Uganda: cassava flour for confectionery

Kampala / UG. (div) Over 16’000 small holder farmers countrywide will be taught and helped to produce cassava flour for confectionery. Now Uganda´s state minister for agriculture Aggrey Henry Bagiire launched the Casava Adding Value for Africa project in Kampala. He said the transformation of cassava from a low value subsistence crop to a valuable commercial crop will boost incomes for farmers and ensure food security.

«In Uganda we produce about 5,5 million tones of casava from 500’000 hectares of land, making the crop the sixth largest in Africa. It is also reliable and flexible to grow», Bagiire said to local newspapers. He said the figures explain why the Government had placed strategic importance on the development and commercialisation of cassava. The minister also noted that cassava is the main source of income for rural farmers, especially women. He stressed that the crop is the second most important crop after maize.

According to project manager Robert Gensi, Uganda is to benefit from 26 billion UGX (Uganda Shilling) for expansion of the market and commercialisation of cassava. Exchange rate: 1’000’000 UGX = 345,40 EUR (Interbank on May 01, 2009). The chairman of the project, Prof. Otim Nape, said they are targeting a production of 9’032 metric tones of high quality cassava flour annually. «We are mainly targeting bakeries and other food processors», Nape said. The project targets over 90’000 farmers from Africa. Other countries to benefit include Nigeria, Malawi, Tanzania and Ghana.