A strategy for industrialisation of cassava in Africa - African ...

PROCEEDINGS OF A SMALL GROUP MEETING, 14–18 NOVEMBER 2005, IBADAN, NIGERIA
The question of drying costs was noted as important in the production of livestock
feed. Several options for drying were cited including:
(a) use of concrete floors like is the case in Thailand but this could also require
warehousing facilities which are costly to set up
(b) use of wooden trays, although this is not a feasible option
(c) pellitising approaches, but only if the necessary machinery can be made available.
Pelletisers are costly – costing from US$ 5,200 to US$700,000 in China depending
on capacity. Fabrication of local pelletisers did not give rise to quality
products as some of these degenerate into flour during packaging
(d) production of cassava chips/chunks for sun drying.
Formulation of livestock feed based on cassava with other enrichment ingredients such
as maize was also proposed. However, this needs to be based on least cost formulation
approach.
It was observed that an interplay of factors would generally be the ultimate determinant
of price.
As recommendations, it was proposed that:
(a) there is need for sensitisation on the utility of some feed products in the market
(b) use of cassava-whole plant silage technology should be explored as an opportunity
for possible exploitation at small scale feed production level
(c) there is need of bringing processors and farmers together through existing or
new organisations as useful in supply chain management
(d) there is need for enhanced coordination of cassava industrialisation initiatives
in the country. A meeting towards this end was planned for January 2006 in
Abuja
(e) as an R&D issue, focus should be placed on use of par boiled cassava to be
dried and cut into chips.
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