CASSAVA PRODUCTION TO RECEIVE A BOOST

CASSAVA PRODUCTION TO RECEIVE A BOOST

Undoubtedly, cassava is a major crop in Cameroon. It is cultivated either as a cash crop intended for the market or as a food crop, intended for home consumption.

Nonetheless, if Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Essimi Menye is to be believed, then there is better news because production in the sector is soon to be industrialized in order to maximize benefits.

Menye was speaking recently in Sanaga Maritime Division of the Littoral Region while presiding at the first Pilot Committee for the Development and Valorization of Roots, Tubers and Plantains which took place earlier this month.

The minister says he wants to see cassava serving as the raw material for a lot more industrial sub products. So far, Cameroonians use cassava for its starch which is in turn used by agro-food industries for the manufacture of aromatic cooking cubes. Cassava is also used to make sugar, flour and as a substitute for maize in beer.

The National President of the Cameroon Association of Bakers, Jean Claude Yiepnou Kapwa, says when cassava is used for baking bread; the product makes no difference in terms of taste and can last for up to three days before reaching its sell-by date.

A recent study carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development revealed that if while baking, bakers give the cassava component only a 10 per cent portion, that would significantly raise the quantity of the crop in demand nationwide by up to 50 000 tons per annum. In real terms, that figure represents some 25 000 hectares of produce.

To attain the objective stated by the minister, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has put in place a number of measures, one of which is the setting up of the Pilot Committee for the Valorization of Roots, Tubers and Plantains in March 2013.

Another measure taken is the starting up of seedling farms. The ministry, as part of its policy of acquiring and distributing improved seedlings to agricultural entrepreneurs within the framework of the 2013 crop campaign, accorded some seven million cassava cuttings for use in the agro-ecological zones that favour the cultivation of the crop.

Work so far accomplished in the sector was recently explained to `Cameroon Tribune` by the National Coordinator for the Pilot Committee for the Development and Valorization of Roots, Tubers and Plantains. According to the coordinator, 13 wood parks have been put up this year. Ten more will be added in the Centre, Littoral and South Regions Additionally, some 26.5 hectares which is 60 per cent of initial projections, have been planted.

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FOOTNOTE

This story was first broadcast on FOUNDATION RADIO, `The Voice of the Voiceless`, FM 100, Mile 6, Ngomgham-Mankon, Bamenda, on the 16th of September 2013. The Radio is part of The Fomunyoh Foundation (TFF) whose CEO is Dr. Chris Fomunyoh.