Cassava is one of the root crops grown in
abundance in Africa. Before now, it was not cultivated as a commercial crop or
traded internationally; it was relegated to the background as an orphaned crop,
despite the role it could play in food security.
However, with the efforts of several Agricultural
development projects, focusing on cassava value chain growth, the root crop has
found multiple applications in diversified industries. Today, cassava is not
only traded commercially, it remotely plays a vital role in the economy of
Africa.
Below is a list of profitable cassava
commodity value chains, which could generate substantial income for
entrepreneurs, small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) and large companies.
HQCF
High quality cassava flour (HQCF) which is a
product of cassava is used in the production of confectionaries such as bread,
chin-chin and other pastries. More interesting, the realisation by many, that HQCF is gluten free has made
the flour more popular to consumers looking for gluten free products. HQCF is
also used as a composite flour by several food companies for the production of
noodles and pasta.
Starch
Starch made from cassava is preferred in many
industries because of its viscosity which is stronger than that of other forms
of starch. Cassava starch has anti-freezing properties which gives it
superiority over other forms of starch; more so, processed starch from cassava
is currently a viable export product.
In the pharmaceutical industries, starch is
used as an excipient contributing to solidifying of drugs and tablets. When
processed adequately, cassava starch can be used to produce glue and adhesives.
The industrial use of cassava also extends to the paperboard and paper
industries where it is used as a binder. In the production of paperboard, the
layers of boards are glued together with a suspension of starch which binds the
layers together. Besides its use in the paper industries, it is an important
raw in textile industries.
Biofuel
Coming down to the energy sector, increase in
the price of crude oil and global warming emissions have stirred a clamour for renewable energy around the world.
Ethanol made from cassava is currently the most popular biofuel in the world. Ethanol
is used in Nigeria, Brazil and America as an additive to petrol on a blend of
10 to 20 percent. In fact, a majority of
cars running in America run on gasoline blends containing up to 10 percent ethanol.
Many African countries are beginning to cash out on ethanol production.
Alcohol
Typically, beer is produced using malted
cereal grains such as barley and wheat; however these grains are mainly grown
in temperate regions. Since African region lacks the favourable agronomic characteristics
for cultivation of barley and wheat, local alcohol companies had to use cassava
as a substitute for barley and wheat in production of beer. Today,
multinational alcohol companies are cashing out on the root crop; interestingly,
cassava-based beer is preferred by consumers.
Sweeteners
With the global demand for sugar rising on
daily basis and its price hitting the roof, there is a growing need to find an
alternative to sugar. Consumers are now looking the way of artificial sweeteners
such as glucose and high syrup fructose made from cassava. High sweetness attribute of cassava based
starch gives it an edge over other types of starch used for sweeteners.
Animal
feed
Well processed cassava chips and grits is
commonly used as an energy source in animal diet. Cassava is considered a high
energy crop because of its high starch content. The root crop is high yielding,
less expensive and widely available for use in the animal feed industries.
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