Originally published on cgiar.org by:International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) on Mar 19, 2010
Farmers in seven states of Nigeria including Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Kogi, Nasarawa, and Benue will benefit from the distribution of free improved cassava varieties, thanks to the IITA-implemented "Unleashing the Power of Cassava in Africa" (UPoCA) project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The distribution of the varieties is part of activities lined up for 2010 by IITA-UPoCA researchers who are implementing the project in seven countries, namely Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Tanzania, Malawi, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mozambique.
“In Nigeria, we aim to empower 75,000 farms with improved varieties by the end of 2010. We also expect cassava yield in these areas to increase by at least 30 percent,” said Richardson Okechukwu, IITA-UPoCA Deputy Project Manager who is also the Nigeria Country Coordinator.
“The project will thereafter ensure food security for Nigerians and neighboring northern countries like Niger and Chad, and will also provide more roots for the large-scale cassava industries,” he added.
Although increasing cassava production is one important aspect of the project, researchers are also pushing improved processing and utilization technologies to create more markets for the crop.
Capacity building is also a top priority. From 23 February to 3 March, the IITA-UPoCA project conducted two Training of Trainers courses for farmers, processors, Women in Agriculture of Agricultural Development Programs, NGOs, and other private business firms on cassava processing and utilization; and products packaging and labeling.
Participants were trained how to process 21 products including gari, soy fortified gari, starch, tapioca granules, soy milk, high quality cassava flour (HQCF), 10 percent HQCF composite bread, cassava chin-chin, cassava meat ball, cassava root fritters, cassava croquettes, cassava cocktail tidbits, cassava flour doughnuts, cassava egg rolls, cassava cookies, cassava queen cakes, cassava strips, odorless fufu, kpokpo gari, yellow gari and cassava meat pie. They were also exposed to mechanized processing using motorized cassava graters and double screw press developed by IITA, as well as packaging and marketing.
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For more information, please contact:
Richardson Okechukwu, r.okechukwu@cgiar.org
IITA-UPoCA Deputy Project Manager and Nigeria Country Coordinator
Jeffrey T. Oliver, o.jeffrey@cgiar.org
Corporate Communications Officer (International)
Godwin Atser, g.atser@cgiar.org
Corporate Communications Officer (West Africa)
Communication Office
IITA - Headquarters
Ibadan, Nigeria
URL: www.iita.org
About IITA
Africa has complex problems that plague agriculture and people's lives. We develop agricultural solutions with our partners to tackle hunger and poverty. Our award winning research for development (R4D) is based on focused, authoritative thinking anchored on the development needs of sub-Saharan Africa. We work with partners in Africa and beyond to reduce producer and consumer risks, enhance crop quality and productivity, and generate wealth from agriculture. IITA is an international non-profit R4D organization since 1967, governed by a Board of Trustees, and supported primarily by the CGIAR.