Project to process cassava for industrial use in the offing

Food researchers have proposed the setting up of a centre to add value and enhance the commercialisation of cassava in the country.

This is because even though Ghana is ranked the sixth producer of cassava in the world with an annual production of about 10 million tonnes, much of its use is at the domestic level.

The centre would be located at the Adidome Farm Institute at Adidome in the Volta Region and aim at adding value to the crop to become raw materials for industrial use.

Sensitisation workshop

A Research Development Officer of the University of Ghana, Mrs Mammie N. Hutchful Nortey, announced this when she made a presentation on the centre at a sensitisation workshop in Accra.

The workshop, the first of a series, was organised to expose cassava farmers to opportunities in growing the crop and to court them to consider the commercial aspect of the crop.

Location of the centre

Mrs Nortey explained that the location of the centre was strategic since it was within an area where cassava production and processing was prominent, adding that there was adequate housing infrastructure to host the Centre.

She said best practices would ensure good hygiene was observed, processing costs were kept low, particularly through the reduction of energy costs to enable competitive pricing and access to larger markets.

Mrs Nortey gave an assurance that the centre would link up processors to end users both locally and internationally.

Adding value

A Social Entrepreneur and Development Advocate, Mr Franklin Agbanator said the time had come for cassava to be seen more as a cash crop instead of a food crop for domestic use only.

He, however, stressed the need to identify the variety of cassava that would meet the global market demand.

An official of the Food Research Institute, Mr Gregory Komlaga, in a presentation, said with added value, cassava could be a very useful raw material in the manufacturing industry.

He said, for instance, that cassava starch, cassava flour could be useful for the manufacturing industry.