Oct 29, 2008

Maize growers rally in Chiang Mai

THAILAND Thai News Agency MCOT - Bangkok, Oct 28, 2008

Also, the cabinet on Tuesday agreed to offer a minimum guaranteed price for cassava at Bt1.80 a kilogramme, aimed at preventing growers from demonstrating. ...


CHIANG MAI, Oct 28 (TNA) - More than 2,000 maize growers rallied at the offices of the governor of this northern province Tuesday, expressing dissatisfaction at what they call a too-low price offered by the government earlier in the day.

In Bangkok, Internal Trade Department director-general Yanyong Phuangrach said the Cabinet approved guaranteeing maize purchases at Bt8.50 per kilogramme. He said the government would start buying maize on November 1 and that the purchase programme would extend through December 30. The government has set aside a total of Bt4.25 billion to buy the commodity.

To prevent domestic prices from declining, the ministry will also ban imports of maize during the harvest season, said Mr. Yanyong.

Upon learning of the cabinet decision, the demonstrators expressed dissatisfaction, charging that the guaranteed price is too low. They said growers in Chiang Mai's Mae Chaem district, for example, must pay Bt1 per kilo just for transportation cost to the silos which have joined the government programme.

Some 60,000 tonnes of maize now remain needing about Bt40 million for transport costs, Mr. Yanyong said,
but the Chiang Mai Administrative Organisation has pledged to provide only Bt2 million to help, a sum the
farmers say is not enough.

The growers also demanded that the Cabinet's decision must be made in writing as to when the government will implement maize purchases at the guaranteed price and with which agencies.

Farmers threatened to block entrances of provincial officials throughout the night Tuesday night if no satisfactorily answer is received.

Protest leader Uthai Boonthiam said maize is grown in over 100,000 rai in Chiang Mai, with an output of nearly one million tonnes, but that 20 per cent of the total yield was damaged due to heavy rains.

The protesters later dispersed after their demands were met. The provincial authorities made the cabinet's decision in writing that the government will implement maize purchases at the guaranteed price of Bt8.50, starting on Nov1 .

Also, the cabinet on Tuesday agreed to offer a minimum guaranteed price for cassava at Bt1.80 a kilogramme, aimed at preventing growers from demonstrating.

The government's guaranteed price for cassava will be up 5 satang per month with the ceiling price set at Bt1.90 a kilogramme.

According to Mr. Yanyong, the government will buy a maximum of 5 million tonnes of cassava, beginning November 1 with purchases possible through April 30 next year. The government will set aside more than Bt10 billion for the six-month purchase programme plus insurance and warehouse expenses. (TNA)

Oct 26, 2008

Cassava, malungay: Reserve food for nutrition feeding of Filipinos

PHILIPPINES PIA Daily News Reader 25 Oct. 2008

Tacloban City (October 25) -- In the face of the ever present threat of world hunger and climate change, the Filipinos can be consoled that there are reserve food for nutrition feeding of Filipinos. These are the cassava and moringa or what is known as malungay to most.

The Philippines is visited by an average of 26 typhoons each year. Natural and man made disasters including conflicts hit the Filipinos most who are in the countryside. Almost always, reserved food is needed. It should be food that is nutritious, palatable, easy logistically speaking, economical, available and sustainable. All of these has been achieved through the specially developed reserved food made of cassava, malunggay, and many others.

Ms. Lourdes Montevirgen, a food scientist from the Department of Science and Technology made a presentation on reserve food for Filipinos in one meeting of the Management Association of the Philippines.

Ms. Montevirgen said that cassava is a crisis crop. It is staple food for more than 500 million people. In times of war, drought or low national income, consumption increases relative to alternate food staples like maize, rice, wheat.

Cassava, Ms. Montevigen added, can remain in the ground for up to 3 years prior to harvest thus providing an easily maintained food reserve. It adapts to a wide range of growing conditions, soil types and fertility levels. It is able to yield on soils of extremely low fertility and is often grown where other crops have failed.

Cassava should be promoted as an important staple food which can spur rural industrial development, increase local work opportunities, and raise income of producers, processors and traders.

Products with good market potentials must be promoted like cassava flour, prepared foods snacks, cooked leaves, boiled fresh roots, animal feed, alcohol for chemical industries, glue, starches for strong textiles and paper, and industrial sweeteners. It should broaden the recognition of cassava in its important role of providing food security. It is the primary reserve food in times of calamities.

On the other hand, Moringa or Malungay is the world's most valuable plant. It is a powerful tool to combat global malnutrition. It is called the miracle vegetable since it contains all essential amino acids to build strong and healthy bodies which are rare for a plant source.

Ms. Montevirgen said that Reserve Food for disaster management is necessary because in times of disaster, more often than not there will be no access to food for days and even weeks. Basic services (like water, gas, electricity, communications, transportation, etc.) may be cut off, and perishable food will not last.

Reserve food provides nutrition and security. It will also help economic growth and uplift the lives of farmers and people in the countryside.

For areas that implemented these programs, the following benefits were realized: encouraged urban planting, instilled self reliance, resulted in practice of good solid waste management, actualized nutrition feeding, mitigated disasters, increased food security and livelihood. (PIA 8) [top]

Oct 25, 2008

Civilian armed auxiliary eyed to stop burning of tractors in Tamlang Valley

ENGLAND UK. Balita.org - Minsterley, October 23, 2008 7:45 pm by pna

Herminio Teves, whose family has embarked on projects involving the planting of jatropha and cassava in the valley. According to Lawas, Teves has assured to ...

DUMAGUETE CITY, Oct. 23 – Plans are afoot for the establishment of a civilian armed auxiliary in the lush Tamlang Valley in Negros Oriental to boost peace and order in the area where a massive bio-fuels project is being implemented.

The development comes following at least two incidents of burning of farm tractors in the area in recent months by the New People’s Army (NPA) which is opposing the project.


P/Supt. Rey Lyndon Lawas, provincial police director for operations, said the idea was raised by former 3rd district Rep. Herminio Teves, whose family has embarked on projects involving the planting of jatropha and cassava in the valley.

According to Lawas, Teves has assured to provide funding and other forms of support in the training and organization of the civilian auxiliaries.

The group would be trained as armed auxiliaries of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Lawas said Teves has also pledged to erect a building to house the armed auxiliary group at a strategic location in Tamlang Valley.

During a meeting Thursday in Siaton town, about an hour’s drive south of here, Teves confirmed the planned creation of an auxiliary group.

He said he still has to see the proposed plan for the building to house the auxiliaries before he can allocate funding for it, and for the possible procurement of firearms for the group.

The meeting was held to thresh out issues and concerns in Tamlang Valley amid complaints by a farmers’ group that at least 30 people were allegedly disenfranchised by the entry of large corporations that have embarked on wide-scale jatropha and cassava planting. (PNA)

Saraki gets food science institute award, pledges more for agric

Written by Emmanuel Edukugho

NIGERIA Vanguard - Apapa,Lagos, 23 October 2008

Three cassava processing factories and sixteen micro processing centres have been established across the state, to add value to cassava for maximum ...

Kwara State Governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki, at Ogbomoso, received the Presidential Award of the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST) for Excellence in Agriculture and Food Security Initiatives at its 32nd Conference/AGM, holding in Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), which began on Tuesday and ended on Thursday, 16th October, 2008.



Kwara State Governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki, Food scientists and technologists drawn from universities and polytechnics in the country, scholars, food manufacturers, ministries of agriculture, agencies, research organisations and students are attending the three-day conference, declared open by Osun State Deputy Governor, Erelu Olusola Obada, representing Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola.

“National Sovereignty cannot be guaranteed unless we are able to harness all our resources to feed ourselves without importation from any country. Food is an important factor that guarantees sustainable peace in any nation.

The effort we are making in Kwara State is to encourage massive production of all crops and to also produce meat, milk and fish to improve protein intake of our teeming population,” Saraki said.

He explained that he was receiving the award not for personal reasons but because of seeing the road to Nigerian food security as a collective task before us all. Also that the effort of Kwara State government which he is privileged to head is one of the many contributions required from all and sundry.

Saraki paid tribute to the efforts of the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology “whose interest is not only to harness the abundance of talents and knowledge among food professionals in Nigeria towards food security and safety, but also to serve as Vanguards for discouraging all forms of food adulteration and smuggling.”

He recalled how he started the back to farm programme because the only resources in abundance in Kwara was land and the able bodied unemployed youths.

Saying the most important lesson got from the programme was that it was more profiting to encourage private sector participation rather than investing government funds in direct provision, “this vision took me to the commercial agricultural project, using the experience of our Zimbabwean partners as the launching pad.”

The Kwara governor disclosed that commercial agricultural project had proved itself to be a viable option for sustainable growth. In all, 13,000 hectres of land is dedicated to the first phase of the project, achieving massive crop production on annual basis.

“Both skilled and unskilled workers are being employed by the farmers and this is gradually uplifting the living standards of the people at the rural areas. Out of the thirteen farmers, there is no single farmer that has less than 50 workers in is employment.”

To secure the future, Integrated Youth Farm Centre has been established in which the youths are trained on the modern techniques of mass crop production and empowered eventually to become medium scale farmers.

Three cassava processing factories and sixteen micro processing centres have been established across the state, to add value to cassava for maximum advantage to farmers and check cassava glut.
Saraki said the award of Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology will spur him to do more as agriculture holds the key to our national growth.

Dedicating the award to “our young successor generation farmers across the nation, our hope for the future,” the Commissioner for Agriculture, Kwara State, Professor Isa Mohammed received it on behalf of the governor.

In her welcome speech, Osun Deputy Governor, Erelu Olusola Obada promised government maximum support to the institute, assuring that they should count on Osun government for financial assistance.

Outgoing National President of Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology, Mrs. O.A. Adesokan, said she has consulted with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Dimeji Bankole on giving a charter status to the institute. The Speaker promised to fast track the Bill for the charter.

She drew attention to the fund raising efforts of the institute in which Oyo State has made donation and appealed to other states to do same.

Adesokan named Professor Ngoddy as the first Fellow of the Institute and commended Dr. Adewale Obadina, a lecturer in Bells University of Technology, Department of Food Technology for being one of the seven young scientists chosen from all over the world to the 14th World Congress of Food Science and Technology in China.

Professor Bamidele Solomon, Director-General, National Biotechnology Development Agency, Abuja, delivered the keynote address on the conference theme: “Challenge of Research and Development for Food/Nutrient Security and Agro-Industrialisation”.

Vice Chancellor, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Professor B. B. Adeleke, is host of the conference, while chairman of the Governing Council was represented by Chief Adeyemo.

Oyo State Commissioner for Education, Professor Lawore, represented Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, the chief host.

Prof. Isaac A. Adeyemi, Vice Chancellor, Bells University of Technology, Ota, 1st National Vice-President will assume leadership of the institute after the conference.

Certificates were given to some private companies including UAC Foods, Nutricima, Tasty Fried Chicken, for their support and contributions to the food industry.

Ghana cuisine: the making of futu

Debrah Ameyaw,

GHANA. AfricaNews - Netherlands
VoicesofAfrica mobile reporter in Accra, 23 October 2008

Fufu is a common staple food across West Africa and some parts of Central Africa. There are variations in the preparation methods from region to region. In Ghana, fufu is mostly made from boiled cassava and plantain although it can also be prepared pounding cocoyam or yam.


In preparing traditional fufu, the cassava and plantain are peeled and boiled together till they are well cooked. The cooked cassava and plantain are allowed to cool for a while before pounding with a large stick (pestle) and bowl (mortar). They are pounded separated into starchy components and later pounded together.

When the preferred level of softness is attained, the fufu is skilfully collected into a ball with the help of water and then served into a bowl or a traditional bowl known as 'Asanka'. A ball of fufu is eaten with light (tomato) soup, palm nut soup, groundnut (peanut) soup or other types of soups with vegetables such as Kontomire (cocoyam leaves).

Soups are often made with different kinds of meat and fish, fresh or smoked. Currently fufu powder/flour is available on the Ghanaian market. The powder/flour can be mixed with hot water to obtain the final product hence eliminating the arduous task of pounding it in a mortar and pestle.

However, most Ghanaian prefer the traditional method because the feel that the processed form doesn't have the same consistency and taste as the traditional fufu.

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Uganda: Rains Ravage Southwestern Districts

The Monitor (Kampala)

Alfred Tumushabe and Otushabire Tibyangye Isingiro

USA AllAfrica.com - Washington, 22 October 2008

In Bwongyera and Kibatsi sub-counties, banana plantations, cassava, beans, potato gardens and livestock have not been spared by the torrential rains. Local leaders say many homes have been going without food until recently when the Disaster Preparedness Ministry intervened with 180 bags of maize flour and 80 of beans.



The torrential rains that have hit the southwestern districts have left thousands of locals staring hunger in the face following the destruction of their crops. The rains, which started in September, are also likely to force many of the residents to seek alternative accommodation since many homes have been destroyed.

In Isingiro and Mbarara districts, over 3,000 homes lost their gardens of beans, cassava, Irish potatoes and bananas in a series of stormy rains that hit Kabuyanda and Mwizi sub-counties.

Isingiro South Member of Parliament Alex Byarugaba (NRM) last Friday delivered 200 bags of maize flour and 100 bags of beans to the victims. "This is not enough but that is what we have managed to get. You will share it as it is," Mr Byarugaba told resident of Kanywamaizi Parish.

Residents said the lack of food is likely to interfere with the class attendance as pupils cannot go on empty stomachs. In Ntungamo; Kajara, Rushenyi and Ruhaama counties are the worst hit. Roads, bridges, houses and a school have been destroyed by the rains, which according to the minister of water and environment are not about to relent.

"Do not think that this region is safe from floods. You should prepare yourselves, so that when the disaster strikes, you can handle it," Ms Maria Mutagamba said during her visit to the region.

In Bwongyera and Kibatsi sub-counties, banana plantations, cassava, beans, potato gardens and livestock have not been spared by the torrential rains. Local leaders say many homes have been going without food until recently when the Disaster Preparedness Ministry intervened with 180 bags of maize flour and 80 of beans.

Delivering the relief items on Monday at Bwongyera Sub-county, area MP Steven Tashobya (NRM) called on the affected homes (about 800) to focus on increasing production. "Do not lament but focus on how to come out of this tragedy," he said

Keeping it organic

Ephraim Kasozi

UGANDA. Daily Monitor - Kampala, 23 Oct 2008

Dr Bua who is also a specialist in developing high yielding cassava varieties, says the products that would be generated from laboratories like cassava disease resistant varieties will be disseminated and promoted to the local farmers.



Farmers working to boost food security and improve their livelihoods in terms of incomes from the produce will now move their minds from the use of chemicals to natural organisms.

Research carried out indicates that in order to maintain food security in the country and the world over, farmers have been boosted by biological control measures of pests and diseases. Mr Kamayombi Bulegeya, a crop protection specialist says farmers can now focus on environmentally friendly methods other than the use of chemicals.

“Pesticides like ambush and dursban are hazardous to the environment and humans unless they are safely handled,” he said. Mr Bulegeya, also the commissioner in the Ministry of Agriculture, animal Industry and Fisheries, says one such biological control method of pests is the use of fungi.

He says farmers can control pests and diseases like banana weevils, variegated grasshoppers, locusts and some types of termites by applying metarhizium specie and Bauveria specie fungi. Mr Bulegeya adds, “These two types of fungi are naturally occurring when applied appropriately to kill pests.” “You extract fungus from the soil, purify and multiply it on artificial medium in the laboratory to get the quantities needed.

When you apply the fungi on pests, then spores germinate on them and enter the insect bodies to multiply further to kill the pests,” he added. The amount of fungi increases as long as pests come together and the spores spread more when the pests start dying.

“For those pests that aggregate like weevils spread to the spores easily,” Mr Bulegeya said. However, he added that the use of fungi is a delicate and new technique that cannot be used by subsistence farmers.

“To calculate the dose and ensure the right environment for survival of fungi and to have the quantity and purification requires financial and technical inputs. These are still high,” he says. Mr Bulegeya’s revelation adds value to the recent development made at the National Crops Resources Research Institute where new high yielding varieties are being tested and the start of a cassava biotech capacity project for agro-biodiversity and biotechnology (Agrobio) programme.

Dr Antony Bua, an Agric-Economist and Team Leader for National Cassava Programme said such initiatives would build capacity to perform very high and advanced science which we normally borrow from Europe and America, adding that intervention would build local human capacity in using the advanced science facilities rather than relying on developed countries, as has been the case.

Mr Bulegeya said the fungi could be accessed from research stations and international bodies and farmers who use high technology and producers of high value crops. “Such organisations have got laboratories and skilled manpower with support to maintain the fungi, which can be kept for six to eight months under appropriate temperature,”

The crop protection specialist says that flowers for instance have biological control agents such as wasps; “It is the same principle like beetles used to control the water hyacinth on Lake Victoria.” Mr Bulegeya says about six strains of coffee have been developed through research to address coffee wilt disease because “they exhibited resistance to any disease.”

“The challenge now is to multiply these strains to get sufficient quantities to supply the farmers,” he says. For matooke management, Mr Bulegeya recommends, “Good management, where you remove all the infected plants and burry them, fertilise the plantation and remove all the male buds as soon as the last finger of a bunch has formed.”

He says that another strategy has been developed where by some areas have been mapped in the northern region where cassava plants are still free of diseases to get seeds while a comprehensive research is going on to develop a disease-resistant variety. “We must aggressively promote agricultural produce either natural or organic to ensure food security, increase production and productivity and income of farmers who constitute over 80 per cent of our population,” Mr Bulegeya says.

Dr Bua says, “It will also be cost effective and cheap for Uganda to develop local technologies using locally based facilities. Uganda would also have a comparative advantage in the East and Central African region to conduct advanced research for regional countries.”

Dr Bua who is also a specialist in developing high yielding cassava varieties, says the products that would be generated from laboratories like cassava disease resistant varieties will be disseminated and promoted to the local farmers.

Scientists prepare to fight cotton disease and pests

Lominda Afedraru

UGANDA. Daily Monitor - Kampala, Oct. 22, 2008

According to the scientists, this genetically modified cotton will reduce the frequency of spraying cotton from six times to two to three times depending on the availability of secondary pests thus reducing on environmental pollution and health issues. Genetically modified Cotton is now grown in nine countries worldwide with the three leading countries as China, India and US. Studies from the World Bank indicate that if countries adopt the genetically modified cotton, they stand to benefit more than they would with the conventional cotton under the Initiative of the World Trade Organisation. Genitically modified cotton is one of the upcoming seeds with others being maize, banana, sorghum and cassava.


Scientists in Uganda will soon begin testing the genetically modified cotton in their laboratories to prove whether they are resistant to cotton wilt and other related cotton diseases, which has been destroying the conventional cotton plant.

The government recently gave a go ahead for scientists to carry out the above research just as they have been doing to other crops such as the East African Highland banana and cassava.

However, according the Regional coordinator for the Bio-safety System programme, Dr Thereza Sengoba, scientists will carry out this test in their laboratories and later confined filed trials will be conducted at two sites, in Western Uganda at Mubuku and Eastern Uganda at Serere.

This is because the two regions are considered to be representing major cotton growing areas with different agro- ecologies. Dr Senbgoba said this while presenting a paper at the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa (OFAB) on the topic, Evolution of agro- biotechnology and the challenges of seed system in Africa.

The British introduced traditional Cotton to Uganda in 1903. It quickly established itself as Uganda’s export crop and became the main foreign exchange earner.

According to scientists, cotton production in Uganda is mainly by peasant farmers and it is affected by a number of factors ranging from poor management of insects, pests, weeds, diseases and soil. This is the reason why scientists are trying a research on the genetically modified cotton hoping it may give yields compared to the traditional cotton.

According to data information by the scientists, in 1994 the government under the Economic recovery programme decided to revive and support cotton production so as to diversify sources for foreign exchange earnings and avoidance on coffee.

Structural changes were put in place and the Cotton Development Organisation was charged with overseeing production and marketing. The Cotton industry was also liberalised and services were privatised. This created conducive atmosphere, which enabled growth of the private sector such as Uganda Ginners and Cotton Export Association, Oil Millers and Textile millers.

Despite this heavy investment in the cotton industry, research has shown that cotton production has stagnated at about 200,000 metric tones in the past several years. There are a number of constraints still affecting cotton production and these include among others, pests such as bollworms, weeds and soil fertility.

The traditional cotton requires farmers to carry under the cotton plantation five to six times which farmers find tedious.
In view of the above constraints, scientists have been looking for options to solve them in a bid to achieve the targeted amount of cotton production.

This is the reason why they are venturing into research in the genetically modified cotton and one of the biotechnologies they have identified is the Ball guard11, which will be used to evaluate the modified cotton varieties by crossing the genes extracted from a soil bacterium called B. Thrugiensis to control the bollworms.

According to the scientists, this genetically modified cotton will reduce the frequency of spraying cotton from six times to two to three times depending on the availability of secondary pests thus reducing on environmental pollution and health issues.

Genetically modified Cotton is now grown in nine countries worldwide with the three leading countries as China, India and US. Studies from the World Bank indicate that if countries adopt the genetically modified cotton, they stand to benefit more than they would with the conventional cotton under the Initiative of the World Trade Organisation. Genitically modified cotton is one of the upcoming seeds with others being maize, banana, sorghum and cassava.

Oct 21, 2008

For ‘fufu’ in Freetown, this African diner’s the place

By Jina Moore

USA. Christian Science Monitor - Boston, MA, 22 Oct 2008
http://features.csmonitor.com/backstory/2008/10/20/for-fufu-in-freetown-this-african-d

The ground nut and cassava leaf stews so common in this part of the world are full of an ingredient that make weight watchers wary: oil. Palm oil is the foundation of many stews here; the oil is tapped in the countryside and brought to town, sold in plastic water bottles, a liter or two at a time. A rich orange in the bottle, the oil turns deep brown when it mixes with cassava leaves, making a stew that looks held together by chocolate syrup. In ground nut stew, a dish colored by the thin purple skins, the oil turns almost pink.


Freetown, Sierra Leone

You might not recognize Sadia Pratt in the early morning. She wears a long house dress and an apron, orange in places where palm oil has soaked in. Her hair is wrapped in a pastel cloth, and her glasses fog up when she stands over the stove just outside her front door. On a Monday morning, she’s stirring ground nut stew in a dimpled metal pot over the hat. A chicken weaves in and out of her legs as she cooks.

Later in the afternoon, she’ll be prim again, in fresh pressed clothes and small gold earrings. She’ll leave the grueling kitchen heat and preside over her cozy wood-paneled restaurant, laughing as often as she speaks, her round, young face betraying only mirth. Everyone will greet her with what has become, by now, her real name: Mama.

In a city where entrepreneurial spirit is the only abundant resource, Mama’s restaurant has a small following, and an even smaller menu. Mama runs Kieman’s, a small lunch-and-dinner spot off the beaten track here. In the wood-paneled dining room, before a bar with empty shelves, the stews she serves are more than meals; they’re a little piece of history in a country whose capital pulses with the energy of recovery.

Mama opened Kieman’s in 2000, the year Sierra Leone’s decade-long civil war techically ended, but few knew whether the peace would last. The restaurant is named after her sons – Aki and Emmanuel – and in the eight years since it opened, Kieman’s has become a favorite of the intrepid tourist. You won’t find it in the growing tourist literature for travelers here, but Mama has a loyal following abroad. Britons, Americans, and Germans who’ve happened upon her Fort Street spot sing its praises on Internet message boards and chat rooms.

“If you tell her in advance that you’re coming … she truly prepares a FEAST for a bargain price,” one Australian tourist wrote. When told about the Australian, Mama said, “Ah, she’s always sending me people.”

In a post-conflict city full of aid workers and other expats, escaping mediocre “continental cuisine” and finding gems of local dining can be a challenge. The free advertising means Mama’s place is one of the few local eateries foreigners know when they hit Freetown, a destination for native dishes like cassava leaf or ground nut stews. They’re also among Mama’s favorites. “I love tasty foods,” she says. “Can’t you see I’m fat?”

Tasty Sierra Leonean foods give no pause for caloric considerations. The ground nut and cassava leaf stews so common in this part of the world are full of an ingredient that make weight watchers wary: oil. Palm oil is the foundation of many stews here; the oil is tapped in the countryside and brought to town, sold in plastic water bottles, a liter or two at a time. A rich orange in the bottle, the oil turns deep brown when it mixes with cassava leaves, making a stew that looks held together by chocolate syrup. In ground nut stew, a dish colored by the thin purple skins, the oil turns almost pink.

It may be the hints of cinnamon, or a special spice her German friends send – even Mama doesn’t know what it is – but her ground nut stew tastes like more than a thick peanut soup. It’s her mother’s recipe, Mama says. “But I improved on it.”

Food here is, of course, about more than improvisation. To explain its diversity, Americans are fond of using the metaphor of the melting pot. In Sierra Leone, where 16 ethnic groups with different languages and traditions share a country the size of South Carolina, the melting pot is literal. In fact, in West Africa, the cassava leaf and other staples cross not just provincial but national boundaries.

“These are native foods that were brought here when slaves came through,” says Hindolo Trye, Sierra Leone’s minister of culture and tourism. “Freetown was for freed slaves, and when they came here, each one from [a] different place … they started making what they’ve known before.”

Cassava is a case in point; it is the dietary staple of 250 million Africans. A root with a mild taste, it can be fried like a potato, or ground into a sticky pudding eaten with the fingers, called fufu. The leaves are chopped and turned into a stew.

Food is as much about ritual as it is about history, of course, and in Sierra Leone, cuisine has a place in ceremony. Beans are served at weddings or naming ceremonies, but not on the daily dinner table. Forty days after the death of a loved one, a celebration is held, marked with olele, a bean dish, Mr. Trye says is otherwise hard to find these days.

And then there is the ritual of routine.

“We have a culture of eating certain foods on certain days. On Saturday, the main diet is fufu,” says Tileima Yilla, principal of the Women’s Vocational and Training Center in Freetown. Like most food here, fufu is a dish prepared by the matriarch of a home. “Those who are single … they will have to go to a restaurant.”

That gives Mama’s place an important social role – and customer base. She prepares two dishes a day, usually stews. Though many Freetownians these days work in offices, they retain a preference for heavy, saucy meals made in the provinces most of them have come from, where men working outdoors needed a hefty meal to get them through the day. On a Monday afternoon a few months ago, the only locals in the restaurant were men. They wish there were more meat in the stew, they say, but otherwise, the day’s menu tastes pretty much the way food should. “Like it used to,” one man says.

It’s easy to forget, in a place like this, that there were ever good old days. In the brutal, decade-long civil war women were raped, boys kidnapped into rebel groups, who punished resisters by chopping off their arms.

But there was a before, even for Sierra Leone. In the old days, when Mama was a girl, there was electricity and water, two commodities that often disappear even before government rationing shuts them off. There were jobs, and with them, the disposable wealth of a middle class. There were department stores with fashionable clothes, and small drug stores filled with comic books that doubled as spelling primers. “Now, if you ask the kids, ‘Spell me ‘Wow!’, they wouldn’t know how,” Mama sighs.

And there were toys, not the improvisations that fill poor villages across Africa today – tiny wooden or wire replicas of bicycles, or the simpler hoop and wheel – but the toys of a prosperous British colony. Mama’s brothers had toy cars; she and her sister had dolls – white dolls. “We didn’t like the way they were making the black dolls,” she remembers. “Always with the big cheeks, red eyes. Sometimes we are afraid of them. We don’t look like this.”

There was choice. Mama studied to be a secretary, but the pay was less than she thought she could earn making traditional cuisine. So she saved, gave up her office job, and built a compound on Fort Street, with a restaurant in front and a home in back. In those days, Fort Street was busy, and she had hopes of attracting clients from the nearby Paradise Hotel.

Then the war came and food shortages: Most of the cassava, potatoes, and ground nuts that made up Mama’s menu were grown in the provinces. When the violence reached the city, Fort Street became a dangerous place. Mama and her family fled, and her little compound was spared from rebel-set blazes by the iron bars and windows.

Peace has brought a flood of international organizations to Freetown, and now secretaries make far more than they imagined they ever could when Mama gave the profession up. But the people they work for don’t usually dine in restaurants like Mama’s. Mostly, her clientele is a loyal, but small, group of locals who love her food.

She gives little thought either to what might have been, if she’d kept her office job, or to what might still be, if she’s able to retire. The past and the future are full of different difficulties, she says, and “life must go on. Who will give you what you need?” She sighs. “So you have to do something.”

FIIRO’s breakthroughs raise hope for more food

By Segun Olugbile

NIGERIA. The Punch - Lagos, 21 Oct 2008

Olatunji disclosed that the institute had done a lot of work on the upgrading of the status of cassava such that many products including noodles, chips, soy-bean, industrial starch, and bread have been derived from the food crop. FIIRO, he said, had also developed groundnut sheller, groundnut roaster, local rice destoner, a machine that cleans local rice and other cereal grains such as wheat, cowpea, beniseed and soybean. The machine consists of a feeding screw conveyor, a detoning chamber mounted on a spring cum vibro-assisted frame, a blower, a cyclone and a power transmission system.“We also have a solar dryer used in the preservation of tomato and chili pepper. This was developed to eliminate losses during peak production periods. Losses of up to 50 per cent are recorded during the harvest season and we feel that something must be done to reduce this. Our solar dryer is capable of generating much higher air temperature and lower relative humidity within the drying chamber.”He explained that the machine also reduced the drying time by sun-drying method from 72 hours to 12 sunshine hours.“It also reduces the moisture content of the product from 8.75 per cent to 7.04 per cent,” he said.


Segun Olugbile writes that the giant strides being made by the Federal Institute of Industrial Research have brightened the nation’s chances of taming hunger

The days of post harvest losses caused by ineffective packaging and crops preservation may well be over in Nigeria. This is because scientists at the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi, Lagos, have recorded some research breakthroughs capable of eliminating this untoward trend. The Director-General of FIIRO, Dr. Oluwole Olatunji, who disclosed this to our correspondent at the Lagos headquarters of FIIRO last Wednesday, said that a packaging cum preservative device that would prolong the shelf life of agricultural products and another one that would enhance the production of bio-fuel from cassava had been discovered by scientists at the institute.

FIIRO was established in 1956 to enhance the rapid industrialisation of the economy through the upgrading of the indigenous production processes. It has multidisciplinary staff comprising research scientists-microbiologists, food scientists, chemists, engineers and technologists, who are complemented by administrative and accounting staff.

Mountains of rotten mangoes, pineapples, oranges and tomatoes are usually the hallmarks of the nation’s markets after the annual harvest. Consequently, farmers and marketers of these products suffer huge losses, while exporters of cash crops such as cocoa, palm kernel and groundnut also gnash their teeth following losses they incur after their spoilt products must have been rejected by buyer at the world market.

This untoward trend has been giving stakeholders sleepless nights with some blaming the nation’s universities and research institutes for not rising to the occasion.

But Olatunji said that ignorance was responsible for such insinuation. “We are not sleeping here. We have been contributing to the industrial and food development sector of the nation’s economy. That is why the nation’s ranking on world hunger index declined to 50th from the 80th position we were in 2003. This is because of the new breakthroughs we have made. Before now, we already had over 60 technological designs and fabrication for food products processing, beverages, industrial raw materials, essential oils cosmetics and soaps to our credit.”

According to him, the over 60 research breakthroughs of FIIRO such as extrusion cooker, fish smoking kiln, oil expeller, vegetable oil filter press, grain degermer, dehuller and parboiler machines for instant pounded yam have been fabricated, tested and are being produced to encourage small and medium scale industries.

Besides, Olatunji added that FIIRO had also developed innovations in the area of food processing and production of industrial raw materials. These, he said, included a biogas converter and fertilizer machine, an essential oil distillation unit, an adhesive reactor for making glues and adhesives from cassava starch and a soap reactor for the manufacturing of laundry and toilet soaps.

On the new breakthroughs, Olatunji said that the huge losses being suffered by farmers, and by extension the country, informed the decision by FIIRO to conduct the research that led to the development of the packaging device.

He refused to give details of the device. Olatunji did not also agree to give details on its components. “You don’t let out your trade secrets,” he said.

But he assured that the device would help in no small way to reduce post-harvest losses in the country.

The FIIRO boss also disclosed that research on bio fuel was the result of scientific brainstorming brought about by occasional fuel scarcity that sometimes results in deaths. “We at FIIRO are proactive. What happens if the nation’s oil wells dry up? What alternative do we have? How do we drive the nation’s economy and the crises that this can engender? These questions are the catalysts that geared us up to embark on the research, and we are happy that the effort has paid off; we now have what we call bio-fuel from cassava.

According to him, the research is successful. He, however, advised the Federal Government not to implement the research report now because of the availability of crude oil. “I will advise that we hold on to this for now since our crude oil is still there in commercial quantity,” he said.

The FIIRO boss added that the new packaging device designed to prolong the shelf life of cash and food crops such as cocoa, palm kernel, oranges, mangoes and tomatoes had been sent to the Chemical Research Institute, Zaria, Kaduna State for further test before it would be patented for mass production.

He said, “The device will also be used to package dehydrated products such as smoked grasshoppers and local condiments and food seasoning such as iru and ogiri, which have been found to be much better than synthetic ones like Ajinomoto.

“We will soon start the production of the new packaging device capable of preserving food and cash crops such that the losses the nation has been witnessing in the agricultural sector will be eliminated.”

But FIIRO is not just about bio fuel and packaging device. Olatunji disclosed that the institute had done a lot of work on the upgrading of the status of cassava such that many products including noodles, chips, soy-bean, industrial starch, and bread have been derived from the food crop.

FIIRO, he said, had also developed groundnut sheller, groundnut roaster, local rice destoner, a machine that cleans local rice and other cereal grains such as wheat, cowpea, beniseed and soybean. The machine consists of a feeding screw conveyor, a detoning chamber mounted on a spring cum vibro-assisted frame, a blower, a cyclone and a power transmission system.

“We also have a solar dryer used in the preservation of tomato and chili pepper. This was developed to eliminate losses during peak production periods. Losses of up to 50 per cent are recorded during the harvest season and we feel that something must be done to reduce this. Our solar dryer is capable of generating much higher air temperature and lower relative humidity within the drying chamber.”

He explained that the machine also reduced the drying time by sun-drying method from 72 hours to 12 sunshine hours.

“It also reduces the moisture content of the product from 8.75 per cent to 7.04 per cent,” he said.

But why has the institute been finding it difficult to commercialise its research findings? Olatunji said that the absence of a law on intellectual property and patent was responsible for this.

“Until recently, intellectual property law was alien to the country and consequently scientists and researchers in the country could not patent their work,” he said.

This, he said, informed the decision of FIIRO to organise workshop and seminar where Nigerians were trained on how to use the research products to make money.

But with the nation’s adoption of the intellectual property law, Olatunji, said this trend would change. He, however, advised scientists and researchers in the nation’s research institutes and the university system to embark on relevant researches.

Olatunji identified inadequate funding, dearth of scientists and poaching of researchers from the institutes by universities as some of the challenges militating against the work of scientists and researchers in FIIRO.

“Science is expensive, so we need money and an enabling environment that can engender research practice. There must be constant and uninterrupted power supply and scientists must be exposed to international training but we are being hampered by inadequate fund.”

Olatunji said that for the institute to perform maximally in the next five years, it would need at least N6.5bn. “It is not until recently that we have 150 scientists out of the 500 workers that we have when the national policy says that 70 per cent of the workforce of a research institute should be scientists, researchers and laboratory technologists.

He, however, commended the Federal Government for its renewed drive at repositioning the institute through increased funding.

Similarly, the National President, Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions, Dr. Alasin Maji, said that research institutes across the country could turn around the fortunes of the country. But he regretted that neglect by successive governments had been their albatross.

According to him, this trend has led to a situation where scientists are leaving the research institutes for greener pastures abroad and lately to private universities that are ready to take their welfare seriously.

The union secretary, Deacon Theophilus Ndubaku reechoed this, but added that in spite of the challenges; the over 66 research institutes in the country had contributed immensely to the overall development of the country.

“We can do better with increased funding and better condition of service for workers in the research institutes,” Ndubaku added.

Bio-ethanol plant to kill river

By Grace Cantal-Albasin

PHILIPPINES Inquirer.net - Mindanao Bureau Oct. 20, 2008

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines -- The construction of a government-backed, privately-led bio-ethanol project in the villages of Bayanga and Mambuaya here could kill the Cagayan De Oro River, an environmental conservation group warned on Saturday. Because of this, the Kagay-an Watershed Alliance (Kawal) vowed to oppose the P2.4 billion project that Alsons Consolidated Resources (ACR) plans to build on a 17-hectare area shared by the two villages.
Kawal said the city's main river system, where a 12-kilometer white-water rafting course is also found, runs through the two villages.


In a statement, Kawal said it would resort to civil disobedience if the project pushes through. Councilor Ian Acenas, chair of the Sangguniang Panlungsod's environment committee, told the Inquirer that ACR has assured the city government that it will use a state-of-the-art water treatment facility to safeguard the environment and protect the communities around the plant.

He said public hearings in the two villages “showed a positive turnout as residents welcomed the project."
But Kawal said ACR could not possibly control contamination because it will use cassava, which has natural cyanide contents, in its production of bio-ethanol.

Mario Jose Baile, ACR business development manager, admitted they will use cassava in the production of bio-ethanol.
But Baile clarified that the plant will only process dried cassava. He said dried cassava chips do not contain cyanide anymore.

Even then, Baile said they will still treat their waste water to ensure that no contaminant will find its way to the river.
"The first stage of water treatment will be treating the water effluent to produce methane that can supplement the fuel of the boiler which will help in the reduction of carbon emission," he said. "If there is a possibility of disposal, we assure the public that we will follow the highest standards of government regulation to prevent harming the environment," Baile said.

Maria Luisa Rubic, chair of the Southwest Watershed Alliance, told the Inquirer that ACR should have gone to an industrial area and not to the two barangays, which are part of the city's tourism map.

"Alsons should have gone there (in Misamis Oriental) and not to this agri-farm ecotourism land, where tourism is already flourishing and the protection of the environment is highly needed to sustain it," Rubic said

Oct 19, 2008

Foods of our heritage



JAMAICA Jamaica Gleaner - Kingston, 19 Oct. 2008

Cassava bread or bammy was a favourite staple of theirs. They also discovered how to tenderise meat by wrapping it in papaya leaves. ...



Heather Little-White, Contributor

Jamaican foods have an interesting origin and can be, for the most part, healthy and filling.

Zeta Powell and Iris Poyser, sisters of Springfield, St Elizabeth, are more than 95 years old and attribute their longevity to heritage foods, such as arrowroot and hominy corn porridge, and eating corned pork with ground provisions like dasheen, coco and breadfruit.

Jamaicans have retained a strong sense of their culture reflected in the diversity of local cuisine. With the promotion of healthy lifestyles, Jamaicans are encouraged to limit the use of fatty and salty foods associated with heritage foods.

It is still possible to enjoy healthy Jamaican fare with lavish amounts of complex carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

First Jamaicans' cuisine

We know that the first Jamaicans, the Tainos, feasted on a variety of fish. Cassava bread or bammy was a favourite staple of theirs. They also discovered how to tenderise meat by wrapping it in papaya leaves. Today, the tenderiser papain is extracted from papaya.

The diversity of Jamaican cuisine was also influenced by the transatlantic slave trade. Slave ship cargoes brought crops directly from the motherland for enslaved Africans to consume.

The cuisine of Jamaica is diverse and the influence of the cultures has left dominant meal patterns, providing variety, good nutrition and meals for the entire family to enjoy.

Heather Little-White, PhD, is a nutrition and lifestyle consultant in the Corporate Area. Send comments to editor@gleanerjm.com or fax 922-6223.


Arrowroot
Arrowroot is heritage food that has many medicinal properties. Plus, it is a great ingredient for soups, sauces and porridge.


Soya sauce and roti
The Chinese, who came as indentured labourers, were without their basic native ingredients which would not have survived the heat of the journey. However, they were eventually able to access soya sauce, dried noodles and five-spice powder, items still popular today.

The East Indians, who also came as indentured labourers, introduced roti, eggplant and ginger. Dahl roti and double rotis are excellent accompaniments to curry dishes, popular to our cuisine.


Spices
In North Africa, cuisine reflected the Islamic traditions of the region, with stews and curries cooked in cone-shaped clay pots, laden with grains, legumes and spices like cumin, caraway, cloves and cinnamon. Islam does not permit the eating of pork or any associated products. Breakfast usually consists of porridges made from millet or chickpea flour.


Plantains
In West Africa, there is variation in the consumption of staples. Rice is predominant in some places and root crops, such as yam and cassava, prevail along the coast. Plantain, a variety of the banana, is abundant in West Africa, with the ripe ones fried and the green ones boiled or pounded into fufu (turn cornmeal). Fruits like dates, melons, guavas, cashews, mangoes, jackfruit, passion fruit and oranges were common in West Africa.


Coconut-based stews
East Africa had as its main staples, potatoes, rice, mashed plantains and maize cooked into a thick porridge. Spicy and coconut-based stews were common in the coastal area as is today in the Horn of Africa, which includes Somalia and Ethiopia. The traditional meal in South Africa centres on a staple crop such as maize or rice and is served with a stew.

The most common dish is mealie meal, or pap, made from cornmeal. Poured over the cornmeal is a stew made from boiled vegetables, such as cabbage, spinach or turnip. On more special occasions, fish, beans or chicken is added.


Gizzadas
What are the influences of other ethnic groups on our cuisine today? The Spanish brought with them sweet oranges, sour oranges, limes, tamarind, coconut, bananas, sugar cane, ginger, pomegranate and plantains. The popular escoveitched fish is of Spanish origin and they also left us the popular sweet ending, the gizzada. In later years, they brought with them cattle, goats, pigs, horses and lard from pork fat.


Ackee
It was the British who introduced the breadfruit, otaheiti apple, ackee, mangoes, rose apples, turmeric and black pepper. The popular Easter bun, spongecakes and pies remained with us from the Brits. Breakfast bacon and eggs and corned and salted beef are still enjoyed today.


Corned pork and beef
These are relished by connoisseurs of Jamaican foods. What is the secret to the corning technique? It is a process in which brine is injected into the arteries of beef or pork. Among kits of salt fish, sides of bacon and sacks of beans and potatoes in storehouses were barrels of corned pork and beef.

Making your own corned pork can be a satisfying experience and boiling pork after corning makes a tasty entree.

My grandmother, Ethel Falconer, would source a fresh leg of pork from the local pig farmer. After cleaning, she rubbed the pork leg with plenty salt and set aside for two days. Falconer had a special pot for boiling the pork in water enough to cover and skimming frequently while cooking.

When the meat was almost done, she added cabbage quarters to the pot. The pork came out tender and tasty and Grandma added mustard and cayenne pepper to the outside before serving. The cabbage was drained and served as an accompaniment to the corned pork.


Black-eyed peas
Stews utilised black-eyed peas, sesame (benne), eggplant sorghum (a grain that produces sweet syrup and different types of flour), watermelon and peanuts. African kitchens commonly had a pot of stew sitting on three stones arranged around a fire. Meals were eaten with the hands. To supplement their diets, slaves often hunted, fished or grew vegetables in their own gardens.


Ground provisions
Ground provisions were expected to supplement the salted meat or fish given once a year. This led to the creation of dishes like mackerel run-dung or dip-and-fall-back and salt-fish fritters or stamp-and-go.


Jerking
Jerking was introduced by the Africans and can be traced back to the Coromantee hunters of West Africa. Pork was frequently roasted over hot coals in earthen pots covered with green pimento branches. Boston in Portland is the home of jerk today as this is the area where some of the hunters made home.

A taste for cassava bread



By Will Ross

UK- BBC News, near Accra

The workers on Motherwell Farms, north of the capital, Accra, are struggling with the heat and the two-metre tall cassava plants.

The name suggests Scotland but the weather is definitely not.

Bread and biscuits made with cassava flour taste as good as wheat versions
In the stifling Ghanaian heat, it takes some huffing and heaving to uproot the green-leaved stem to reveal the earth-coloured tubers underground.

A little larger than a potato, these tubers are one weapon in the government's efforts to tackle the food crisis.


Ghana imports all of its wheat mostly from the US and Canada.

Earlier this year the importers' bill increased from around $500 (£289; 372 euros) a tonne to $900 and the cost of a loaf of bread also shot up by as much as 70%.

At the Food Research Institute in Pokuasi, half a dozen women wielding sharp knives are peeling the cassava at speed.

This drought-resistant root vegetable is a staple food in Africa and a popular accompaniment to a variety of fiery Ghanaian soups.

But these particular white tubers are being washed, grated, pressed, dried and milled to produce cassava flour.

Bread and soup

"We have been trying to promote the high quality cassava flour for 10 years," says Nanam Dziedzoave, of Ghana's Food Research Institute.

"But, with increasing world food prices, this is an opportune time to promote the incorporation of high quality cassava flour into wheat.

"It is not only going to reduce food prices, it is also going to improve the livelihoods of farmers as well as save on foreign exchange," Mr Dziedzoave says as he checks the quality of the freshly milled cassava flour, sifting it through his fingers.

Adding 10% cassava flour to 90% wheat flour may sound like a small step but, in a country that imports hundreds of thousands of tonnes of wheat each year, it could have a significant impact.
There is demand for cassava flour - but not enough supply

In Accra's Chantan suburb a dozen bakers are mixing the two types of flour and producing an array of breads, pastries and biscuits.

"Those that have tasted our bread can't tell the difference between the normal wheat one and they like it," says Lydianne Antwi of Lyanco Catering Services.

For biscuits, the cassava flour ratio can reach 50%. But there is a problem - supply. Even though Lydianne and her colleagues are calling out for the cassava flour, which is up to three times cheaper than wheat flour, they can not find it.

"The ministry is negotiating with the flour mills and supporting some high quality cassava flour producers to boost the supply for the bakers," says Paulina Addy of Ghana's Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

Ghana is making efforts to cut down on wheat imports and use cassava to make flour

"The problem is we only want high quality flour and that needs very good equipment and we depend on gas or electricity to dry the cassava so it is capital intensive," she adds.

The Ghanaian government wants to make it compulsory for all flour to contain 10% cassava flour.

Critical to achieving this aim will be getting the country's four major millers on board, and they seem nervous.

"We do not want to get involved with re-tooling our factory because we are not sure of the sustainability of the supply of cassava," says Reggie Sackey-Addo, General Manager of Irani Brothers which has so far this year imported 139,000 metric tonnes of wheat for its mill in Tema - most of it from the US and Canada.

Boosting production is going to require a mammoth effort.

Adding value

Financial assistance has come from the University of Greenwich's Natural Resources Institute, which received $13.1 million dollars from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to assist cassava projects in five African countries - Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania and Malawi.

Mr Dziedzoave of the Food Research Institute is also the country manager of C:AVA - Cassava: Adding Value For Africa, which is receiving Ghana's share of the Gates' dollars.

"We are working with 20,000 cassava farmers and we hope by the end of the three year project the income per household will increase by $190 dollars per year," he says.

As with all donor projects, the millions of dollars do not seem to go very far.

By the time management and other costs have been taken out in the UK and in the five African countries, the $13 million has shrunk to $6.7 million. That leaves around $75 to invest per farmer.

Despite the fact that wheat prices have fallen recently, the cassava flour project makes a great deal of sense as it would help cushion the country against future price increases.

The bread and biscuits taste good - I have tried them. But in Ghana there will need to be a huge effort to ensure that the bakers like Lydianne are not left wondering why they could not get their hands on the cassava flour.

Servers need to earn their wings



By KIM HARWELL / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
dining@dallasnews.com Kim Harwell is a Dallas food writer.

USA- KVUE - Austin,TX Oct, 19, 2008

Phoulorie and doubles are popular Trini street foods; the former are fried dumplings made of split-pea flour (similar to hush puppies), while the latter are sandwiches made with two pieces of fried flat bread flanking curried chickpeas. Cassava pone is a dense cake made with grated yuca root and coconut. None of this was known by our apologetic waitress, who frequently went to the kitchen in search of answers only to return with erroneous or muddled information.


ADDISON – For a diner in landlocked Dallas, unfamiliarity with the cuisine of the Caribbean is understandable. For someone working in a Caribbean restaurant, it's not nearly as excusable. Thus, the first major problem I experienced on a recent lunch visit to Scarlet Ibis.

The menu has an emphasis on specialties from Trinidad, the West Indian island whose national bird is, not coincidentally, the scarlet ibis. Among more common Caribbean dishes such as jerk chicken and Jamaican beef patties are several regional specialties mostly unrecognizable to the uninitiated, including phoulorie, doubles and cassava pone.

Phoulorie and doubles are popular Trini street foods; the former are fried dumplings made of split-pea flour (similar to hush puppies), while the latter are sandwiches made with two pieces of fried flat bread flanking curried chickpeas. Cassava pone is a dense cake made with grated yuca root and coconut. None of this was known by our apologetic waitress, who frequently went to the kitchen in search of answers only to return with erroneous or muddled information.

We were the fortunate ones. Armed with a passing knowledge of Carib fare and a previous dinner visit when we were attended to by a server much more in the know, we were able to navigate

the menu despite our waitress's shortcomings. It was a good thing, as I would have hated to miss out on the phoulorie, light and pillowy nuggets of airy, golden dough served with a sweet-tart tamarind dipping sauce.

Doubles were another matter altogether. Our first attempt to try the beloved snack food ended in disaster: The thick fried bread patties (called bara) surrounding the chickpea filling were completely raw inside. We sent the dish back for a redo, but its replacement wasn't much more edible. Though cooked through this time, the turmeric-

tinted bara was hard, tough and nearly impossible to eat, half-inch-thick pucks of impenetrable crust rather than the fluffy bread we expected. The curried chickpeas, called channa, were OK but

a little bland. You can jazz up the dish with a touch of hot pepper sauce, but

use a very light touch: The intense yellow-orange condiment is made with scorching Scotch bonnet peppers, and

it means business.

Stewed oxtail was a highlight. The bone-in chunks of beef were rich and full of flavor. The long cooking time resulted in wonderfully tender meat that fell into languid bites. A side of curried potatoes made for down-home perfect island comfort food in a velvety-smooth curry sauce laced with a deceptive heat that grew bite by bite. Mixed vegetables were a fresh medley of squash, zucchini and the like, well-prepared but a little boring compared with their plate mates.

Curried goat was also a winner,

with fork-tender meat bathed in a moderately spicy gravy infused with cumin, turmeric, coriander and a touch of cayenne pepper. The goat was lean and so clean-tasting as to be a bit of a drawback; I would have preferred it to have held a little of its characteristic gaminess so as to have better stood up to the robust curry. A side of rice and peas made a nice starchy complement, a good choice to help soak up any leftover sauce. Plantains were cut into large chunks and cooked until dark brown and lightly caramelized outside.

Jerk chicken was surprisingly timid. The boneless fillet, served sliced in strips with a choice of two sides, could have used a bit more of the spicy rub. The edges boasted a compelling mix of char and fiery jerk seasoning crust, but the interior slices were tame and lifeless.

Grilled salmon is one of the more Americanized offerings. The slightly smoky fish was mild-tasting and a little dry; I found it overcooked, but my companion, a woman who never met a steak too well-done for her tastes, had no quarrel.

Dessert time is another arena where instruction can be helpful, so we turned to the chef for explanation when our waitress proved once again unreliable. Currant and coconut rolls resemble strudel. The flaky, fruit-filled pastry was fine, but the bread pudding packed much more of a wallop, thanks to an intense bourbon sauce, sticky sweet and noticeably smoky from its whiskey base. Less complex was the sugar cake, a haystack of pink- or yellow-tinted shredded coconut held together with sugar syrup. Hard and crumbly, the sugar cake was also tooth-achingly sweet. At the other end of the spectrum was the cassava pone. The flat, dense square tasted more like a health-food-

store meal-replacement bar than dessert. We quickly put this one in the acquired-taste category and dug back into the bread pudding.

The restaurant doesn't serve alcohol yet: BYOB is allowed until the license comes through. Until then, there's a great selection of exotic Caribbean drinks, including coconut water; a wildly fruity, floral sorrel tea; an intense, nonalcoholic ginger beer; and Peardrax, a light, carbonated, pear-flavored soft drink that worked well to cut the heat of the spicier dishes.

The Scarlet Ibis is a reincarnation of sorts of the old Caribbean Pan, which closed in January. The new space is tucked away behind a handful of more- visible restaurants (the nearly hidden side strip also houses longtime steakhouse fave Stone Trail), and its vibe is slightly disjointed. The signage, the pressed black tablecloths, the understated chandeliers and stylish pendant lights hanging from the ceiling lend an upscale touch that is belied by the utilitarian banquet-style red-and-black chairs. Perhaps they were chosen because their color scheme harkens to the bird that gives the restaurant its name, but neither their garish functionality nor the clueless lunch service does any favors to a place with so much promise.

Kim Harwell is a Dallas food writer.

World food crisis: How is Katine coping?



Liz Ford

UK, guardian.co.uk - 19 Oct. 2008

Cassava, one of the staple foods of the Teso region, has more than doubled in price since the beginning of the year. In January, a bowl of dried cassava bought from Katine market would have cost around 4,000 shillings ($2.50), it now it stands at 10,000.


A report published today by Oxfam concluded that escalating food and fuel prices were "inflicting great suffering" on developing countries and called on the international community to invest more to avert a humanitarian crisis in some parts of the world.

The report, published to coincide with World Food Day today, claims that consistently misguided policies on agriculture, trade and domestic markets, made by politicians, and promoted and backed by international financial institutions and donor countries, has meant poor farmers, who should be reaping the benefits of rising prices for their goods, are instead facing further poverty.

According to figures from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, in Uganda, the cost of maize, a staple crop, rose by 65% between January 2007 and April 2008.

The price of rice, sugar and beans, which used to be one of the cheapest foods in the country, have almost trebled, and the cost of oxen has more than doubled because of rising fuel prices, and their knock-on affect on transport and shipping costs, and increased demand.

Government ministers are trying to stabilise the price of oxen, which will at least be some good news for members of the Ojemorun Farmers United Group in Katine, a rural sub-county in north east Uganda, that is being supported by the Guardian and the work of the African Medical and Research Foundation and Farm-Africa.

The group claims the price of oxen has doubled in just six months, from 300,000 Ugandan shillings ($172) to 700,000 shillings.

The cost of rice in Soroti has also increased, and the local price of fuel is hugely inflated due to increased oil prices.

Cassava, one of the staple foods of the Teso region, has more than doubled in price since the beginning of the year. In January, a bowl of dried cassava bought from Katine market would have cost around 4,000 shillings ($2.50), it now it stands at 10,000.

In August, Katine's agricultural officer, James Odienyi, told farmers at a two-day training course on growing and managing new high-yielding varieties of cassava, the price of the crop is a major indicator of the state of food security in the region as it is used to feed households, as well as being a major source of income.

One of the five components of the Katine project is to improve people's livelihoods, and part of this process is growing groundnuts and new varieties of cassava. The approved varieties have been recommended by the National Agricultural Research Organisation as they are more resistant to disease and drought, and take less time to grow.

Otim Julius Moses, a member of the Ojemorun farmers group, said today that members were already seeing the benefits of the work.

"We have been trained on how to grow improved cassava, using disease free planting materials. We have also been given planting materials of an improved cassava variety, which is growing better than our old varieties," he said.

But while successful growth of these new varieties will provide some cushioning in the current economic climate, those without the money to store the crop until local prices increase will have difficulties.

At the moment, local produce is not commanding a high price in the market, as traders are seeking to buy as cheaply as possible.

The Village Savings and Loans Associations, which are being established across Katine, could help weather the storm, although there are borrowing limits and loans are usually short-term and come with high interest rates.

According to the Oxfam report, the Ugandan government recently increased its spending on agriculture to more than 10% of its national budget, but Katine is a region that has received little central investment. Ultimately, how well the sub-county, and others like it in Uganda, come through this crisis could come down to how the international community responds to the call for more investment and whether money filters down from government to the villages.

Gloria’s Shock Exit From ‘Hottest Host’

Story by Gloria Dzifa Kpodo

GHANA. Graphic Online - Accra, 17 Oct, 2008

For those who knew cassava is used for fufu, starch and gari only, they had a lot to add to their knowledge. Dedei took viewers and studio audience through ...



If nice comments from the judges on GAMA-TV3’s Hottest Host were all it took to remain in the reality show, then Gloria would have still been in the competition to have a feel of next weeks’ show.

Gloria had a nice try with the news report she did on an orphanage last Friday and as always the judges did not have much to say except for the fact that her research work is paying off. However, inspite of all the nice comments from the judges, Gloria had the lowest number of votes at the end of the show thus she had to leave.

Her exit brings to seven the number of contestants who have been evicted from Hottest Host.

It seems that with time, the contestants of Hottest Host who are gradually finding their feet and their presenting skills in areas such as entertainment, sports and news anchoring are taking shape.

On last Friday’s show, the contestants treated studio audience and viewers to different shades of presenting. For those who knew cassava is used for fufu, starch and gari only, they had a lot to add to their knowledge.

Dedei took viewers and studio audience through an interesting documentary that featured other uses of cassava.

She did a good job presenting an educative and informative session which won her good comments from the judges. Judge Abeiku who said that he felt very much educated asked her to enrich her vocabulary and add style to her voice in order to separate her ordinary voice from her professional voice as a reporter.

The only remaining male contestant, Collins did sports and had a pleasant performance which was nice to watch as well as listen to. He had a good interview with his guest who made his show lively with adequate update on the performance of the Black Stars.

Collins’ personality is gradually coming out as someone cut for sports but as said by Judge Abeiku, he looks too serious and needs to smile once a while.

Joan readily comes to mind when entertainment is mentioned on Hottest Host. She hosted a fashion show segment which showcased some interesting designs. Judge KKD asked her to do away with long ‘intros’. But for some of the designs that were interesting, her long ‘intros’ would have made her session boring.

Nana also continued the story on the career planning programme she started two Fridays ago. She did well but did not listen to her guest to enable her follow up on her questions. She was also asked by Abeiku to do away with long introductions since that was boring.

At this time of the election year when most Ghanaians are crying for peace, Odelia seized the opportunity to host a show to talk about the role of the media in maintaining a peaceful atmosphere for the forth-coming elections in December.

She however did not get ‘peaceful’ comments from the judges. She was too serious and asked too many questions at a time. But she had a good guest who is a news anchor and a host himself so he was able to sail her through safely as if he was running the show.

Oct 17, 2008

Dr. Tufton Calls for Agricultural Development Fund

JAMAICA, Government of Jamaica, Jamaica Information Service; Oct. 15, 2008

The Agriculture Minister pointed out that the other aspect, involves examining the role of agricultural policy in supporting energy requirements. "What is the role in agriculture in doing that? What are the various sources of bio-fuels that complement and not contradict or conflict with our need to provide food security? Are there crops that can be grown that are not going to take away what is required for consumption?" Dr. Tufton questioned. Another issue that came out of the conference was the need to identify alternatives to corn as a source of protein, particularly in feedstock; it was suggested that cassava be utilised. The Minister noted that this was not only useful in terms of feed stock, but for human consumption as well, pointing to an experiment with nutri-buns, provided under the school-feeding programme, through the Education Ministry, where cassava flour was used to substitute up to 20 per cent of flour.



Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Christopher Tufton, has called for the establishment of a World Trade Organisation (WTO) - compatible agricultural development fund, to facilitate modernisation and re-tooling of the sector.

This call follows a meeting last week, which the Minister chaired, with the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED), as part of the eighth Caribbean Week of Agriculture, held in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Dr. Tufton revealed that it was suggested at the meeting, that revenues collected from imports of agricultural produce from other countries, could go towards supporting the development of such an agricultural fund.

"Daily, we import billions of dollars of produce from farmers who are producing it in other countries...We need to put a system in place that says if we gave 100 per cent duty concession on corn imports, which we currently do, coming into the country, apply a five per cent duty and take that five per cent, put it in a pool to re-tool our farmers so that they can grow," he said.

Dr. Tufton was speaking at the opening ceremony for a Sub-Regional Training of Trainers (TOT) Workshop on Agricultural Science, Technology, and Innovation Systems, being hosted by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation (CTA), in collaboration with the Scientific Research Council (SRC) and the National Commission on Science and Technology (NCST). The event is being held at the Hilton Kingston Hotel from October 13 to 17.

He noted further, that those who oppose that process, of applying duty to agricultural imports, claim expense to the consumer, "but the truth of the matter is that.it might be a small price to pay for building the local capacity that is required, so that it minimises our vulnerabilities in the long run. We have to take these decisions, and the COTED is firm on it," he emphasised.

"I think there are opportunities in the current market crisis that we face, (and) we need to look for those opportunities that exist there, (and) not just view it as a threat, but view it as a call to action to address some of the fundamental challenges that we have to confront. We have to change our mindset, we have to change our attitude, we have to change our approach, and it has to start at the highest possible level," Dr. Tufton stressed.

Also, coming out of those discussions, he said, was the call for the region, to "re-focus our attention towards building local capacity. Territories within the region, which once saw their salvation coming from services, including Jamaica from tourism, from fossil fuels, in the case of Trinidad and Tobago, and saw food or the sourcing of food coming primarily from trading with other countries, are now re-thinking that model because of the developments that have occurred over time". Out of the meetings, he informed, a communiqué had been developed by the Heads of the region, to take a number of steps to re-focus attention on building local capacity.

Dr. Tufton pointed out that there is a need, for example, for common commodities to be identified in the region and for the research capacity that is being provided by institutions like the Scientific Research Council (SRC), the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), the University of the West Indies, and others "to build capacity behind these common commodities, so that these can become an important source of food for the region."

"Firstly, to satisfy the local needs within each territory, because we tend to focus a lot on trade between ourselves, when in truth and in fact, we are not even providing enough capacity to satisfy our local demands. We are looking for best practices, and what we are saying to regional Heads, (is that) we need to recommit ourselves by explicitly stating our commitment to building an agricultural sector that will work, and by supporting that with the necessary resources," he explained.

The Agriculture Minister pointed out that the other aspect, involves examining the role of agricultural policy in supporting energy requirements. "What is the role in agriculture in doing that? What are the various sources of bio-fuels that complement and not contradict or conflict with our need to provide food security? Are there crops that can be grown that are not going to take away what is required for consumption?" Dr. Tufton questioned.

Another issue that came out of the conference was the need to identify alternatives to corn as a source of protein, particularly in feedstock; it was suggested that cassava be utilised. The Minister noted that this was not only useful in terms of feed stock, but for human consumption as well, pointing to an experiment with nutri-buns, provided under the school-feeding programme, through the Education Ministry, where cassava flour was used to substitute up to 20 per cent of flour.

"The point is that there are alternative options out there. It is for us to identify them and to tap into them and to develop business models supported by research and development, that is going to provide those options, which will, in effect, allow us to determine our own destiny, rather than to be overly dependent on others to supply us," he said.

Dr. Tufton noted further, that COTED took the decision that Government policy must drive a process that encourages existing providers of feed stock to replace the imported content up to 25 per cent. "Instead of importing 100 per cent of corn, we have to use Government policy, whether through moral suasion or direct intervention, to encourage some of these persons who import 100 per cent corn to find an alternative to subsidise the corn that they import," he stressed.

The training workshop will seek to support the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP), region in building capacity to improve understanding, among leaders in the agricultural sector in ACP countries, of innovation framework systems. It emphasises how the major actors involved in an innovation system at the national level in any given sector and in particular, the agricultural sector, can contribute to improving and expanding innovation processes in support of socio-economic markets.

Families in conflict spend three-quarters of income on food

LONDON, UK, British Red Cross, 16 October 2008

She continued: “With the intervention of the Sierra Leone Red Cross after the war, it has been much better as it actively encouraged us to grow food for ourselves and to sell some, which has meant we are bringing in money. The profits are what we live on – taking care of the children and ourselves.”The Red Cross has provided seed rice to Nyanda’s group. The group will keep some to plant for the next season, sell some at the local market and eat the rest. “Everyone benefits from it,” she said. “We’ve had a good harvest this year and we’ve been eating twice a day. Cassava in the morning and rice in the evening.”


Households in countries affected by armed conflict spend as much as 75 per cent of their income on food, compared to 15 per cent spent by the average person in the UK, the British Red Cross announced on World Food Day (16 October).The Red Cross helps communities suffering from conflict and lack of access to food all around the world.

Drought in Afghanistan

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Afghan Red Crescent are distributing 500 truck-loads of emergency food aid to people in desperate need in four remote, far-flung provinces in the north of the country before the onset of the harsh Afghan winter next month.

Around 280,000 people are suffering the effects of the worst drought in a decade. With no food, no money to buy seeds, and no guarantee it will rain, the outlook for the winter harvest is bleak in an area that relies on rain-fed farming.

Thousands of families are expected to leave their homes in search of food and work.

Their plight is compounded by rocketing food prices. Across Afghanistan, large numbers of people cannot afford to buy essential staples like wheat and rice. The cost of flour, for example, has doubled in less than a year.

Growing again in Sierra Leone

In Sierra Leone, the Red Cross community animation and peace support programme (CAPS) helps communities recovering from war set up work groups to grow food.

Women like Nyanda Albert (28) work on vegetable gardening, while men take care of the bigger farms that produce their staple food of rice and cassava.

Nyanda said: “After the war we were barely living on cassava and bush yam. It was survival of the fittest.”

Bringing in money

She continued: “With the intervention of the Sierra Leone Red Cross after the war, it has been much better as it actively encouraged us to grow food for ourselves and to sell some, which has meant we are bringing in money. The profits are what we live on – taking care of the children and ourselves.”

The Red Cross has provided seed rice to Nyanda’s group. The group will keep some to plant for the next season, sell some at the local market and eat the rest.

“Everyone benefits from it,” she said. “We’ve had a good harvest this year and we’ve been eating twice a day. Cassava in the morning and rice in the evening.”

Mothers' Union DR Congo

by Fiona Thomas

SWITZERLAND ReliefWeb (press release) - Geneva, Oct. 16, 2008

Mugisa Isingoma, from Mothers' Union DR Congo, reports from Boga, that the teams need Cassava, soya beans, maize flour, sugar, rice, cooking oil and salt to meet the needs of increasing numbers of displaced families. An additional provisions of mosquito nets for small children and plastic sheeting to protect families from the rains, which are just starting, are also required.


Mothers' Union members in Eastern DR Congo report a huge rise in the number of people displaced through the escalating violence in the region. Currently the charity are feeding 250 families of vulnerable, displaced mothers and children in the Boga region and are on standby for news from the Bukavu area.

An immediate relief grant of $5,300.00 is being sent to facilitate delivery of relief in the area. Local grassroots workers are appealing for help feeding the hundreds of people needing their assistance.

Mugisa Isingoma, from Mothers' Union DR Congo, reports from Boga, that the teams need Cassava, soya beans, maize flour, sugar, rice, cooking oil and salt to meet the needs of increasing numbers of displaced families. An additional provisions of mosquito nets for small children and plastic sheeting to protect families from the rains, which are just starting, are also required.

Worldwide President of Mothers' Union, Rosemary Kempsell, spoke yesterday to highlight the particular risks to women caught up in the war. "Women are, we hear, increasingly being subjected to rape and worse. We [Mothers' Union] need to do all we can to support the relief efforts of our team in DR Congo at this time."

Fiona Thomas
Communications Officer
Mary Sunmer House
24 Tufton Street, London, SW1P 3RB
+ 44 20 7222 5533
www.themothers.union.org

Oct 16, 2008

Bridging gap between research and farming

Centre of excellence to improve productivity, says Tufton
Ross SheilM Online Co-ordinator rsheil@jamaicaobserver.com

JAMAICA. Jamaica Observer - Kingston, Oct.15, 2008

Cassava flour is being piloted as a 20 per cent flour substitute in Nutribuns in conjunction with the Ministry of Education with the initial response being favourable, he reported. He said that Jamaica Flour Mills have expressed a willingness to use cassava to provide 15 per cent of its flour, dependent on reliable supply - he added that at current levels of productivity cassava is yielding 7 tonnes per acre but that this could be raised to 20 tonnes.



State Minister in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Michael Stern (right) listens keenly to Minister of Agriculture, Dr Christopher Tufton at the opening ceremony for a week-long agricultural science and technology workshop held at the Hilton Hotel in New Kingston Monday, organised by the Scientific Research Council (SRC), the National Council for Science and Technology (NCST) and the African Caribbean and Pacific Countries (ACP)-European Union (EU) Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation.

Agriculture Minister Christopher Tufton says that a Centre of Excellence for the sector, scheduled to launch early next year, will help train farmers islandwide in up-to-date best practice and technology to boost production, which has fallen by 30 per cent in the past 15 years, and hence domestic food security.

Headed by former World Bank agricultural economist Wayne Henry, and now special advisor to the minister, the centre has been promised funds of US$3 million by the Spanish government. Henry will have responsibility for co-ordinating with the various bodies carrying out agricultural research and education.

The centre will be based at the ministry's existing facility in Bodels, St Catherine, which is being refurbished for the purpose and two satellites: A greenhouse project in Coleyville, Manchester and ruminants (sheep and goats) in Hounslow, South St Elizabeth.

"The farming community doesn't benefit from a study! It benefits from a practical application of the study to improve its techniques in the field. One of the things we want to do is to have a body that co-ordinates all existing studies and develop a training agenda that is practical and implemented out of the findings of those studies and train farmers in the field to implement those best practices, so we can advance the agenda of improving production and productivity levels," Tufton told an audience at the opening ceremony for a week-long agricultural science and technology workshop. The Workshop was held at the Hilton Hotel in New Kingston Monday, and organised by the Scientific Research Council (SRC), the National Council for Science and Technology (NCST), and the African Caribbean and Pacific Countries (ACP)- European Union (EU) Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation.

He said that the current world economic situation and concern over food security presented an opportunity for Caribbean agriculture, a sentiment shared by his special advisor.

"It's a tremendous vision and the potential for the country is there, there are a lot of able people involved and there is a lot of initiative as well. We have this window of opportunity with the concern of food security and with the support of international partners and locally interest in agriculture is resurgent. But we don't know how long this window is going to last for and there is a lot of work that needs to be done," Henry told the Business Observer.

Jamaica currently chairs the Caricom Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) on agriculture, which convened in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines last week. Tufton said that there was a growing realisation among Caricom countries that imports need to be substituted for increased local production.

"Out of those discussions it was quite clear that as a region there is a recognition of a need to refocus our attention towards rebuilding our agricultural capacity.

Territories within the region that once saw their salvation coming from services - Jamaica included, from tourism, from fossil fuels in the case of a Trinidad and Tobago - and so food or the sourcing of food coming primarily from trading with other countries are now rethinking that mode because of the developments that have occurred over time," he said.

The resulting communiqué to CARICOM heads of governments included: Recognition of common commodities to sustain local demand; greater investigation of thd potential for biofuels that do not conflict with existing food profduction; the establishment of local research bodies and an agricultural development fund to be financed from import levies; and a recommendations that 25 per cent of feedstock be locally produced.

"We need to put a system in place that says if we gave 100 per cent import duty concessions to corn imports, which we currently do coming into the country, apply a five per cent duty and take that five per cent put in a pool and give it to our farmers so that they can grow... Those who oppose that process claim expense to the consumer but the truth of the matter is, sometimes I believe this is an excuse, and it maybe a small price to pay for building out our capacity."

Cassava flour is being piloted as a 20 per cent flour substitute in Nutribuns in conjunction with the Ministry of Education with the initial response being favourable, he reported. He said that Jamaica Flour Mills have expressed a willingness to use cassava to provide 15 per cent of its flour, dependent on reliable supply - he added that at current levels of productivity cassava is yielding 7 tonnes per acre but that this could be raised to 20 tonnes.

"The point is that there are alternative options out there. It is for us to identify them and to tap into them and to develop business models, supported by research and development that is going to provide those options, which - in effect - will allow us to determine our destiny rather being overly dependent on others to supply us."

The Ministry is continuing to employ more extension officers with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) with 20 starting work this week and plans to recruit another 40, he said. Meanwhile, the Ministry is conducting two studies into soil nutrition and disease to better inform farmers in addition to best practice research into 12 crops including carrots, ginger and yams.

He said that the Ministry would also continue to work closely with farmers via the Producing Marketing Organisations (PMOs) of which there are 400 groups of farmers registered with RADA, following their revival last year.

"We are going to be working through those groups. On deciding that we are targeting a particular crop, we need to go in and train those farmers what are the best practices in growing those crops and work with them in finding those markets."

Cassava - Google News