‘Ghana can rake in more revenue from cassava to transform economy’

Cassava can gen­erate much reve­nue as cocoa does to the economy if attention is paid to the crop, Deputy Director of Agriculture, Direc­torate of Crop Services of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, George Prah, has stated.

According to him, there was huge demand for cassava and it’s derivatives for the local and international markets.

Mr Prah stated this during the launch of the International Cas­sava Fair (Feira International Da Mandioca (FIMAN) 2023).

The programme, scheduled for November 21-23, 2023, would be held in Paranavai in Brazil.

Agrihouse Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), which is the franchise holder of the event, is organising the International Cassava Fair.

Mr Prah, who launched the fair, said Ghana was self-sufficient in cassava as it could produce 22 million tonnes of cassava a year, which was mostly the edible type and for consumption.

He said industry used about one million tonnes of the cassava produced in the country.

Mr Prah said it was to pay attention to cassava that the gov­ernment had selected cassava as a major crop under the revamped Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) initiative.

Under the PFJ 2.0, he said, Cassava Zones would be created in the cassava producing areas with aggregators who would sup­port farmers with improved seeds and farm inputs and also buy the produce from the farmers.

Mr Prah said the Interna­tional Cassava Fair in Brazil was important as it would help expose the exhibitors to new technolo­gies and innovations in cassava production and processing.

He said the fair would help cassava farmers to find new mar­ket, and strike new business deals.

Mr Prah said the participants would find new agricultural machineries to help their cassava production.

He noted farmers could not depend on hoe and cutlass if they were to compete with their peers in the developed economies.

He entreated cassava produc­ers in the country to take advan­tage of the fair to learn new ideas and trends to help boost their businesses.

The Managing Partner, Po­dium Alimentos, Ivo Pierin, said Brazil held so many technologies, machinery and innovations which could help cassava producers to boost their production.

He said the location of the In­ternational Cassava Fair was very ideal since it was not far away from the capital of Brazil.

Mr Pierin entreated cassava producers and processors to take advantage of the fair to meet players in the cassava internation­al market.

The Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, Alber­ta Nana Akyaa Akosa, said the International Cassava Fair, known as FIMAN, was the largest cassa­va event in Brazil, with its roots dating back to 2016.

She said the inaugural edition in 2016 and the subsequent one in 2018 both achieved remarkable success, contributing significantly to the growth and development of the sector.

Ms Akosa explained that the first edition in 2016 recorded 61 companies exhibiting, and received around 4,500 visitors.

“Two years later, in 2018, the fair grew even more with 100 companies exhibiting, receiving approximately 5,200 exhibitors,” she stated.

Ms Akosa mentioned some of the activities outlined for the pro­gramme as business presentation, exhibitions, panel discussions and educational trips, adding that participants would enjoy network­ing opportunities and busi­ness-to-business matchmaking.

The Trade Promotion Officer at the Brazilian Embassy, Michael Akoto, said Ghana could learn a lot from Brazil regarding cassava production and processing.

 STORIES: KINGSLEY ASARE