Bennett, Ben (ed.) (2015) Guest editorial: Smallholder cassava production and the cassava processing sector in Africa. Food Chain, 5 (1-2). Practical Action Publishing. ISSN 2046-1879 (Print), 2046-1877 (Online)

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Abstract

Whichever Way you look at it, cassava is important for the future of africa. Whether from the perspective of tackling hunger in a world of uncertain climate conditions, as a source of food security when other crops fail, as a means to create a cash income through processing and sales, as a driver of local agro-industry, as a way of reducing the cost burden of imports through substitution and/or biofuel production, or, for many hopeful politicians, as a future export crop with comparative advantage. The Fao says that the world produced 277 million tonnes of cassava in 2013, of which 158 million tonnes came from africa (57 per cent) and 54 million tonnes from one country, Nigeria (19.5 per cent). None of this african production is traded; all is consumed domestically. how much is lost post harvest: we only have a vague idea. What we do know is that yields are very low by international standards. on a recent mission to Nigeria i listened to a group of experts agree a target yield of 12 tonnes a hectare; a low level of ambition when the starting point is somewhere between 6 and 12 tonnes per hectare and the most efficient are reaching 20 to 30 tonnes per hectare.

Item Type:	Edited Book
Uncontrolled Keywords:	cassava, processing, postharvest, gender
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute > Food & Markets Department
Last Modified:	03 Feb 2016 13:44
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/14395

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