Opportunities to Commercialize Cassava Production for Poverty Alleviation and Improved Food Security in Tanzania

Abstract

Cassava is the world's fourth most important staple crop after rice, wheat and maize, and plays an essential role in food security. Due to cassava's growth characteristics and ability to grow in poor soils and regions prone to drought, it is preferred by resourcepoor farmers in many tropical countries. While cassava plays an important role as a food security crop for subsistence farmers, it is prone to rapid postharvest deterioration. Processing cassava for starch is another strategy for overcoming post-harvest losses, can add value to end products and has the potential to create additional employment opportunities along the supply chain. Cassava starch is an important source of biomaterial for different food and non-food industrial applications. Moreover, farmers producing cassava can increase their income by finding alternative end uses to home consumption. To meet the high demand for cassava in Tanzania, cultivar selection, production and processing all need to be improved. Enabling policies that create satisfactory business opportunities for small holder farmers, traders and processors for starch industries is also critical. The aim of this review is to explore the potential of the cassava subsector to contribute to the economy of sub-Saharan countries, particularly Tanzania, and to present how industrial use of domestic cassava starch can help tackle problems of unemployment and food security.

Sweet cassava cooking time

“…Post-harvest losses due to postharvest physiological deterioration (PPD), are estimated to be as high as 30% in sub-Saharan Africa (Djabou, Carvalho, Li, Niemenak, & Chen, 2017;Mtunguja, Beckles, Laswai, Ndunguru, & Sinha, 2019). It is a consequence of physiological actions, that usually starts 24 hours after harvest, increasing the concentration of phenolic compounds, causing vascular streaking, which is a blue-black discoloration of the xylem parenchyma, followed by general discoloration of the storage parenchyma (Figure 3).…”

Cassava flour production by small scale processors, its quality and economic feasibility

“…Cultivation of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is becoming a global economic and industrial trend due to its flexible nature to grow under a wide range of soil and climatic conditions (Mtunguja et al, 2019) and allows its use in a number of industries (Li et al, 2017). Cassava also has a competitive price compared to many other food crop commodities and its economic value can be enhanced through processing and development of value added products (Alene et al, 2018).…”

“…Cassava can be processed into a variety of food products (food additives and fillers, sweeteners, wheat flour substitute for making bread, biscuits, noodles and confectioneries), non-food products (alcohol, organic acids, wood layers, pharmaceuticals, paper, textiles, adhesives), feed, and biofuel. Traditionally cassava is consumed after boiling or cooking and many new or modified food products are also available, which may vary from country to country and among communities in a country (Arief et al, 2018;Mtunguja et al, 2019;Omolara et al, 2017;Otunba-Payne, 2020). Enabling the rural households in such activities by product development at household level is beneficial in terms of providing investment and employment opportunities, particularly for women empowerment (Mtunguja et al, 2019;Omolara et al, 2017;Otunba-Payne, 2020).…”

Technological Innovations for Improving Cassava Production in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…Due to its long harvest window, cassava roots are used as a food reserve during periods of food shortage or during the lean season before harvest of other crops. Although its cultivation has traditionally been associated with subsistence farming, the crop is gradually becoming an industrial crop, which is processed into different products, including bread, pasta, and couscous-like products ( Bechoff et al, 2018 ; Mtunguja et al, 2019 ). Apart from the food industry, cassava starch is used for textiles, the paper industry, in the manufacture of plywood and veneer adhesives, glucose and dextrin syrups ( Tonukari et al, 2015 ; Spencer and Ezedinma, 2017 ; Waisundara, 2018 ).…”