S1-12
The Economic Importance of
Cassava and its Significance in West Africa
Kumah,
J.G.
Ghana
Postal Service Company Ltd, PO Box 12663, Accra, Ghana
Cassava
is predominately produced in West Africa by subsistence and commercial
farmers for local consumption. About
250 million people in West Africa use either processed or fresh cassava
in their everyday menu. In
Ghana, cultivation of cassava is a reserve crop against lean periods,
because it can survive all weather conditions and it is the last resort
of food, when there is severe shortage of other food crops.
We depend on cassava. Several
items are processed from cassava. Examples
are: fufu, gari, tapoika, cassva dough, starch, bread, biscuits and
cassava flour (konkonte). In
Ghana, even the outer cover of the cassava is utilised as animal feed
for goat, sheep, grasscutters and others. Adequate preservation of fresh
cassava has not yet been obtained.
Therefore, developed countries like USA, Germany and others must
take up this challenge. Some
form of mechanism should be put in place to store fresh cassava for
future use. In West Africa
and elsewhere, cassava is important because of its consumption patterns.
America, Europe must start importing cassava into their market
for their use as well as feed for their dairy animals.
Starch also helps very much in textiles industry and is one area
that the developed nations can look into.
This will help farmers who choose the cultivation of cassava to
improve their living standard and encourage others to expand their
farming activities for more export.
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