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.