business Cassava
Game-changing
technology for Cassava
Dutch processing technology is being used to solve the problem of transporting perishable cassava
roots over long distances in Africa. This may have a profound impact on enhancing food security
on the continent, while also ensuring better revenue streams for smallholder farmers. Jacques
Claassen reports.
O
riginating in
South America
and introduced
to Africa by Portuguese
explorers, the cassava or
manioc plant (also known
as tapioca root and used
to make tapioca pudding),
has been widely adopted
in tropical parts of Africa,
including Southern Africa.
suzanne vlakveld
The patented Autonomous
Mobile Processing Unit
(AMPU) is a cassava
processing plant patented
by the Dutch Agricultural
Development & Trading
Company (Dadtco).
?? | farmers weekly | 17 january 2014
But due to the fact that people in Africa to use a
it is a highly perishable below: mobile plant to process
crop, the development of Thanks to Dutch cassava. According to the
markets for cassava has technology it company, this technology
is now possible
always been slow. Over the to process has begun to play a major
last few years, however, perishable role in unlocking the
this has begun to change. cassava root commercial potential of
At the heart of this into a high- cassava across Africa.
quality cassava
process is the Dutch cake. This In fact, SABMiller, one of
Agricultural Development intermediate the worlds largest brewers,
& Trading Company product contains has partnered with Dadtco
(Dadtco), which was 45% to 50% to develop an innovative
founded in 2002. Dadtco
less water than
process to produce beer
the root and can
developed and patented be stored for up by replacing 70% of the
technology that enables to six months. malted barley normally
used, with cassava cake.
This has enabled SABMiller
to create a portfolio of high
quality, affordable beers for
lower income consumers in
Africa, while using locally-
sourced raw materials.
The first commercially-
produced beer made in this
way was manufactured
in Mozambique and sold
under the name Impala.
SABMiller has now also
Cassava is widely
cultivated all over Africa.
Processing the highly
perishable cassava
Fast Facts
root on site prevents
it from spoiling.
Cassava cake has many
nutritional applications.
launched a cassava beer
in Ghana called Eagle.
Dadtco and SABMiller
have plans to expand to
other African countries
during the coming year.
Suzanne Vlakveld,
Dadtcos value chain
manager says: We have
just published a prospectus
setting up
markets has
been slow due
to its high
perishability
to find investors who are
willing to invest in down-
stream companies such
as plants that produce
starch, flour, syrup or
sorbitol all based on the
use of cassava cake. We
believe cassava can be the
crop to unleash Africas
agricultural potential.
MOBILE
PROCESSING UNIT
The patented Autonomous
Mobile Processing Unit
(AMPU) developed by
Dadtco is an integrated
mobile cassava root
processing plant housed in
a modified 13m container,
and with a self-contained
power supply. It can be
moved to the different
areas where the cassava
is produced and normally
stays at a particular site for
three to four months before
moving to the next village.
Thanks to this
technology, it is possible to

process perishable cassava
roots into a high-quality
cake, an intermediate Mozambique and one in
product containing 45%
to 50% less water than
the roots and can be
stored for six months.
This mobile unit therefore
significantly lowers the cost second factory will go into
of transporting cassava.
Once the cassava root
has been sourced from
smallholder farmers,
processing takes place
within 24 hours of
harvesting. Processing
in the AMPU starts with
washing and peeling
the roots, followed by
chopping, rasping and
de-watering, before the
cassava cake is produced.
Trucks then transport the new, improved varieties,
cake to a centralised drying yield can reach 60t/ha.
and refinery plant, also
known as a flash dryer,
for further processing, as
well as to syrup plants or
SABMillers breweries.
According to Vlakveld,
three AMPUs can supply
one flash dryer. These
dryers are located near a
low-cost energy source
where the cassava cake
can be processed into
high quality cassava
flour (HQCF) or starch.
The cassava cake can
therefore be used as raw
material for a variety
of foodstuffs and
industrial applications. continued on next page
Two AMPUs are
currently operational in
Ghana. Dadtco also has a
HQCF factory in Nigeria,
where three AMPUs
supply cassava cake to
the processing facility. A
production next month.
PRODUCER PRICES
Asked about producer
prices Vlakveld said:
Depending on location,
we are paying African
farmers US$50 (R500) to
US$70(R700)/t. Currently,
Nigerian farmers produce
20t/ha to 30t/ha without
too much investment.
When using fertiliser on
photos courtesy
According to her, the
greatest benefits farmers
derive from working
with Dadtco are:
Having a guaranteed
market.
Being able to sell all their
cassava at once, allowing
them to replant in an
efficient, commercialised
pattern. Traditionally,
cassava farmers sell small
quantities throughout
the year and farmers
must store surpluses.
Farmers receive
immediate cash payments.
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top:
Cassava is a
perennial plant Fast facts about cassava
that provides
reasonable yields In South Africa, Apart from being one
in soils where cassava is cultivated in of the most drought-
many other
crops fail. It Limpopo, Mpumalanga tolerant crops available,
offers numerous and KwaZulu-Natal. cassava is also
nutritional Apart from Brazil, some resistant to locusts.
and industrial of the most significant Cassava, a perennial
applications to
processors. producers are Nigeria and crop, fares well in
the DRC. Other African temperatures ranging
of Dadtco countries producing from 18C to 25C and
cassava include Ivory in areas with an annual
above:
Coast, Uganda, Tanzania, rainfall of just 50mm to
Eagle beer is
produced by Malawi, Zimbabwe, more than 1 000mm.
SABMiller in Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Cassava root is a good
Ghana using Botswana, and Swaziland. source of carbohydrate
cassava cake in Cassava can be used as and its leaves are also
the production
process. a staple food in addition nutritionally valuable.
courtesy of to maize, potatoes, or rice. It can be eaten as a
SABMiller Cassava provides vegetable or used
reasonable yields in as animal feed.
above
right: soils where many Cassava is regarded
Impala beer has other crops fail. by some as Africas
been successfully It is normally produced best kept secret.
produced in within latitudes 30 Sources: www.fao.
Mozambique
by SABMiller north and south of the org/docrep/007/j1255e/
since 2011. equator on poor soils j1255e04.htm; www.afrol.
courtesy of with a pH from 4 to 9. com/archive/cassava.htm
SABMiller
17 january 2014 | farmers weekly | ??
business Cassava
In Nigeria a project
has been started whereby
farmers are paid at a central
position in a local bank.
In this way, farmers are
also encouraged to open
bank accounts to facilitate
safety and security.
There are no middlemen
involved in the process,
and farmers are able to
communicate directly
with the company.
Cassava can
be used as
substitute
for wheat
flour in many
applications
Dadtco also incentivises
farmers who deliver a
total of more than 2t of
roots, providing them with
purchase guarantees.
CASSAVA
APPLICATIONS
Figures released by
Dadtco indicate that Africa
imports approximately
50 million tons of food
grains per annum,
including more than
20million tons of wheat.
According to Vlakveld,
cassava flour can be
used as a substitute for a
significant portion of the
?? | farmers weekly | 17 january 2014
imported wheat flour.
HQCF can, for example,
replace 30% of the wheat
flour used in various
kinds of pasta. In fact, she
points out that taste tests
in Nigeria showed that
consumers even preferred
pasta made partly from
HQCF to that made from
conventional wheat flour.
Other applications
include replacing up
to 10% of wheat flour
in bread with HQCF
without changing its
properties, while it is
regarded as a good raw
material to be used in
gluten-free products.
Cassava flour can also
be used as a substitute for
wheat flour in biscuits,
while cassava starch can
be used in seasoning
cubes, sauces and soups.
In industrial applications,
cassava starch can be used
in glue, paper production
and textiles, while turning
cassava starch into cooking
ethanol provides an
alternative to charcoal
use in urban areas.
Dadtcos research and
development team is
currently investigating
how cassava cake can be
processed into cassava-
based syrups and sorbitol,
commonly used in
toothpaste and sweeteners.
REMAINING
CHALLENGES
In its attempts to create
viable markets for Africas
smallholder cassava
producers, Dadtco
embarked on developing a
commercial cassava value
chain. Its aim is to increase
top left: sustainable production
Dadtco aims to
unlock Africas by creating a guaranteed
agricultural market for cassava crops.
potential with Provided there is a
cassava. The guaranteed market, Dadtco
company
provides believes that small-scale
guaranteed cassava farmers will be
markets for able to produce higher
smallholder yields/ha than large-
farmers who
produce cassava scale producers.
in Mozambique Dadtco has nonetheless
and West Africa. identified some areas that
need to be addressed.
top right:
Cassava cake
These include the lack of
can be used in high-yielding, disease-
a range of food free varieties of cassava
and industrial available, and inadequate
applications.
knowledge in terms of
handling and treating
above:
Cassava plant material correctly.
flour can be Therefore, the company
substituted for collaborates with extension
conventional
wheat flour services and research
in baking. institutes to introduce
improved varieties and
stem handling methods.
In this regard, an
American NGO,
International Fertilizer
Development Center
(IFDC), has already
introduced disease-free,
high yielding crops.
This has been a big
success, especially in
Mozambique where there
is a high prevalence of
Cassava brown streak
virus disease (CBSD),
says Vlakveld. This
disease causes root
rot which renders the
cassava tuber inedible.
According to Vlakveld,
these efforts have not
only increased the yield
of cassava for processing,
but also safeguard food
security in these areas.
Due to the absence of
healthy crop rotation
practices and appropriate
use of fertilisers in parts of
Africa, Dadtco also strongly
promotes integrated soil
fertility management
(ISFM), which focuses on
optimal and sustainable
use of soil nutrient
reserves, mineral fertilisers
and organic amendments.
PUBLIC PRIVATE
PARTNERSHIPS
Under a public private
partnership (PPP)
agreement, Dadtco
collaborates with the Dutch
government, which creates
an enabling environment
with favourable rules and
regulations for agricultural
NGOs, including IFDC
in Mozambique and
Solidaridad in West Africa.
Apart from unlocking
the door to the
commercialisation of
cassava in Africa, Dadtco
has set its sights on
potentially doing the same
in other parts of the world.
It aims to form strategic
alliances with one or more
multinational companies
that are already active
in the starch industry.
Email Suzanne Vlakveld
at s.vlakveld@dadtco.nl
or Renske Franken at
r.franken@dadtco.nl FW