Cassava Market a Sleeping Giant

By Sally Mulambya

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Cassava is an essential part of millions of people’s diets and provides a livelihood for many farmers, processors and traders. For many years it has been considered a peasant crop used mainly for home consumption and as a sub-product of mealie meal.

The Cassava Crop harbor’s a huge potential on both foreign and direct investment, and if heavily invested into can save the country from using scarce foreign exchange to import food and industrial raw materials.

It is for this reason that companies are promoting adoption of the crop, Mutakamwa Productions LTD is among the companies that has taken up the role to save as cassava Aggregators.  

Speaking during a phone interview Mutakamwa Aggregators Director General Vincent Akamandisa said the company is the intermediary between the cassava farmers and the cassava processing companies such as Zonghai.

Mr. Akamadisa said the company is commercializing the cassava value chain by creating a market for the farmers, adding that cassava is a crop that deserves to be invested in because of the potential it has in contributing to the growth of the Agriculture sector. `

The company based in western province provides advisory and extension services and works on a contract basis with 15 suppliers it buys cassava from.

He however, cited that due to the rains the supply of dry cassava has reduced because it is almost impossible to dry the chips.

“As you know cassava harvesting and processing starts around May through to June and ends about September to November so the number of farmers processing and drying cassava has reduced due to the rains, so to cut on that we are looking to invest in driers so that even during such periods we can continue to have cassava being processed,” he explained.

To address the situation, the company is currently buying chippers that break cassava in smaller pieces to enable them dry faster to reach moisture content of 12 percent in 48 hours.  

According to Mr. Akamandisa the cassava sector can be strengthened by sustained links between suppliers and users of cassava products through sub-sector agents/ aggregators like Mutakamwa productions LTD who supply cassava to markets of interest.

He added that these cassava processing innovations and technologies introduced to smallholder farmers contributes to the development of cassava products.  

“The production of cassava is easy because it is a climate resilient crop although it faces serious biotic constraints, such as crop damage by livestock, diseases and pets, poor logistics for the supply of planting materials, poor agronomic practices and poor harvest handling and processing,” he said.

He stated that much needs to bed one in commercializing the crop to enable smallholder farmers adopt new varieties for excess yields for them to derive benefits from meeting the growing global food demand and at the same time achieve food security as well as improved livelihood.  

Speaking in interview with Miness Siamea Cassava trader and beneficiary testified to the benefits stating that company has created a market for cassava which has prompted her to continue cultivating cassava.

“In a single line of close to 300meters long, I am able to harvest 26 by 50 kilogram bags of cassava and able to raise about six thousand kwacha,” she said.

She confirmed that her family is spared from hunger as she is able to buy other needed food stuff and manage other basic needs from the sales of cassava.

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