmers

2010-04-23T23:38:00.000+07:00

Due to its huge potential market, cassava production is a promising agribusiness venture for Filipino farmers.

In an interview over Tingog sa Kaumahan a radio program of the Department of Agriculture Regional Field Unit 13 aired over DXMK Magik FM Butuan, Dr. Candido Damo, Cassava Project Leader under GMA Corn Program who recently visited Caraga Region during the Good Agriculture Practices (GAP) training revealed that cassava production in the country haven't meet yet the demand of the market thus opportunity still awaits to the farmers.

He said that based on five year projected demand established during the recently held National Cassava Stakeholders Meeting, the demand for the current year 2010 pegged at 5 million metric tons and expected to increase to 10 metric tons by 2014.

"Sa ngayon base sa production natin noong 2009, nagsusuplay lang tayo mga 46% of the demand, so malaki pa talaga yung market potential in terms of local consumption natin (As of 2009 production, we are only supplying about 46% of the current demand, so there's still huge market potential)," he said.

Due to the gap between cassava production and the demand, some of the processors import supplies from other countries such as Thailand to fill in their requirements.

However, Dr. Damo expressed optimism that pinoy farmers could meet the demand of the industry due to positive status of cassava production in the country that continually surge in terms of volume production brought by increased area planted and yield per unit area.

"Sa ngayon meron na tayong 2.04 thousand MT na production sa cassava at tumaas din yung yield level from 8 to 9.7 MT per hectare now", he revealed.

Aside for human consumption, about 80% of cassava production goes to feed formulation by feed millers as ingredients for animals and aqua feeds.

To boost production in the country, the Department of Agriculture through the GMA Corn Program wherein cassava is a sub-project, give focus on the commodity through the three major interventions.

Firstly, according to Dr. Damo is mass propagation of new varieties with high yield potential. "We already started mass propagation of planting materials on these varieties in 16 regional field units of DA wherein this could be sources of the farmer organizations as starting planting materials in their respective areas.

Secondly, "we provides post harvest equipments such as cassava chipper or cassava granulator to cut short processing time and thirdly we are busy conducting trainings on our regional staff, local government units extension workers and farmer leaders and also we are reproducing leaflets or techno-guides to transfer to them new technologies", Dr. Damo narrated.

He is also hopeful that the five year plan will be approved to give more focus on cassava industry in the country incorporating the research and development (R&D) component.

"Kasi alam natin marami pa tayong kailangang pag-aralan para lalong mapaganda ang cassava production sa Pilipinas (Because we all know that there are numerous factors that needs to be studied to further boost up cassava production in the Philippines", he said.

For farmers whether individual or organized cassava growers who would like to take part of the project, Dr. Damo urged them to visit their nearest DA Regional Offices and look for the regional corn coordinators or the regional cassava focal person to shed light on them on the particular interventions that they could get out of the program.

Small Cave in village

2010-04-07T09:35:00.004+07:00

It’s been long time I never visit my friend café he has a small nice café in Trawas, small village surrounding by high mountain and fresh air that we can breath, many of his customer that enjoy their lunch are in all aged, although it is not so crowded, the situation very nice, Their original recipe will bring more guest especially in holiday and week end I am just wondering how come the small cafe can attract many customer, when I look restaurant equipment then I realize why this café is success.

Do not forget that professional cookware is the answer of this question it can be an image to the customer, who want to have their limited time can enjoy a nice food and a good atmosphere with a good ambience also, then the customer will enjoy their lunch, dinner even breakfast with small menu.

Also restaurant supply is key success for all the restaurant business combination of all the above will directly bring you more profit and will bring more guests to visit this café. I really believe that all the above matter is something that all the restaurant businessman need to considering.

It is hoped that the cassava industry

2010-03-30T11:05:00.000+07:00

The Office of Private Sector Relations (OPSR) recently concluded discussions with the Vige community aimed at the revitalization of the cassava industry as part of the Strengthening Trade through Rural Investments and Development of Entrepreneurship (STRIDE) programme launched on February 3, 2010 under the component; Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods in Poverty Stricken Areas.

Located immediately north of Vieux Fort, Vige has been identified in the most recent census as one of the communities in St Lucia with high poverty levels, endemic unemployment and a declining population as residents migrate to other communities in search of a better standard of living. In light of this situation, the OPSR has incorporated Vige into the STRIDE programme, making them a priority area for development.

The overall objective of the Vige project is to stimulate increased production of competitive export products to aid the community in alleviating poverty and becoming more self sustaining. The use of cassava production has been identified for Vige due to their history of successful production in this industry.

The OPSR’s input will assist the community to improve their business skills, enabling the community to take the cassava production to a new level.

The input of new technically advanced systems for cassava planting, coupled with training and support to the youth in areas of accounting, marketing, computers and general business management skills will create the right environment for cassava production and agro processing to become a viable business capable of sustaining the community of Vige.

An additional component of the project includes the agro processing of various local produce to create market ready products such as jams, jellies, etc. which will be incorporated into the overall community programme for those who are no longer interested or capable of producing the cassava.

Commenting at the community meeting on March 17, 2010 Ms Kaygiana Toussaint, President of the Vigie Community Development Group stated that “this type of intervention is really critical for the community at this time.

“Our community is a small one with limited resources and we need help to take advantage of those resources so that we can grow and develop ourselves, our family and our community. She further stated that “we look forward to working with the OPSR and incorporating our ideas in the development of the project and are very pleased with the OPSR’s collaborative approach.”

According to the OPSR project coordinator, responsible for the Vigie Project Mr Anthony John, “The OPSR estimates that this project will stimulate growth in the community of Vige thereby contributing to: poverty reduction, the creation of a first class environment for business growth and development; enhancing the communities’ contribution to the national economy, and engaging the youth.”

He further states that “The OPSR is very excited about the opportunities for Vigie and look forward to working with the community for the benefit of all.”

The Vige project epitomizes the overall mission and objectives of the OPSR which are To assist in the creation and sustaining of a strong business environment; To facilitate the development of the requisite human resource capabilities and to provide support for enhancing business competiveness.

DA-12 gives incentives to cassava farmers

2010-03-29T01:15:00.000+07:00

The Department of Agriculture (DA) in Southwestern Mindanao (Region 12) has launched a new incentive scheme in a bid to lure more farmers in the region to venture into cassava production.

Tommy Ala, DA Region 12 executive director, said in a statement they are currently offering local cassava producers the opportunity of availing cassava chipper and granulator equipment should they embark into commercial production of cassava.

Ala said the incentive scheme is being implemented by the agency through its flagship Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) Corn Program, which covers the strengthening of various support services for the commercial production of cassava in the country.

Under the program, Ala said cassava producers in the region may qualify to avail of the production incentives if they have an existing production area of at least 100 hectares, a warehouse and a dryer.

He said at least three cassava producers based in South Cotabato have already availed of the production incentives after completing some program requirements.

The initial beneficiaries were a cassava assembler based in Norala town, the local government of Tampakan and the Central Mindanao Integrated Agricultural Research Center (CEMIARC) in Tupi town.

The beneficiaries received a cassava chipper and granulator that is presently worth at least P60,000 to P80,000 in the markets.

Ala said the cassava chipper has a capacity of chipping 200 kilograms of cassava per hour while the granulator can process at least 300 kilograms on an hourly basis.

Last year, corporate giant San Miguel Corp. signified to develop some 20,000 hectares of cassava production areas in the region, which it earlier identified as among the suitable areas for the commercial production of the crop.

Region 12 covers the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato.

In Region 12, cassava produce are processed for food and industrial purposes like flour, starch and feeds.

Ala said they initially signed a partnership agreement with San Miguel, which reportedly offered to provide a ready market for cassava produce from the area.

DA has been specifically promoting the planting of the high-yielding KU-50 cassava variety, which could produce 40 to 50 metric tons (MT) per hectare.

Region 12 currently produces some 17,000 MT of cassava annually, at least 15,000 MT of which are from South Cotabato province.

Cassava Processing in Oyo

2010-03-28T01:11:00.000+07:00

The Government of Japan yesterday approved a grant of US$ 97,023 for cassava processing project to Ifeledun Cassava Processing Cooperative Investments and Credit Society in Oyo town, Oyo State.

The component to be provided through the grant include: Cassava processing equipment, three graters, one flash drier, one hammer mill and one borehole with a water tank.

Presenting the grant to the beneficiaries in Abuja, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Japan in Nigeria, Mr Shigeru Hamano,said the grant which is under the Japanese Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) is to improve cassava processing in Oyo state.

He said the project is also to support the United National Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in Nigeria, adding that it hoped the project will contribute to community development.

Since independence, the Japanese assistance to Nigeria has amounted to about US4.2 billion (about 600 billion naira).

Under the GGP, 107 projects with a total amount of US$5,838,045 have been implemented throughout Nigeria since 1998.

Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mrs Grace A Alade thanked the donors and promised to work seriously to make sure that the real objective of the grant is achieved.

Cassava cheese delicious taste...

2010-03-26T09:25:00.003+07:00

In the old time, cassava was just a suburban food. It’s not modern. But now, it goes a level up. Urban people are getting familiar with this carbohydrate tuber.

Riyanto (35) manages cassava to become a modern kind of food. He sells cheese cassava on Jl Cawang Baru, East Jakarta.

Riyanto is skilled enough to change cassava to be delicious snacks which can be tasted by all kind of people. He just gives simple combination: fried cassava with cheese and milk. The cassava looks like high-class food. He sells it Rp 6,000 per portion.

Riyanto shared the info; after being fried, the cassava is added with cheese and creamy milk.

Cheese cassava has a unique taste. Cheese gives tasty sensation and milk gives sweet flavor to the fired cassava.

Buyers can choose their own flavor. If they want sweet cassava, they can get fried cassava with only milk topping. They can get tastier sensation if they add milk and cheese. “But if they just want fried cassava with cheese, its okay,” said Riyanto, a man from Sumedang, West Java.

“In addition to delicious taste, cassava contains much carbohydrate. It can be a substitute for basic food and add energy,” he said. His turnover is Rp 300 thousand per day.

He has started the business since three years ago on Jl Cawang Baru, East Jakarta. And he never moves.

His customers often buy his fried cheese cassava in many portions.

For your information, cheese cassava has been spread in Jakarta Capital City since 2005. Usually cheese cassava business is sold in franchise system, there is a profit sharing. There are hundreds of cheese cassava traders in Jakarta Capital City.

Role in boosting cassava

2010-03-22T17:20:00.001+07:00

The Minister of Internal Security, Sheikh Mussa Fazil Harerimana, has hailed convicts serving their sentences under TIG, for their role in boosting cassava production in Mayange sector, Bugesera district.

The Minister made the comments last week while inspecting 600 hectares of cassava plantations planted by the convicts.

Addressing local leaders and TIG officials at Mayange, Harerimana reiterated the importance of involving inmates in agriculture production.

"I thank all of you who have helped in these activities what is seen here speaks volumes," he said.

"Cassava is very important for the district as studies have shown it will check hunger. TIG at the same time has helped the people serving their sentences to acquire life skills."

He added that evidence on the ground shows that TIG has had tremendous impact on economic growth.

In order to improve production, the Minister promised to avail Bugesera residents with a hybrid type of cassava and a processing mill.Harerimana, who later briefed reporters, stressed that TIG has been instrumental in rehabilitating inmates.

On the alleged corruption among some TIG officials, he requested the public to act as a whistle blower.

Alphonse Mpazimaka, the area TIG official said that apart from agricultural activities, the convicts are also engaged in brick making.

He, however, noted that there were cases of convicts who escape before completing their sentences

"TIG has increased production in many fields especially agriculture, which is the main activity in this area. The only problem we have is that a few of them escape," he said.

In Bugesera district alone, there are 1295 convicts serving under TIG.

New cassava varieties

2010-03-17T22:13:00.000+07:00

Several new cassava varieties are currently being evaluated in Region Nine to determine other uses for the tuber to add value and boost hinterland agriculture.

Director of the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI), Dr Oudho Homenauth said too government had recently disbursed mechanical graters and presses to several hinterland communities in regions one and nine in order to achieve this goal.

In April, NARI started using cassava as a source of feed for poultry after an experimental product was sent to the US for testing to determine its nutritional value, a press release from the Government Information Agency (GINA) said. The cassava including the skin was sliced into thin pieces and sun dried which will cause it to break easily, and then grounded into flour. The flour can then be used as a substitute for corn and rice.

GINA said a workshop was also held to implement a strategy to start a cassava enterprise and industry development.

The initiative is intended to diversify commodities aimed at improving income, livelihood and reduce income vulnerability, benefiting small farmers especially in the commodity chain.

It is based on an agriculture commodities programme that was launched in Jamaica and is part of a joint venture by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture. NARI is also working with Bounty Farm, its private sector partner in this venture.

GINA also said government has joined CLAYUCA, a Latin American and Caribbean Consortium for cassava based in Cali, Colombia in order to benefit from technical and other assistance on this venture.

BioCassava Plus

2010-03-11T09:04:00.000+07:00

Dr. Richard Sayre, director of the Enterprise Rent-a-Car Institute for Renewable Fuels and principal investigator of the BioCassava Plus program at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, will be a guest on a live broadcast of NPR’s “Science Friday.”

Sayre will join host Ira Flatow to discuss bio-fortified crops, from technologies in the pipeline to ones being tested in Africa today.

BioCassava Plus is a team of scientists whose objective is to reduce malnutrition by delivering improved cassava cultivars that provide complete and balanced nutrition in readily marketable and higher yielding food crop.

The Danforth Center recently won a five-year, $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development to develop a virus-resistant cassava, a root crop. Cassava serves as the primary food source for more than 750 million people each day.

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a nonprofit research institute in Creve Coeur that focuses on human health and agricultural production.

Cassava a reliable food, cash crop in these hot, dry times

2010-03-10T08:01:00.000+07:00

CASTILLA, Sorsogon—Called in Bicol as kamoteng-kahoy or balinghoy, the lowly cassava (Manihot escidenta) is one crop in the region that needs attention because of its importance as a cash crop that is resistant to drought and helpful against the impacts of climate change. Because of these positives, production of this edible root needs a huge boost, not only in the region but in the entire country, as well.

Mainly grown for its tubers which are a rich source of carbohydrates, cassava is also a good source of calcium and ascorbic acid. Its food uses include confectionaries, sago, vegetables, food seasoning, noodles, flour and native pastries like cassave cake, suman and bibingka.

Although not a staple food of Filipinos, cassava feeds about 800 million people around the world, according to the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).

Another important product is cassava starch, known in the world trade as tapioca flour, which is extracted from the tuber and used by a wide variety of industries—food, pharmaceutical, paper, adhesive, textile, mining and other manufacturing industries.

In the food industry alone, studies show that cassava flour can substitute for wheat flour in baked products as much as 10 percent in bread and higher in other baked products. It is utilized as thickener for soups, baby food, sauces and gravies.

Cassava flour is an excellent filler that could supplement the solid contents of ice cream. It is also a good binder for sausages and other processed-meat products to prevent these from drying up during cooking.

Its use as a livestock feed in the country has also been investigated. Studies at the University of the Philippines at Los Baños (UPLB) have shown that cassava meal can be used as a substitute for feed grains in compounded animal rations, while cassava leaf meal contains at least 20-percent protein.

Cassava can also be a good solution to the problems of climate change and fuel shortage. In China, Thailand and Brazil, cassava is becoming an important biofuel crop. A feasibility study has found that cassava has a very high starch-to-sugar conversion ratio, which means that a high percentage of sugar can be converted from it which, in turn, is needed to produce biofuel.

Cassava can also help control erosion.

“Farmers can grow cassava and control— even prevent—hillside erosion by following simple methods,” Agribusiness Week, a regular Internet publication, quoted Dr. Mabrouke Elsharkawy, CIAT cassava physiologist, as saying.

This can only be attained if farmers shift their method of farming to minimum or no tillage, “and protect the soil with live, permanent mulch like a forage legume, while farmers can also fertilize cassava to make it grow faster, and to cover and protect the soil from rain,” he was quoted as saying.

Being an easy-to-grow crop, cassava grows well on poor soils found on eroded hillsides because it resists adverse conditions such as drought. “When farmers can’t grow corn or beans in depleted soils, cassava is their only choice,” Elsharkawy added.

“In Castilla, a municipality known as a leading producer of this root crop in the Bicol region, we are aware of benefits we can derive from cassava. The problem this time is the market and the absence of technology for us to be able to maximize its uses,” Vice Mayor Alwin Talde told the BusinessMirror last week.

The municipality has around 20,000 hectares available for cassava plantations and, in fact, Talde said, the municipal government under then-mayor Renato Laurinaria, now the provincial vice governor, initiated about five years ago a plantation-scale production under its Cassava 20/20 program which significantly improved the productivity and earnings of farmers.

Under the program, the municipal government provided planting materials of high-breed cassava varieties, acquired a farm tractor used for land preparations and contracted B-Meg Feeds of San Miguel Corp. as a buyer of the crop used for livestock feed production.

“Unfortunately, the program was not pursued by the administration that replaced Laurinaria after the 2007 elections,” Talde said.

Laurinaria said cassava is best grown in deep soil with friable structure such as light sandy loams of medium fertility and successful use of almost all soil types is possible, provided that they are not waterlogged, shallow or stony.

Growing cassava, he said, entails simple farm operations such as land preparation, planting, replanting, weeding, fertilization, irrigation and harvesting. Plantation type of production needs 55 man-days per hectare to undertake all the necessary farm operations.

It will also be useful to follow the information bulletin jointly produced by The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development and UPLB’s Institute of Plant Breeding for a successful cassava production like what Cassava 20/20 has initially achieved, the vice governor said.

Agencies unite to boost cassava production

2010-03-09T08:55:00.000+07:00

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is partnering with Ehka Agro Farms Limited, a cassava glucose processing farm to empower cassava farmers to increase their yield for both commercial and industrial purposes.

The agency, also working with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), provided a thousand-hectare worth of cassava stems to farmers last year through private public partnership, and supported the processing farm with more raw materials to help the company run on full capacity.

Robin Sanders, the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, during a visit to the Ekha Agro Farms in Ogun state on Tuesday, said the collaboration shows how private-public partnership between the U.S. Government and Nigeria is boosting the nation's food security.

The partnership
Ms Sanders argued that with more of such partnerships, the private sector has the power to transform the agriculture industry not only by enhancing food security but also increasing farmers' income.

"It is important that the farmers improve on their activities and their yield in order to enhance their income and provide more food security for the country as this is one of the means through which the country can acquire its dream of food security.

"USAID is ready to help the farmers increase more of their yields and generate more income opportunities than their effort last year because we are willing to expand our activities with the farmers by providing more cassava stems to the farmers.

"This will also encourage the supply to the plant by allowing them have a steady and stable source of raw material to increase their production capacity," Ms Sanders said.

Even though Nigeria is the largest producer of cassava in the world, the crop is rarely used in higher-value commercial food processing as most of it is processed for local food consumption or export.

Sam Osarenkhoe, Managing Director Ekha Agro farms, said the glucose company started operations in 1990 with the importation and sale of feeds and food additives such as amino acids, vitamins and sweeteners before diversifying into the production of glucose syrup using cassava as a major substrate for value addition and economic growth.

"We deviated to producing glucose locally because we realised that there is a local market for it and our dream is to establish a profitable cassava-based glucose syrup factory that will enhance human development and promote economic growth in the host communities."

Business challenges
However, the shortage of cassava tuber is a major setback hampering the plant's optimum capacity operations.

Yemisi Iranloye, the Executive Director Ekha Agro Farms, added that, "Though at the start there were various other challenges such as the availability of water and power supply as well as marketing. We have been able to overcome most of these problems except those relating to farming, cultivation, harvesting and the market but we are gradually stabilising and solving the problems.

"That is where USAID (markets) comes in and they have been helping us get supply for the raw materials by creating a platform for further investments to meet the demand for the product. We use about 15-20 trucks of cassavas every day for production and we are not yet operating at full capacity," she added.

Ms. Iranloye said the meeting between the ambassador and the farmers will encourage them to cultivate more, as the US agency is planning to assist the farmers cultivate 3,000 hectares this year to make the factory run nonstop and also supply to the end users.

"Right now the company is operating at less than 10 percent capacity and we are hoping that by 2011, after the 3,000 cassava hectares have been harvested we should be producing at about 75 percent capacity," she said.

The company which was originally designed to run on gas is presently been run on 24 hours self generated power supply using diesel, although the use of gas will reduce production costs by 20 to 25 percent.

The factory
Mr. Osarenkhoe said the ultra modern factory was completed at the cost of N3.4 billion in 2007. The project was funded by the Bank of Industry and the Nigerian Export Import (NEXIM) Bank with additional funding from some domestic banks including Zenith Bank, Intercontinental Bank and the Nigeria Agricultural Rural Cooperative Development Bank Ltd.

Ms. Sanders said the U.S. mission in Nigeria will continue to support economic growth, particularly in agriculture, which dovetails with the federal government's objective to ensure food security and reduce poverty among the people.

Ms. Sander said the Ekha Agro-USAID partnership is a successful example of American promotion of commercial agriculture in Nigeria through maximizing agriculture revenue and key enterprise for target site (markets) programme.

Farmers respond
Olaosun Comfort, President, Cassava Growers and Processing Association, Osun State chapter, while commending the collaboration which encourages farmers to cultivate more through the provision of better variety stems, however, identified finance as a major challenge for pre and post cultivation activities. He said most of these activities are still done manually due to lack of funds.

Cassava wilt hits Bugiri

2010-03-08T08:53:00.000+07:00

Cassava wilt disease has destroyed over 21 hectares of cassava plantations in the district. Farmers in Bulidha, Banda and Buluguyi sub-counties said the disease dries up the leaves and stems.

According to a farmer of Banda, Joshua Kitakule, four hectares of his cassava plantation had been destroyed by the wilt in the past two weeks.

The district agricultural officer, Suliman Kaisuka, said efforts were underway to sensitise farmers about the disease. He said they were trying to establish the number of plantations affected by the disease and find a solution.