The Development Bank Ghana (DBG) has brought together stakeholders in the cassava industry to discuss challenges and proffer solutions towards industrializing cassava production in the country.
DBG in partnership with the Ghana Industrial Cassava Stakeholders Platform (GICSP) and Ghana Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (GIRSAL), on Tuesday, November 15, held the maiden edition of the Cassava Multi-Stakeholder Forum which saw businesses and individuals in the industry discuss key issues in the production of cassava, identified challenges, opportunities, and good practices.
Ghana’s annual production output of cassava stands at 22 million metric tonnes with some 8 million metric tonnes consumed by the population.
Of the 22 million metric tonnes produced, 45% remains un-uprooted with 55% uprooted but with almost half accounting for post harvest losses.
With the 55% uprooted, only 0.5% are processed into commodities of greater economic value (starch, ethanol etc) for exports
Speaking at the maiden Cassava Multi-Stakeholder Forum, Chairman of the Ghana Industrial Cassava Stakeholders Platform (GICSP), Chris Quarshie, averred there are close to 50 industrial derivatives from the processing of cassava which Ghana can produce and earn billons of dollars in foreign exchange.
According to him, Ghana has the requisite amount of raw materials (cassava), processing technology and export market to take advantage of the $237bn global market value for cassava – by 2030.
“We have what it takes to scale up and industrialize cassava production for the global market, the main thing we need now is funding, patient and long term capital in addition to proactive policies and capacity-building,” he quipped.
“China, with a 24 million metric tonnes production capacity and 105 starch factories earns over $3.85bn in foreign exchange from exporting starch which is one of the derivatives from cassava.
“Vietnam that even has a lower cassava production output, earns over $1.5bn in foreign exchange from cassava processing,” he added.
Also speaking at the stakeholder forum, was CEO of Development Bank Ghana (DBG), Kwamina Duker who remarked that Cassava is the most important root crop in Ghana, as the crop contributes about 22% of agricultural GDP with Ghana ranked among the top five cassava producers in Africa, producing at least 18 varieties of improved cassava in commercial quantities for various uses.
“We will collaborate with key stakeholders to help fund and support businesses to grow the cassava value chain by helping to unlock sectors with transformational potential. This we will do through our holistic approach to combine finance, capacity building and market development.
“We will also provide thought leadership on policy development to stimulate a conducive environment for agri-business. We hope that you will embark on this journey with us and together we will see a real transformation for cassava businesses in Ghana that also translate into the economic fortunes of our country,” he remarked.
The Maiden Cassava Multi-Stakeholder Forum aims to congregate participating cassava stakeholders and value chain actors to better understand the challenges in cassava production, processing, and marketing and how they can be mitigated for financing.
The forum highlighted key issues in the production of cassava, identified challenges, opportunities, and good practices, lessons learned, and innovative approaches in driving strategic investments in the cassava ecosystem, taking into consideration all categories of value chain actors and their collective experiences.
Source: norvanreports.com