Minister wants more value from cassava
Nov 12, 2014
State minister for trade David Wakikona has called for more investment in processing industries to curb unemployment and loss of hard earned foreign exchange.
By David Mugabe
State minister for trade David Wakikona has called for more investment in processing industries to curb unemployment and loss of hard earned foreign exchange.
While opening the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) cassava cluster workshop in Kampala, Wakikona said producers focus on the tuber (60% of the plant) for mainly food, while the peelings, which constitute 40%, are not well-utilised yet they are a big resource if processed and used for making animal feeds.
“By throwing away 40%, which is the peels, you are throwing away your money,” Wakikona said.
He asked producers and those in the cassava value chain to borrow a leaf from Vietnam, which produces and processes the crop on a large scale and earns greatly for the country.
About 55% of Uganda’s exports are still unprocessed agricultural produce and more value addition would boost both value and the incentive to produce more while creating jobs.
Three years ago, COMESA created a cassava cluster with the hope of promoting the crop, which is widely used and consumed in the region although producing economies still earn very little from it.
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