Regional Markets

3 Cases
Photo: Lora Forsythe
3.3 Adding Value for Africa with Cassava in Malawi
Helena Posthumus and Kolawole Adebayo 8
Introduction
Cassava is an important staple food for many small-scale farmers and vulnerable groups
in Africa. It requires less inputs to grow and is more drought resistant than other staple
crops, such as maize. Unfortunately, cassava farmers—particularly from remote areas—
face restricted market access for their produce, because the roots are highly perishable
and bulky which makes them expensive to transport. Other challenges include low multiplication
rates of planting material, labour-intensive production and processing, and
the relegation of the crop to marginal lands, due to competition with higher-value and
higher-status crops. These challenges also make processing by large-scale enterprises less
economically viable. But there are opportunities, especially for processing by small-scale
farmers. Producing dry, shelf-stable products is cost-effective and is a good way to produce
value-added products close to the supply source. C:AVA aims to develop value
chains (VCs) for High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF) in Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda,
Nigeria and Malawi, in order to improve the livelihoods and incomes of small-scale
farmers (especially women and disadvantaged groups). This article will present the experiences
of the project in promoting value-added processing of cassava in Malawi.
8 With contributions from Vito Sandifolo, Lora Forsythe, Louise Abayomi and Andrew Westby.
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