Policy to push cassava flour industry

A policy is in the works to promote the use of high quality cassava flour as composite flour for the bread and confectionary industries, Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna, Minister for Food and Agriculture, has said.

“Over the last few years, we have witnessed increased industrial use of cassava for alcoholic and other products.

A policy is being developed on the use of high quality cassava flour as composite flour for the bread and confectionary industry. This will no doubt create pressure on this important staple, which has over 94 percent home consumption,” he said.

Government, the minister told the B&FT, has put in place the necessary strategy to mechanise some of the processes of cassava production to reduce the drudgery of cassava farming and create value for the cassava farmers.

The commodity, which currently contributes over 25 percent to the country's agriculture Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to agronomists, is one of the most resilient and commonly grown crops in the country.

It is said to have the potential to increase its contribute to national agricultural GDP and improve the lives of thousands of farmers engaged in its cultivation. The country is sixth largest producer of cassava in the world in terms of value.

Mr. George Prah, Assistant Director of Root Crop Division at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, in an interview with the B&FT, said there are various challenges that need to be tackled “if we are to realise the full potential of the crop”.

Mr. Prah said the growing importance of cassava is evidenced by it being considered one of the world’s most cost-efficient biofuel feedstocks, adding that cassava production is very viable for the country to consider for local consumption and export.

The country, he said, boasts about 24 different varieties of cassava which, depending on the characteristics, could be for consumption, flour making and processing for other uses.

“Currently the sector ministry has developed a catalogue that has all the characteristics of all those varieties to help investors and potential customers. Farmers are always advised to cultivate high yielding varieties to help increase production and improve on their produce in terms of volume,” he said.

According to the Food Balance Sheet by the Food and Agriculture Statistics (FAOSTAT), cassava is the first crop in terms of calories intake -- providing persons who consume it with about 708kcal, with about 24 percent of total daily calories intake.

Processing cassava into gari is one of the most promising value addition activities, given the high demand and income elasticity which results in particularly ‘favourable prices as opposed to fresh roots”.

Cassava is cultivated in eight of the country’s ten regions by over 90% of Ghana’s farming population — Upper East and Upper West excluded. It constitutes about 22% of the country’s agricultural GDP.
Cassava production within the past five years, data from Ministry of Food and Agriculture show, has seen a steady but marginal increase annually. In 2007, total production was a little over 10.2 million metric tonnes (mt); 11.3 million m/t in 2008; 12.2 million m/t in 2009; 13.5 million m/t in 2010; and 14.2 million m/t in 2011.

One hectare of farmland 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.

Ethanol made from cassava costs US$0.68/litre while molasses-based varieties cost US$0.87/litre. Both feedstocks beat corn in terms of efficiency: one hectare of corn only produces 2,050kg of ethanol per year, a little over a third of the quantity of cassava.

Companies from the US, Europe and elsewhere are racing toward commercial-scale production of biofuels that utilise a variety of new technologies and processes. 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.

This presents an opportunity for measures to scale-up production of the crop and its benefits as one of the big-game suppliers.

China, a country known for its robust electronic industry, is aggressively developing a strategy for using cassava as a non-grain feedstock for ethanol production, according to a report from Commodore Research.

While Chinese cassava production has risen to roughly 12 million tonnes per year, China continues to import large quantities of cassava from Thailand.

Cassava is also used in Ethnomedicine; the bitter variety leaves are used to treat hypertension, headache, and pain.

New development
A six- cyclone cassava flash dryer, an equipment, weighing over 400kg, designed to help process root and tuber crops into flour within an hour and to reduce post-harvest losses was unveiled in Accra.

The introduction of the machine, spearheaded by the Food Research Institute at an estimated cost of US$50,000, operates at a high level efficiency, and comes in handy for Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs) in the root and crop tuber industry.


The equipment, which is currently at the pilot stage, and would be replicated across the country, has come at an opportune time for smallholder farmers as well as stakeholders in the tuber and crop production industry to boost their production and improve income levels which will also address farmer needs.

It comes with parts such as burner, fan, chimney, clones and heat exchanger, which help it to function appropriately. It works by feeding it with either cassava or any tuber crop. The fan pulls the hot air and causes the moisture to be loosened and the final product comes out as flour.

Local engineers would be trained to be able to build the dryer in order to make it available across the country to help farmers.

Unveiling the machine, the Director of FRI, Dr Mrs Mary Obodai, said: “We want this to become a model for Ghanaian stakeholders, including engineers and manufacturers, to team up with the FRI to build and replicate it in every part of the country.

Director General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Dr. Victor Agyemang, underscored the need for value addition to farmers’ produce, as that will go a long way to improve their income levels.

“Stakeholders, including manufacturers, engineers and extension agencies, need to work closely to address post-harvest losses,” he said.

The country produces about 17 million metric tonnes of cassava, of which an estimated 11 million tonnes is available for human consumption.

However, only four million tonnes of the cassava available for human consumption is consumed; leaving over seven million tonnes as surplus.

A 2013-2014 report by the Statistics, Research and Information Directorate (SRID) of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, indicates that cassava has traditionally been consumed in the form of fresh tubers and processed products such as Gari, Kokonte, and Agbelema, among others.

However, over the last five years, there has been a steady growth in demand for commercial and industrial use of new value added cassava products: notably High Quality Cassava Flour, Industrial Grade Cassava Flour, High Quality Cassava Chips, Starch and Wet Cake.

The majority of people employed in the country’s agricultural sector engages in cassava production, or intercrop with cassava. This contributes significantly to increasing income and livelihoods for the rural communities, as it serves as the basis for development of small industries -- providing jobs and wealth in the rural communities.