Cassava is one of the most popular and
widely consumed food crops in Africa thanks to its versatility. Due to the
importance of this food in the region, it is commonly referred to as a
cornerstone of food security in Africa. The competing needs for cassava
cut across both human and animal consumption. Besides, it is fastly
becoming a popular raw material in industrial production and is now the
preferred material for making biofuels.
As Africa's population continues to grow rapidly, the demand of food
staples like cassava has increased. This high demand for various forms of
processed cassava is pushing prices to the ceiling. Therefore, several
small scale cassava farmers are making a fortune and changing their lives
through this business.
The common’s man food
As cassava is highly adaptable to our tropical climate and soils, it is very
popular for producing excellent harvests even when other crops fail.
Processed forms of cassava, especially gari, fufu and tapioca, are very
common throughout West Africa. Particularly Gari is hugely popular in
Nigeria as it has traditionally remained cheaper than other carbohydrate
sources, especially rice and maize. This has aptly earned it the nickname
"the common man’s food".
The annual consumption of gari in West Africa is valued with several
million dollars, a figure which is closer to what the best footballers in the
world earn and is expected to grow with the population explosion in the
region. These statistics could have been propelled by a popular Nigerian/
international musician, Dapo Oyebanjo (D'banj), who ventured
successfully into the cassava production business. So, as long as a large
proportion of the population in the region remains predominantly poor,
gari will continue to be the preferred food product for many years to
come.
Cassava’s trade
Due to the very short shelf life of harvested cassava tubers (2-3 days),
inadequate road and power infrastructure, most of the cassava produced in
Africa is consumed locally, where it is still unable to address the growing
consumption. As a result, a lot of the cassava harvested every year in
Africa become spoilt and never make it to the market. This waste is
estimated to be worth millions of dollars every year. The estimated value
of the global cassava trade is in excess of US$2 billion annually
. However, Thailand, Brazil and Indonesia dominate the international
trade in cassava.
Despite its favourable climate, fertile soils and cheap manpower, Africa is
yet to fully exploit the huge returns from the global cassava trade.
Nevertheless, the price of cassava and its derivatives have increased
sharply in the past few years. The population explosion in Africa has made
it difficult to produce enough cassava to feed many ‘common’ Africans.
In addition, the raging economic growth of China has made it the largest
buyer of African cassava, which it uses to feed livestock (cattle, pigs etc.).
China is currently responsible for more than 60% of global cassava
consumption
, and is still buying more from Africa (especially in Nigeria).
Call for Youth
When combining the growing profile and demand for cassava as a source
of biofuels, it becomes very evident that the future demand and prices for
cassava are moving so far. With these statistics, I call on the African
youth (mostly unemployed) to embrace agriculture and venture into this
cassava production in Africa. If an MTV award winning artist can do it,
why can’t we?
Even for small scale entrepreneurs who are unable to participate in the
international cassava export market, feeding the local African population
with this most basic food stuff remains an interesting and highly lucrative
prospect. What is more interesting is that as humans, animals, industries
and biofuels compete for the valuable cassava crop, the prevailing local
market prices will continue to explode.
Ogochwukwu
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