Shs3b earmarked for cassava preservation
What you need to know:
The root has a shelf life of about 24 to 48 hours once harvested.
Kigali.
At least 40 per cent of cassava grown on the African continent is lost to post-harvest handling, according to the Rockefeller Foundation.
Cassava is widely grown on the continent and a source of food for many families though it has a shelf-life of about 24 to 48 hours.
As a result, the Rockefeller Foundation is looking to extend a grant of $1m (Shs3.3b) for innovations from Africa, including Uganda, which can provide a solution to the short shelf life of cassava in order to enhance food security on the continent.
Additionally, the successful proposals will receive technical assistance from Dalberg and International Institute of Technical Agriculture.
“Our Yield Wise Initiative, launched earlier this year, is committed to halving post-harvest loss on the continent and enhancing the shelf life of cassava will be key to achieving this goal,” Mr Mamadou Biteye, the managing director of The Rockefeller Foundation Africa regional office told reporters at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Kigali, Rwanda last week.
According to the Foundation, cassava is a main source of nutrition for approximately 500 million people globally and is a major source of rural income with more than half the world’s cassava - 158 million tonnes produced each year by small holder farmers in Africa.
“The crop has got enormous commercial potential. Its derivatives can be used in dozens of industries from food production to pharmaceuticals, bio-ethanol, which remains largely untapped in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Capitalising on this potential, it would increase the income of farmers, drive domestic industrialisation, job creation and reduce reliance on imported commodities,” Mr Biteye adds.
Cassava growing in Uganda
In Uganda, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the districts of Mbale, Iganga, Apac, Kamuli, Lira, Tororo and Kumi are the leading producers of cassava.
At least 70 per cent of all cassava grown in the country is used for subsistence production.
More recently, Uganda Breweries Limited – a subsidiary of East African Breweries – started to produce a beer brand known as Ngule using cassava inputs.
Even with the beer production, the recommendation is that farmers must peel the cassava within 24 hours after harvest in order not to lose the starch content.
The challenge
According to the Rockefeller Foundation, the challenge is open to all organisations—whether for-profit or nonprofit—including governmental and inter-governmental organisations. Collaborations between organisations are encouraged.
