Davao City Importance of cassava

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.

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Cassava exports dry up in 2010

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.

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Cassava Farmers Bicker Over Missing Funds

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.

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