Tranforming cassava into an industrial input is providing income opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs, DANIEL ESSIET reports.
Transformation of cassava from a root crop to a prized industrial input is creating business opportunities for Nigerians. Several orders to meet rapidly rising demand from livestock feeds producers, starch and biofuel markets have created huge earnings in foreign currencies.
In fact, the Country Manager, AFEX Commodities Exchange Limited, Mr Ayo Balogun, said the market demand for cassava is so high. The result is that so many entrepreneurs are moving into the sector to grow cassava as a cash crop. This has made cassava one of the most dynamic in the agricultural sector, helping to drive industrial development while delivering higher incomes to agro entrepreneurs.
Balogun said the exchange was seeking to match capable Nigerians with both domestic and burgeoning export demand for cassava chips.
His plan is to work with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Nigeria to improve the livelihoods of Nigerians by engaging with investors to explore markets in Asia, looking for products from cassava for business enterprises that can process and transform the produce into higher value food and industrial products – from noodles, glucose, and maltose to textiles, pharmaceuticals, cardboard and glue.
Agribusiness Specialist,Dr. Nelson Abila, said the market for cassava chips will have resultant benefits for exporters. According to him, it is important cassava yields improve to sustain the growth of the industry.
He said that entrepreneurs seeking to enter the market will need to do their due diligence, just like they would for entering any market, including a thorough market feasibility study and establishing a clear strategy for entry, adding that UNDP is working with AFEX to help Nigerians to make money through production of cassava chips.
Explaining the process of producing cassava chips for export, Chief Executive, Tropical Entrepreneurship Development Centre, Anthony Uwadegu Egba, said it begins with drying of the cassava roots to remove most of the moisture from the fresh root to obtain a product that can be stored for long periods of time without problems of deterioration.
His words: “The natural drying system takes advantage of solar energy and the drying action of the wind to evaporate moisture from the cassava roots. The procedure involves several operations, among which the principal ones are: harvesting the roots, weighing, and chipping, drying, packing and storing the dried product.”
He noted that it was necessary to wash the roots before they are chipped but these are optional operations, depending upon the requirements of the market.
For the chips to dry as quickly as possible, Egba noted that it was important to expose as much of their surface as possible to the air.
This is done by cutting the roots into small, uniform chips, which can be done by a chipping machine. If at all possible, he advised that the roots should be submitted to quality control when they are harvested, removing pieces of stem that may be attached, as well as stones and clumps of dirt that may have fallen into the packing sacks; and checking if root rots are present.
To prevent rejection, he said once harvested, the roots should be taken to the plant quickly so that they can be processed immediately.
This is because roots that have been out of the ground for more than 24-48 hours deteriorate rapidly, and are more likely to suffer fungal and contamination. This lowers the quality of the final product and may even lead to its rejection by the buyer.
During drying,he said the chips should be spread over concrete floors, in such a way that they are exposed to the direct action of solar radiation and to the latent heat from the surrounding air currents. The stage, according to him, includes two basic operations: spreading the chips in the drying area and turning them frequently until they are completely dry. When the chips have reached an adequate level of moisture content, that is,12 to14 per cent moisture, he advised that they should be collected and packed.
He explained that the plant should have a warehouse available for storing the dried cassava chips until they are transported to the market. “The dried cassava chips are packed into 50kg sacks and the sacks should be stored on wooden pallets. When the conditions for storage are optimal, the cassava that has been dried adequately ( 12-14% moisture content) can be stored for long periods of time (6-12 months) without deteriorating in quality.”
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