IITA scientists develop new cassava flash dryer machine

 Afrique en ligne - Angers,France
News - Africa news  Nov. 27, 2008

Lagos, Nigeria - Scientists working at the Nigeria-based International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) have developed a new cassava flash dryer machine that will help cassava farmers and processors earn bigger profits and get better-quality product, according to a statement from the organisation.The statement, obtained by PANA here Wednesday, said that the machine was developed in collaboration with some other partners

''The improved flash dryer is capable of processing 8 tons of raw cassava tubers into 2 tons of high-quality flour per day, compared to the less-than one ton daily production of existing models.

''Aside from higher production capacity, the new flash dryer also consumes less fuel, using only 12 liters of diesel per hour to produce 250 kg of flour. Comparatively, current models burn about 20 liters of fuel per hour to produce only 80 kg of flour,'' the statement said.

According to the research institute, the new machine is said to be cost-effective and efficient, capable of producing 300% more flour while using 40% less fuel.

Most models being used by cassava millers in Nigeria are imported, usually from Brazil, and cost about US$68,500 per unit.

The new dryer is locally manufactured and costs about US$22,800 each, or only about a third of the price of the imported ones.

The Project Manager of IITA's Cassava Enterprise Development Project (CEDP), Gbassay Tarawali, believed also that the machine equally addresses the perennial problem of short-period perishability of cassava after harvest.

"The improved flash dryer not only doubles the capacity of present ones in the market, but it also produces much finer quality of flour," he added.

National partners in the development of the machine include the Raw Materials Research and Development Council, Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi; the Roots and Tuber Expansion Programme of the International Fund for Agricultural Development and Godilogo Farms in Obudu, southern Cross Rivers State.

Under the Presidential Initiative on Cassava, Nigeria mandated millers to integrate 10% of cassava flour to wheat flour in making bread, a move aimed at increasing the utilization of the tuber crop.

However, the supply of cassava flour has not been able to keep up with demand.

IITA and partners said say the situation would be improved with the introduction of the improved flash dryer, benefiting the farmers downstream with better market opportunities and prices for their crops.

"The development and introduction of this improved flash dryer represents a win-win situation for the millions of cassava farmers and processors not only in Nigeria but also in other cassava-producing countries of West Africa," said Prof. Ayo Kuye of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Port Harcourt in Southern Nigeria.

Prof. Kuye led a team of engineers in developing the new dryer, in consultation with IITA.

"This new flash dryer will not only save the country millions of dollars in import payments but will also generate millions more in production increases and cost savings, once it is widely distributed and used. This dryer is a success story for the cassava industry in general," he added.

Dr. Lateef Sanni, a Post Harvest Specialist with IITA, remarked that apart from foreign exchange savings, the technology would build the capacity of Nigerians and create jobs.

"With this breakthrough, the future of cassava industry is further brightened as the technology will be passed to local flash dryer manufacturers in the country," Sanni added.
 
Lagos - 26/11/2008

Nigeria: Agric Financing Key to Economic Growth - Agwu

AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA

Daily Independent (Lagos)

INTERVIEW
25 November 2008
Posted to the web 26 November 2008

Our agricultural banking started at the beginning of this year. The experience has been most beneficial. One thing we have found out is that microfinance banking goes to the root of the economy. You should be able to recall that at the earlier part of this year there was a timid food crisis in the country to the extent that the presidency has to order for the importation of large quantity of food stuff like rice. This is not because we do not have enough farmers in the country.
It is not because we do not have food crops or arable farmland in the country but simply because our farmers have been neglected.

The big banks are trying their very best but when it comes to assisting the rural farmers or the rural dwellers, it is the microfinance banks that would still go to the root of the problem. This is simply because we operate at the micro level. Most of our farming and agricultural activities in this country is lacking. That is why we are trying to visit some of these villages and the rural communities to solve their immediate problems. In that way we are not just increasing employment or income for them but also increasing the quantum of food supply in the country and agricultural production.

If you want to lend out money and to ensure that the money comes back to you safely, it should do so through microfinance banking. Our people, I mean the rural farmers or the rural dwellers do borrow money and they actually pay back. What they only want is access to these funds. And what do they need the funds for- to buy inputs for their agricultural activities. We have not experienced any bad loans so far while lending in our agricultural businesses.

How is your bank coping with the long gestation period of farming?

Generally agriculture is a long gestation period business and you cannot run away from it, but for us in IMFB, we have defined our target. The commercial banks go after the big time farmers and we go to the rural farmers. In that way, we do not fall into the trap of big borrowers like the experience of commercial banks. For instance here in Lagos, we go to Ikorodu, Epe, Badagry. We meet the rural people, those that are actually doing farming and we empower them and these people pay back. We know that the gestation period is long. For instance, if you are lending for a fish farmer your tenure cannot be anything less than six months. If you are lending to somebody planting cassava, the tenure cannot be anything less than 10 months and these are gestation period that you must cope with.

If you want to actually do agricultural micro financing and empower the farmers, you must be aware of this gestation period and must be willing and ready to give them moratorium and that is what we do here at IMFB, it is not a problem to us because we are all aware of these issues.

How can one access IMFB agricultural loans?

Very simple, you open an account, just a savings account of only N500. After opening that account, you belong to a group because we believe in dealing with groups of farmers. You can now come forward with the group which could be between five and 10 persons in a particular group. You can approach us with your request and our collateral arrangement is very simple. It is flexible collateral and within the next 48 hours your loan is available to you.

What is the volume of loan advances portfolio in IMFB?

In terms of loan advances portfolio in agric financing, as at the moment, we have in excess of N400 million and we are still growing. In terms of customer base, I mean those who we have actually benefited from our facilities are more than 3000. We have them in Epe, Emotan, Aggowa, Ikosi. We also have them in Ikorodu, Ijegun, Odogiyun, Ijede and all other surrounding villages there. We also have them Badagry, Ojo, Agege, Igondo and so many others. These are the areas where we have farmers that are currently benefiting from IMFB.

What do think that customers should be expecting in the nearest future?

IMFB agricultural banking programme is a total package. We do not just give farmers money. In addition to empowering them financially, we give them capacity training. What we mean by that is that we exposed them to the latest farming techniques.

Recently there was an agricultural show held in Nasarawa State. At that show, we were in touch with representative of the National Roots Crops Research Institute and they showed us latest research findings on cassava. Instead of planting your cassava and wait for 12 months to harvest, you can actually plant and harvest within the next six months. The problem is that most farmers are not aware of improved type of cassava. Under our capacity building program, we tried as much as possible to avail farmers with the latest technology and improvement in the farming business. This is one thing we do for them in our area of capacity building program. Another thing we equally do for them is granting them access to inputs and market so that they do not end up producing crops that would waste at the end of the day because they could not have a place to dispose these particular produce. When they can not sell, it makes it boring so we provide a ready made market for them

New cassava illness strikes in Mara

DailyNewsOnline,United Republic of Tanzania

MUGINI JACOB in Musoma November 21, 2008
 
Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD) is spreading at an alarming rate in almost all districts of Mara Region, thus threatening the major food crop that is widely grown in the lake zone, researchers have warned. Researchers from Ukiruguru Institute have now recommended alternative food crops such as millet and lentils to be grown in all districts of the region without delay, warning that there will be no cassava plants in the area after a year from now. 

The new cassava disease that spots rotten cassava roots, threatens food security in the region with over 1.6 million population, according to the Regional Agricultural Advisor, Mr Samweli Sasi. “Earlier, CBSD was reported in the neighbouring Ukerewe District of Mwanza Region but it has spread very fast in Rorya, Musoma and Bunda districts. 

Ukiruguru has conducted the study now in all districts of Mara region and the problem is big because they have not yet come up with alternative cassava seeds to meet the demand of wananchi," Mr Sasi said in his latest report to regional business council meeting here on Wednesday. 

The report shocked the meeting with the Mara Regional Tanzania Chamber of Commerce Industry and Agriculture Mr Lazaro Magira calling for a quick permanent solution in preventing further spread of the diseases among other things. "This is a threat and that is why researchers have suggested alternative food crops but this is not a permanent solution and I am worried if wananchi are aware of the researchers findings," the TCCIA leader said. 

Mara Regional Commissioner (RC) Mr Issa Machibya banned transporting cassava seeds in a bid to contain the disease in the area. The RC also informed the meeting that sufficient millet seeds have been distributed across the region to rescue the situation. “At least every home should plant not less than two hectares of millet and seeds have been distributed everywhere," the regional chief said. 

Bunda District Commissioner Mr Chiku Gallawa said all kind of cassava seeds available in the region are in danger of being affected by the disease. “All seeds are likely to be affected and researchers have hinted that by next year there will be no cassava. The focus should be having one voice and going for alternative food crops to address the challenge we face ahead, " Ms Gallwa told the meeting.  

Uganda: Researchers to Increase Lifespan of Cassava Tubers

by Aidah Nanyonjo (Kampala)
AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA 19 November 2008

Research is on to prolong the life of cassava tubers after harvest. Dr. Yona Baguma, a researcher at the National Crop Resources Research Institute, says they have identified genes from wild cassava that can be incorporated into the local type to delay its post-harvest deterioration.He was presenting a paper at the Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa, at Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala, recently.(Picture: Dr. Yona Baguma and friends in Memory from Gent, July 8, 2008 CassavaViet http://cassavaviet.blogspot.com)

Wild cassava exists naturally in the Amazon, so the researchers will easily get the required genes. The lifespan of locally adapted cassava will increase from two to 30 days. This will increase food security and cassava growers' income.

RBaguma says post-harvest deterioration is one of the major constraints in cassava production and commercialisation. He says after the field trial, they will evaluate the outcome. However, this may happen in about eight years because the process takes long.

Also see FreshPlaza - Netherlands Uganda: Researchers to Increase Lifespan of Cassava Tubers

PNG Cassava Project Exports First Crop To South Korea

By Tereni Kens in Port Moresby
Pacific Magazine > Daily News Monday: November 17, 2008

The multi-million dollar cassava bio-diesel project in Papua New Guinea’s Rigo district, Central Province is expected to export its first harvest of cassava to overseas countries from its project site at Launakalana.

South Korean project developer Changhae Tapioka (PNG) Limited made the first harvest today. The project was launched early this year by PNG Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare.

The project sits on 20,000 hectares of land of which 5,000 hectares is being planted and further 15,000 hectares is yet to be developed as per the Memorandum of Agreement signed between the government and the company.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) John Lim said the harvest was a milestone for the company and the government as it will pave way for more development and employment opportunities for the local people. Lim told government officials that attended the harvest ceremony that the mobilization of local farmers and formation of cooperatives was an important aspect of the nucleus estate that the project aimed to establish.

“This is a small beginning for us and we hope it will provide a launch pad for our rapid progress in the future,” he said. “The 20 hectares to be harvested will give us enough stems to plant a further 500 hectares by using the technique of micro-propagation.”

He said the technique of micro-propagation would also help in a trial run of all logistics and processing required for exporting the cassava from Papua New Guinea to South Korea and other countries.

PNG Department of Agriculture and Livestock (DAL) Deputy Secretary for Corporate Services Vele Kagena said cassava was an annual crop where benefits were gained relatively quickly and could benefit the people if utilized in the right way. Kagena said DAL had started cassava projects in Central, New Ireland and East Sepik provinces.

The Changhae Tapioka (PNG) Limited is a subsidiary of Changhae International group of companies. Pacific Magazine understands the company is currently developing a major ethanol plant at the plantation site, which will stand as a catalyst for downstream processing.

Lim said some of the by-products that would be derived from the cassava project include alcohol, ethanol, dried yeast, bakery products, icing sugar and bio-fuels (diesel, petrol, kerosene, etc).

Cambodia inaugurates 1st ethanol factory to produce bio-fuel

www.chinaview.cn 17 November 2008

PONGNEA LEU, Cambodia, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia opened its first ethanol factory to generate bio-fuel from cassava flour here on Monday. "This is the first ethanol factory in Cambodia and it will become the market place of cassava product for local farmers," Prime Minister Hun Sen said at the opening ceremony of the pioneer venture invested by the MH Bio-energy Group of South Korea.

It will directly provide 192 job opportunities for local workers and encourage farmers to plant more cassava, he said, adding that the factory itself has made investment to grow cassava on 8,000 hectares of land in Kampong Speu province.

The project, with 40 million U.S. dollars of investment, has already opened two branches in Kampong Cham and Battambang provinces to purchase cassava from local farmers, he added.

Industry, Mines and Energy Minister Suy Sem said at the ceremony that the factory now has a designed capacity of 36,000 tons of ethanol fuel for export per year, especially to the European market. "The factory has a plan to double its export volume during the next few years. It now needs about 100,000 tons of dry cassava flour each year," he said, adding that its ethanol fuel can replace gasoline for vehicles.

Sar Peov, head of the administration unit of the factory, told Xinhua that a ton of ethanol fuel currently sells at about 700 U.S. dollars on the international market.

"We focus on foreign market because Cambodia has a small market for ethanol products and the vehicles here use gasoline and diesel," he said. We will focus on the Cambodian market later, he added. Cassava is one of the most important economic crops in rural Cambodia.

According to the official figures, around 30,000 hectares of land were planted with cassava in 2005 in the kingdom, with a turnout of around 536,000 tons of flour.


Editor: Deng Shasha

News Africa News FAO hails cassava's comeback in Great Lakes region

Nairobi, Kenya - The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on Friday hailed the comeback of healthy cassava, one of Africa's principal foodstuffs, to the menu of people in the Great Lakes Region.The cassava "returns " to the region's menu after years of crop losses caused by a devastating virus.

"Having cassava back on the table is of major importance, especially to the region's most vulnerable, who have been hit hard by this year's global food crisis," said Eric Kueneman, chief of FAO's Crop and Grassland Service headquartered in R o me, Italy.

By the last planting season, virus-free cassava planting material had been distributed to some 330,000 smallholders in countries struck by the virus - Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda, and the improved crop now be n efits some 1.65 million people, the FAO said in a statement.

Kueneman added that boosting the production of local crops like cassava is a pillar of FAO's response to the current food crisis, which threw an additional 75 million people into poverty in 2007 alone.

Each person in Africa eats around 80 kg of cassava per year. Cassava roots can be harvested whenever needed, or left in the ground when farmers are driven from their land, thus making a crucial difference in circumstances of instability, as w hat the Democratic Republic of Congo is now going through.

Kueneman also hailed the achievement as a milestone in the FAO's partnership with the European Union, as the FAO has been co-operating with the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO) in making the Great Lakes Region self-su f ficient in cassava production again.

Nairobi - 14/11/2008
http://www.afriquenligne.fr/news

CONGO: Disease devastates cassava crop, threatens widespread hunger

IRINnews.org - New York, NY,USA 18 Nov. 2008.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=81448BRAZZAVILLE, 13 November 2008 (IRIN) - Cassava is the staple food for most people in the Republic of Congo, but this main source of nourishment is being threatened by a disease that has spread to most areas of the country. (Cassava, the staple food in the Republic of Congo, is being threatened by a a virus, known as cassava mosaic disease (CMD)Photo: Jessie Wright/IRIN)

"We've been having problems for more than two years and it's getting worse with the mosaic destroying our crops," said Rose Ambeto, who has several cassava fields.

The virus, known as cassava mosaic disease (CMD), attacks the leaves of the plant and limits the growth of its roots. It is spread by insects or by diseased cassava being transplanted to new areas.

"Our harvests are getting worse and worse. That's why bags of fufu and roots are so expensive in the markets," she said.

Fufu is eaten across Africa and is made by boiling starchy roots like cassava, also known as manioc, in water and then pounding them until they reach a porridge-like consistency.

Veronique Okaka, who grows cassava in Ouesso in Congo's Sangha department, also complained of hard times due to the cassava mosaic.

"Before, we had enough to feed our children and to make some money for other things. But lately, because of this disease, we sometimes get fufu from Cameroon," she said.

The price of a bag of fufu has soared from 15,000 CFA (US$28.50) to 35,000 CFA ($67) in recent months in Congolese markets, partly because of the problems faced by growers and traders of cassava.

Specialists in Congo's agricultural ministry say the disease might lead to a drop of between 60 and 90 percent in harvests and could throw entire communities into a critical food situation.

CMD has been spreading throughout central Africa and arrived in the Republic of Congo in the mid-1990s.

Fighting back

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been at the forefront in the battle against the disease. The only known way to fight it is to develop varieties that are resistant to the virus and distribute them to farmers.

In Pool, one of Congo's worst-hit departments, the ICRC has been growing these resistant varieties. Over a two-month period last year, it took cuttings from these plants and distributed them to groups of cassava growers in the area.

The ICRC has handed out 330,000 cuttings to about 100 different groups, benefiting about 1,500 families. These groups received training in how to stop the spread of CMD, and were also given ploughing equipment.

In October, the ICRC joined the Congolese Red Cross and the agriculture ministry to provide training in Kinkala in the Pool Department on ways of fighting the disease.

The departments of Pool and Plateaux, also badly hit by the epidemic, recently received more than 330,000 cuttings of six different varieties of cassava developed in 2004 by the International Institute of Agricultural Technologies (IITA) in Kinshasa, in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

Another 175,000 cuttings, taken from four new resistant strains, are being distributed in four other departments.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=81448

Over 1.5 million in Africa benefit from return of cassava, UN reports

Harvesting healthy cassava

UN News Centre 13 November 2008 –Following years of massive crop losses caused by a devastating virus, the tropical root crop cassava – one of Africa’s principal foodstuffs – has made a comeback and is benefiting some 1.65 million people throughout the Great Lakes region, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported today.

“Having cassava back on the table is of major importance, especially to the region’s most vulnerable, who have been hit hard by this year’s global food crisis,” said Eric Kueneman, Chief of the FAO Crop and Grassland Service.

In response to the epidemic, FAO partnered with the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO), working to distribute virus-free cassava planting material to over 300,000 small farmers in the countries – Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Uganda – struck by the virus.

With each person in Africa consuming around 80 kilograms of cassava per year, Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD) triggered a crisis which destroyed harvests throughout the region.

In Uganda, the virus has decimated 150,000 hectares of cassava since the early 1990s, with resulting food shortages leading to localized famines in 1993 and 1997.

“It’s sweet, not bitter,” said Ernest Nduwimana, a young farmer who lost his father during Burundi’s brutal civil war, who lives in northern Cibitoke province, the epicentre of the epidemic.

Last year, the area’s fields were barren, but with the crop being good this year, there is enough to feed his family until next year’s harvest, he said.

FAO’s Mr. Kueneman stressed that increasing the production of local crops such as cassava is a pillar of the agency’s response to the current food crisis, which plunged an additional 75 million people into poverty last year alone.

High prices of food and fertilizer are just some of the problems the Great Lakes region faces, as recent outbreaks of violence in eastern DRC demonstrate further instability.

Amid such circumstances, FAO suggests cassava can make a crucial difference, since the crop’s roots can be harvested whenever there is a need or left in the ground when farmers are driven from their land given that thieves find them difficult to dig out from the ground when unattended.

Fighting the Disease began with the development of a series of disease-free cassava varieties by an FAO research partner in Nigeria.

At the same time, the agency also kicked off a campaign to help individual Great Lakes nation, with the support of ECHO, which has contributed over €3 to date, and other donors.

Cassava Challenge winners urged to grow fruit trees

Jamaica Gleaner - Kingston,Jamaica, November 13, 2008

Minister of Agriculture Dr Christopher Tufton presents a mango tree to Sharon Edwards, participant in the 'Cassava Challenge' competition at a presentation ceremony, at The Gleaner Company Limited's North Street offices, downtown Kingston, on Monday. - JIS Photo

In support of the Ministry of Agriculture's call to the nation to plant more cassava and miniature fruit trees and start backyard gardens, Food recently threw out the challenge to readers to submit dishes made with cassava as the main ingredient. We received many entries and three winners were selected after their creations were judged.

Minister of Agriculture Dr Christopher Tufton, through the Rural Agricultural Development Agency, threw its support behind the contest and donated 100 miniature fruit trees to the three winners.

The winners received miniature trees - pomegranate, sweet sop, jack fruit, naseberry, guava, cashew, June plum, mango, ackee and custard apple.

They are miniature variety and were grafted at the ministry's research and development division at Bodles in St Catherine.

The Gleaner's Daviot Kelly presents Sharon Edwards with a gift, courtesy of Wisynco, for her sweet cassava chicken casserole. Edwards also received 25 fruit trees, as well as Blackwell Gold Rum and a gift from The Gleaner. She placed third. - Norman Grindley/Acting Photography Editor

Rosetta Falconer, who was not at the presentation, won first prize of three dozen miniature fruit trees, a Claro phone, planting material and fertiliser, as well as Blackwell Gold Rum. - Keisha Shakespeare-Blackmore

Lifestyle Coordinator Nashauna Drummond (right), presents Ona Gordon with one of several fruit trees that she won for placing second in the 'Cassava Challenge' contest. She also received fertiliser, vegetable seeds and potting mix from the Ministry of Agriculture as well as gifts from The Gleaner, J. Wray and Nephew Limited and Blackwell Gold Rum. - Norman Grindley/Acting Photography Editor

Producing tropical flour offers opportunity for self-sufficiency

Manila Standard Today - Philippines

With the prices of commodities rising in the global market, a company is urging small communities to produce flour from indigenous crops like banana, yams, taro, cassava, bread fruits, arrow root and squash.

Prime Organic Land Agriculture Corp. has succeeded in developing economical processing technologies and baking system, which allows participating communities to achieve self-sufficiency in flour as food and substitute for rice.

The flour can also be used to produce cookies, bread, biscuits, chips and noodles for the community’s consumption and for sale to other barangays. Pola also produces bread, cookies, biscuits, noodles and crunchies with great market acceptance in taste, flavor and textures.

The seminars on crop plantation, flour processing and baking are held daily.

Al Fritz delos Santos of Carica Herbal Health Products Inc. explains that the group holds seminars for barangays at a reasonable cost of P1,500 per attendee. The attendees are taught how to plant crops and produce the flour using a dryer, slicer and grinder.

“The barangays can make their own equipment using pre-fabricated parts,” he says.

Pola has technologies that enable production of 50 variants of organically grown and processed roots, bananas and fruit, all purpose flour, pre-mixes and baked products with greater health and nutritional values than wheat flour.

The integrated system can commercialize the agricultural plantation, processing into flour and baking into bread products. Indigenous flour/starch/crops like yams, taro, sweet potato, arrow roots, cassava, potato, bread fruits and carbohydrates are among the materials that have been identified, studied and commercialized.

Starchy foods have always been staples of the human diet. They are mostly consumed in starch-bearing plants or in foods to which commercial starch or its derivatives have been added.

Starches are now made in many countries from different raw materials such as wheat, barley, maize, rice, white or sweet potatoes, cassava, sago palm and waxy xaize.

Starch and starch products are used in many food and non-food industries and as chemical raw materials for many other purposes, as in plastics and the tanning of leather. Non-food use of starches—such as coating, sizings and adhesives—accounts for about 75 percent of the output of the commercial starch industry.

The food industry is one of the largest consumers of starch and starch products. In addition, large quantities of starch are sold in the form of products sold in small packages for household cooking. Cassava, sago and other tropical starches were extensively used for food prior to World War II, but volume declined owing to the disruption of global trading due to the war.

For more information call, Carica Herbal Health Products Inc. at 523-5603, 521-8763, 302-6154 or fax no. 302-6154. Dinna Chan Vasquez

New seminars to develop local products

BusinessWorld Online - Quezon City,Philippines

Vol. XXII, No. 79 November 13, 2008

POLA CORP. (Prime Organic Land Agriculture) launched technologies in the production of 50 variants of organically grown and processed roots, bananas and fruit, all purpose flour, pre-mixes and baked products.

Indigenous crops like yams, taro, sweet potato, arrowroot, cassava, potato, bread fruits and carbohydrate nuts are among the 50 materials that have been identified, studied and commercialized.

To this end, they conduct daily seminars on crop plantation, flour processing and baking. Special group seminar can also be arranged.

After years of research and development, POLA was able to develop a fully integrated system that can commercialize the processing of flour into bread products. The current selection includes bread, cookies, biscuits, chips, and noodles.

The corporation aims to make the planting, production and baking technologies available to communities, towns and organizations.

For details, contact Lourdes Co or Al Fritz delos Santos at 729-4447 or 0915-806-4988.

Cassava price hit after factory fire

Viet Nam News - Hanoi, Vietnam, 08-11-2008

QUANG NGAI — The Quang Ngai provincial People’s Committee deputy chairman, Truong Ngoc Nhi, is trying to save the price of cassava for farmers unable to sell their crop to the fire-damaged Tinh Phong Cassava Processing Factory.

The official has asked the management board of the damaged factory to store the cassava until processing can resume.If not, he wants the central province’s Dong Xuan Cassava Factory or the Son Hai Cassava Factory to take the crop. But the effort may be in vain.

As farmer Nguyen Thi Dao explains, she will have to sell her cassava to retailers for VND400,000 (US$23) per tonne – about half the price the processors pay – before it rots.

Hundreds of her fellow cassava growers are in the same plight. Their collective 11,000ha of crop is dedicated to the Tinh Phong Cassava Processing Factory which buys it for about VND900,000 ($53) per tonne.

Tinh Phong Cassava Processing Factory director Tran Ngoc Hai has undertaken to have the production line with its daily capacity of 100 tonnes repaired.

"But it would take at least two months for the factory to resume work," he said.

The fire, last Saturday, spoiled 50 tonnes of cassava flour and thousands of litres of oil before being put out.

Initial estimates put the damage at more than VND3 billion ($182,000).

More than 2,000 litres of the leaking oil has been mopped up and the provincial People’s Committee has ordered the factory’s management to clear the surrounds of the oil and cassava flour. — VNS

http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=02AGR081108

Ethanol project awaits cabinet OK

Fiji Daily Post - Vatuwaqa, Fiji 6-Nov-2008

By EMELINE NAIKALIVOU

The Ministry of Primary Industries is awaiting approval from the cabinet before proceeding any further with the much awaited Ethanol project.

National Coordinator and Principal Agriculture Officer Viliame Yabakivou however said that the ministry was already in preparation for the upcoming project and this was taken care of by the Extension Services of the ministry.

“The ministry provides technical services to farmers such as advisory services and general agronomic tips that will ensure the right farming methods are met and productive as well,” he said.

“For ethanol because of its immensity, the issue of planting materials will be the issue and the ministry is working towards this with a mind on food security for the people as well.”

“We will also try to increase the number of cassava on the grounds as part of a capacity building programme that will ensure the availability of enough planting materials come planting time for the project cassava,” he said.

It is projected that a total of 10-20,000 farmers will be directly involved in the project which the ministry hopes to kick-start in the central division. An approximate tonnage of 350,000 tonnes will be needed to supply the factory with 1000 tonnes of cassava each day.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture says that demand for cassava for ethanol purpose can be met by producers if the price is attractive ,appropriate machines and land are available and enough planting material are provided.

The Agriculture Ministry’s Director for Extension Services Fiuwaki Waqalala said those four factors greatly contribute to the success of producing cassava for Ethanol; hence any deficiency on any of the factors would hinder the production process.

Mr Waqalala is calling on farmers to consult with staff at the ministry and clarify issues relating to projects before reaching the final decision.

He added that farmers should have positive thinking towards this project and expect greater challenges.

“I am quite certain that this project will be of great benefit to all the involved stakeholders as cassava is adaptable through a wide range of soil types and topography and can be grown by farmers throughout the year by equally a wide range of farmers,” said Mr. Waqalala.

Mr Waqalala said that most importantly the project would be a great salvage to the economy as the sugar industry was on the decline.

Cassava bio-ethanol plant to open in China

Business Green - London, England,UK 05 Nov 2008

Tom Young
Facility will produce 33 million gallons a year of bio-ethanol from cassava plants

China-based Hainan Yedao Group has reportedly invested $51.5m (£31.8m) in a new biofuel facility that is expected to produce 33 million gallons a year of bio-ethanol from cassava plants.

The plans follow recent moves from the Beijing government to ban the use of grain-based energy crops in bio-ethanol, amid concerns demand had led to a decline in food supplies.

Cassava avoids the ban as it is a root vegetable that represents China's fifth-largest crop yield after rice, sweet potato, sugar cane and maize.

The Guangxi region, next to where the plant is located, accounts for 70 per cent of the country's yield, averaging seven million tonnes a year.

Traditionally ethanol produced from cassava is used for food and pharmaceutical purposes, but it is increasingly being touted as a more sustainable alternative to first-generation biofuels.

China's Beihai Gofar Marine Biological Industry has also announced plans for a 100,000 tonne-per-year cassava-based ethanol plant in the Guangxi region.

The government has also signalled its support for the biofuel sector, with 10 of the country's 22 provinces in China mandating the use of ethanol-blended gasoline in cars.

China ethanol maker gets approval for cassava plant

Cleantech Group - San Jose,CA,USA

November 4, 2008

Hainan Yedao and partners have invested $51.5 million in facility that is expected to produce 33 million gallons a year. Hainan, China-based Hainan Yedao Group (SHA:600238) said it has received approval from experts who inspected its new 100,000-ton (33 million U.S. gallon) ethanol plant in Haikou, in the southern islands of China.

Hainan Yedao and partners have invested 350 million RMB ($51.5 million USD) in the plant, which plans to produce the fuel using cassava, a woody shrub that grows in the subtropical region of southern China.

Cassava is China’s fifth-largest crop yield after rice, sweet potato, sugar cane, and maize. The Guangxi region accounts for 70 percent of the country’s yield, averaging 7 million tons a year.

Hainan Yedao is a liquor and healthcare product maker that announced plans in July to build ethanol fuel projects jointly with a state-owned petrochemical company.

In addition to ethanol, the Haikou plant is expected to produce 20,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year.

The company has leased 4,498 hectares of land in Laos to plant cassava for the facility.

China is the third largest ethanol producer in the world, behind the U.S. and Brazil, according to MarketResearchAnalyst.com (see Coskata enters China ethanol market). Ten of 22 provinces have mandated the use of ethanol-blended gasoline in cars.

But Beijing recently banned the use of grains in fuel ethanol because of concerns about the impact on the food supply (see China considering banning corn ethanol).

The first fuel ethanol plant based on non-grain feedstock in China opened in December. That plant, also China’s first cassava-powered ethanol plant, is located in Beihai, Guangxi.

The facility, operated by a subsidiary of Beijing-based China Oil and Food Corporation (COFCO), is expected to produce 200,000 tons of ethanol and 50,000 tons of cellulosic ethanol annually from 1.5 million tons of cassava.

China's Beihai Gofar Marine Biological Industry (SHA:600538) has also announced plans for a 100,000 ton-per-year cassava-based ethanol plant in the Guangxi region.


CHINA AGRO-TECHNOLOGY TO BUILD BIODIESEL REFINERY
March 10, 2008


Singapore-based China Agro-Technology (OTC: CAGTF) announced today that it signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Beihai to build a biodiesel refinery in the southern China city.

China Agro, a forestry company, said it expects to invest up to $200 million over the next four years to construct the plant, which it said would produce 2 million metric tons of biodiesel annually at full capacity.

"Biodiesel has the highest demand of any commodity in China. To meet the 2020 B10 Kyoto Protocol requirement, China needs 12,400,000 tons of biodiesel in 2008," said Harry He, founder and chairman of China Agro.

"However in 2007, the supply in China was less than 1 million tons. Therefore, the product from this biodiesel plant will be a very important part of China's effort to meet the requirement."

China Agro estimated that beginning in the first quarter of 2009 it could produce a minimum of 80,000 to 100,000 metric tons and yield a net profit of $30 million to $40 million.

The company also said its advanced leaf growing technology, coupled with a suitable land environment, would make it an essential supplier of Jatropha crude oil.

"More importantly, however, by being able to produce our own refined biodiesel at the Beihai facility, CAT also will be in a strategically important position in the supply of biofuel," said He.

"We are currently forming our team of professionals and consultants to execute the plan."

China Agro said the new refinery should take six months to complete.

CP bullish on 2009 farm prices

Bangkok Post - Thailand 30 Oct 2008

Phusadee Arunmas

Farm commodity prices are expected to remain promising next year as the world's stocks keep pace with consumption, according to the country's largest agro-industrial conglomerate, the Charoen Pokphand Group.

"We still believe prices of farm commodities like rice, rubber, tapioca, palm oil and maize will manage to rebound by about 15-20% late this year or early next year," said Sumeth Laomoraphorn, president of CP Intertrade, the trading arm of CP Group.

"Demand for agricultural products remains strong, as the world's supplies are not much larger than annual consumption. More importantly, increased demand is likely if any importing country faces a natural disaster."

Prices of farm commodities have fallen by 70-80% from record highs since early in the year largely because of profit-taking by global fund managers in the wake of the US financial mortgage crisis and oil price drops.

Montri Congtrakultien, the CEO and president of the Crop Integration Business Group of CP, said the drop of farm prices also stemmed from concerns about a global economic recession, prompting investors to sell equities and reduce their exposure to commodities.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the world's rice stocks for 2008-09 are estimated at 18.74 million tonnes, slightly higher than 18.09 million tonnes in 2007-08, while total production is estimated to rise three million tonnes to 432 million.

World rice demand is estimated at 429 million tonnes for 2008-09 compared with 427 million in 2007-08.

Mr Sumeth attributed the global fall in rice prices to abundant supply from Vietnam, the world's second-largest rice exporter. He said Vietnam was also speeding up selling its surplus grain, as exporters own no large warehouses and they need cash to repay loans that carry interest rates as high as 20%.

Vietnamese traders currently quote 5% white rice export prices at $350 to $360 per tonne, compared with $630 for Thai white rice.

Normally, differences between Thai and Vietnamese rice are only $30-50.

According to the Thai Rice Exporters Association, the benchmark export price of white rice was cut yesterday by 8% to the lowest since March 26.

The price of 100% grade B rice was set at $580 a tonne, compared with $630 last week. The price averaged $336 in October last year. The price of 25% white rice was set at $485, down from $522 a week earlier and compared with $313 last year. The association meets every Wednesday to set prices.

"What the government should do right now is shore up local rice prices and other farm products to help farmers stay afloat," said CP's Mr Sumeth.

Also, to prevent further pressure on prices, the government should delay its plan to ramp up selling its 4.3-million-tonne stockpile of milled rice, he said.

Mr Montri said price intervention initiatives should be temporary.

In the longer term, Mr Sumeth urged the government to accelerate its plans to allocate appropriate cultivation areas for particular crops, promote research and development on local varieties to provide higher yields, and upgrade agricultural technology.

Scientists restrategise on cassava breeding for emerging markets

The Punch - Lagos, Nigeria
By Stories David Amuwa
Published: Friday, 31 Oct 2008

Scientists from across Africa have stressed the need to restrategise the cassava breeding paradigm, shifting it from being production-focused to specifically targeting new and emerging markets, especially for value-added products.

The move aims to further help improve the livelihoods of cassava farmers by tapping into high-value markets.

“Cassava has transformed from a poor man’s subsistence crop to an industrial one,” says Elizabeth Parkes, a breeder with the Ghana-based Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Crop Institute.

“What we need to do now is to find ways to move from just improving production and productivity to identifying and introducing specific traits that markets want,” she said.

Since the early 1970’s, national agricultural research centres of major cassava-producing countries in sub-Saharan Africa have released more than 200 improved varieties, with genetic material from International Institute for Tropical Agriculture representing the major source of germplasm used in their development.

Through the years, utilisation of the crop has grown, with demand for cassava-based products such as flour, ethanol, glucose and starch, among others, on the rise.

New research into cassava must focus on increasing the range of its diversified uses. But to remain relevant, cassava-derived products must at the same time be able to compete with other crop-based raw materials.

For example, breeders should develop cassava varieties that produce flour, which is comparable in quality but costs less than wheat flour.

“We are not only interested in putting food on farmers’ tables, but also money in their pockets,” says Dr. Alfred Dixon, IITA’s cassava breeder, during a workshop on “Cassava Breeding Community of Practice in Africa,” a Generation Challenge Programme-commissioned project being implemented by IITA.

Farmers, on their part, have identified the tuber’s bulkiness and perishability as two important aspects that breeding programmes need to address in the near-term.

Scientists also agree that new cassava breeding programmes should be more proactive in heading-off pest and diseases.

“We need not wait until they (diseases) become prominent before we work on them. Action must be taken at the first sign of an infection,” Dixon stressed.

Breeding programmes must continue producing varieties that are better resistant to important diseases like the mosaic virus and cassava brown streak.

Prof. Malachy Akoroda of the Department of Agronomy, University of Ibadan, said cassava had gained prominence because of its unique qualities for poverty reduction.

Citing the cassava drought resistance qualities for example, Akoroda said the crop had the ability to mitigate the impact of climate change in Africa.

He stressed that cassava presented numerous opportunities and what was needed was for African governments to identify and tap those opportunities.

Hunger hotspots of the future revealed

New Scientist (subscription) - UK 29 October 2008
From New Scientist Print Edition. Subscribe and get 4 free issues.

Rice, maize, sorghum and cassava show little change. By combining these assessments with projections for population and economic growth, the team then ...

Where in sub-Saharan Africa will climate change hit hardest? When it comes to food supply, prospects for much of the centre and east of the region are looking grim. Reduced crop yields along with a rising population mean that Tanzania, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are likely to face serious shortages by 2030, according to a comprehensive new study.

A team from the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology in Dübendorf led by Junguo Liu assessed the impact of climate change by 2030 on the production of six major food crops in sub-Saharan Africa: cassava, maize, wheat, sorghum, rice and millet. Higher temperatures will make wheat wilt, with yields falling by up to 18 per cent. By contrast, millet benefits, with yields up by as much as 27 per cent (Global and Planetary Change, DOI: 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2008.09.007). Rice, maize, sorghum and cassava show little change.

By combining these assessments with projections for population and economic growth, the team then predicted how people in different countries would be affected. Tanzania, Mozambique and the DRC fared worst for food security. "They have the lowest economic growth, the fastest population growth or the lowest increase in calories from their crops," Liu says.

The report predicts that economic growth in Nigeria, Sudan and Angola will increase their purchasing power enough to allow them to buy their way out of hunger.

From issue 2680 of New Scientist magazine, 29 October 2008, page 7

Baked stew ushers in new season

GoErie.com - Erie,PA,USA

Tapioca is processed cassava root, which is a tropical plant that serves as a staple food in its native South America, Africa and Asia. ...

Loaves and Dishes
Jennie
Geisler

Published: October 29. 2008 12:01AM

One of the best things about fall is the excuse to change the menu after six months of light, grilled summer dinners. I've had my fill of lemony fish, barbecue chicken and fruit salad.


I've knelt at the altar of simple skinny food long enough.

A leaf falls off of a tree and I head straight for the pot roast.

This recipe for Baked Beef Stew got me right where I wanted to go.

Five things I learned:

1. The most interesting thing I learned is that you can make beef stew in the oven. It takes about the same amount of time, so, my Dad asked, "What's the draw of that?" Well, I can't really explain it except that I just thought it was neat. It seems like less hassle. There are no hot or cold spots, no burning or scorching. Everything cooks to the same temperature. No splatters.

You take the foil/lid off the baking pan and it looks perfectly gorgeous. No dirty, cooked-on grime on the side of a pot. No soaking necessary.

I just love it.

2. The secret to this dish wasn't just in the cooking method, but also in the rich, thick sauce.

It contained a few unexpected ingredients, such as diced tomatoes, tapioca, a bread slice and sugar, in addition to the requisite root vegetables, broth and such.

The tomatoes gave it depth, the sugar tamed the acid, the tapioca I'll get to in a minute, and, to be honest, I don't really know what the bread was for.

I figured it gave the dish body, like in a strata. But I don't think it's a deal breaker either way.

3. Tapioca is processed cassava root, which is a tropical plant that serves as a staple food in its native South America, Africa and Asia.

Its roots are very starchy. It can be cooked and eaten like a potato, or dried into meal, granules, flakes or flour. Pearled tapioca is the main ingredient in tapioca pudding.

4. I found tapioca flakes in the baking aisle at the grocery store. You can also use a flour or cornstarch slurries (whisked with a small amount of liquid).

The advantage of tapioca, according to "The Science of Good Food," is that it thickens at a lower temperature than other starches, making it good for items that will be baked and not boiled, like pie and Baked Beef Stew.

Interestingly, the cassava-thickened recipes freeze better than foods made with other thickeners, because they don't break down.

5. Tapioca has no real taste of its own. In fact, "Science" says it's even more neutral than wheat flour and cornstarch.

That's pretty neutral.

JENNIE GEISLER writes about her adventures as a home cook every Wednesday. You can reach her at 870-1885. Send e-mail to jennie.geisler@timesnews.com..

Modern Pantry is a bit behind the times

UNITED KINGDOM Metro - London,

The Modern Pantry
Marina O'Loughlin - Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Here are some of the ingredients in the current Providores menu: hijiki, umeboshi, cassava chips; and here are some from The Modern Pantry: hijiki, ...

Remember fusion? Remember those clashing tastes and menus that needed an encyclopaedia to decipher? Apart from long-standing (and excellent) The Providores in Marylebone, we saw the last of that most pilloried of culinary styles in the 1990s: too many Kevs from catering college flinging blachan into their bain-maries signalled its death knell. Or so we thought.
Anna Hansen – one of London's most highly regarded women chefs – was one of the originators of The Providores and cooked at another seminal fusion perpetrator, The Sugar Club. She clearly believes in hanging on to a formula that has worked for her.

Here are some of the ingredients in the current Providores menu: hijiki, umeboshi, cassava chips; and here are some from The Modern Pantry: hijiki, umeboshi, cassava chips. Plus krupuk, feijoa, yuzu and kalamansi limes for good measure.

To be fair, the fusion clamour has been toned down here: several dishes feature an entire list of ingredients we recognise.

As an aside: don't you just love that name? It's so zeitgeisty, like all those emporia – Re:Found, Labour And Wait, Pedlars – that feed off our nostalgia for black-leaded grates and doorsteps scrubbed with big bristly brushes, selling us balls of twine for ten times what we'd pay in B&Q.

Somewhere called The Modern Pantry should really be purveying – yes, that's the word – bowls of organic rare-breed stew with fluffy dumplings and steamed fruit puds lustrous with golden syrup, not spinach, shiitake and plantain green curry.

Anyway, it is a perfectly lovely-looking place: two Georgian buildings in St John's Square bookended by The Zetter and the Priory. I've driven past it several times, each time wishing I were going there instead of wherever I was heading.

There's a ground-floor café that I like enormously, a chic melange of heritage colours, copper lampshades, vintage-style coat-hooks and blindingly white contemporary furniture. It's bustling when we walk in, full of the area's statement-bespectacled media middle-youth.

But the upstairs restaurant proper is almost monastically featureless, with two connecting rooms providing blank canvases for some cold Farrow & Ball-ish colours and splashy artworks.

Marcel Wanders's heavenly Skygarden lights – plain exterior, ghostly bas relief interior – add a rare decorative touch. We're entirely alone and a little chilly, making us wish we were downstairs where, irritatingly, the 'all day menu' appears to be identical.

What are we doing up here in frosty isolation? A luscious bottle of Hasel Grüner Veltliner from winemaker Birgit Eichinger – yay for the sisterhood – from a sharp, concise wine list warms us up nicely and other punters start appearing, more grown-up and sedate than the groovers downstairs, but hey.

The sugar-cured prawn omelette has, since the place's opening, become something of a signature dish, a kind of Vietnamese-Malaysian-Thai collision featuring smoked chilli sambal, liquoricey holy basil and tamarind. It works brilliantly, the cured prawns dense and sweet, the frilly edges seductively crisp, the interior baveuse, herbs and spices adding tongue-tingling zing. Apart from this, I can't find anything to get wildly excited about.

Another starter reads ham hock, mango, spiced peanut, green chilli and watercress salad with plum wine dressing. It's fine, just fine, but no more than the sum of its parts, a little like something you'd serve yourself in one of Islington's similarly furnished nouveau canteens. And, for £7, it's a fairly weeny portion.

We have to order something called a gunjya – well you do, don't you? – which turns out to be a mini pasty or samosa, filled with duck and potato and served with a coriander and mint relish, altogether like something the Raj up the road might deliver for you to mindlessly chomp in front of The X Factor.

Main courses: a nicely autumnal dish of roast guinea fowl with ceps, chanterelles, sweetcorn and polenta is good but a bit beige. 'Crispy' roast pork belly isn't; but the flavour is deep and porky – decent ingredients are used throughout – and its green pepper relish perks it up no end. But I really loathe our pudding, a jarring confection of Earl Grey chocolate tart, roast fig, plum marshmallow and caramel syrup. It's like a surrealist nightmare version of a Tunnock's Tea Cake.

It has taken Ms Hansen four years to bring this ambitious project to fruition. I think that, in the meantime, food fashions have moved away from the challenge of the exotic and unfamiliar into the warm embrace of the comfort zone. Especially right now.

The Modern Pantry's money men are D&D, the Conran Group management buy-out chaps who have also backed the excellent Launceston Place. They seem to know what they're doing. Hansen herself has denied that what she's doing here is fusion, claiming it's merely modern cooking for her Modern Pantry. Strange, then, that it all seems so last century.