Cassava addition, multiplier effect

 DESPITE significant imports of rice and other grains for flour and livestock feeds, the root and tuber crops; sweet potato, taro and cassava, continue to provide the bulk of the country’s staple food needs. While these crops underwrite PNG’s food security, our farmers continue to face difficulties with post harvest losses due to the highly perishable nature of these crops. 

Cassava, while less highly prized in PNG than the other roots and tubers as a fresh food staple, has great resilience as a plant, and potential to produce high yields, even under adverse conditions. With its productivity and ability to be processed into a number of products, cassava has good potential to contribute to community livelihoods and the PNG economy. 

Over the years, there has been several attempts to capitalise on the potential productivity and market opportunities for value added products from cassava, particularly the bio-fuel, ethanol. For various reasons, these large scale forays are yet to deliver on the potential promised. 

In contrast, in Africa and Asia, cassava is a more important crop, largely due to post harvest processing to a range of products for domestic use and marketing, and for conversion to industrial starch, exported mostly to Japan and Europe.  

With a new approach, a small cassava project in Jiwaka is showing promise for local communities. 

The National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI), in partnership with the Jiwaka Farming Co-operative based in Domil, Jiwaka, ran a pilot project to introduce technologies for processing cassava. 

The project involved farmers in processing cassava into products. Before the project, farmers were growing cassava as an alternative fresh food for domestic consumption or as feed for pigs, with little or no knowledge of possibilities or techniques for processing cassava into other products that can be marketed or stored for later use.

Through the project, members of the co-operative were taught aspects of cassava production, processing, storage techniques, and marketing. 

Production of cassava flour and associated baking products, and a cassava based stock feed were the key technology outcomes of the project. 

The construction of a model cassava processing mill was another key milestone which has contributed to the ongoing success of the cooperative.

The stock feed product demonstrates the success of the innovation approach. 

Through the milling facility and availability of locally produced stock feed, 32 households throughout Jiwaka have now been engaged in producing and marketing broiler chickens. 

Promising results have been achieved, due largely to this innovation of making locally produced stock feed more readily available.

Not only do we have value addition to the cassava, but we have a multiplier effect, with new broiler production operations now possible due to the locally produced livestock feeds. 

It is anticipated the multiplier will extend further as locally trained personnel and others disseminate cassava processing, packaging and marketing information back in their villages and other areas. 

There is great potential at the community level to fill the value addition gaps which have been so elusive on a larger scale. 

The technology and local entrepreneurship are key ingredients, but in fostering expansion of these opportunities, we need to look at how we can facilitate and support, at a local level, the other ingredients to the innovation chain, particularly financing, strategic partnerships, effective information and knowledge dissemination, and innovation support systems. 

The value in  processing cassava-based products is in reduced wastage, increased marketability of the product, and most importantly, improved return for labour input. 

The value addition chain increases the number of people involved in the process, providing work and increased earning opportunities that will enhance community capacity to buy the goods and services that contribute positively to their livelihood.  

While there is a large export market for the starch, and internally in bio-fuel, the indications from the pilot are that further value addition to local use end products such as livestock feeds will provide higher farm income and local employment, and still provide a net benefit to the economy through reduction in imported feed ingredients.