Local farmers’ groups in Gulu are optimistic that they will finally be able to add value to cassava in a bid to attract better market prices.
Cassava is perceived as a reserve crop for the poor and many have ignored the need to add value to it.
On the local market, a bag of fresh cassava goes for as little as Shs60, 000.
Ms Alice Auma, a local farmer at Lapeta village in Unyama Sub County says producing cassava has over the years become very unattractive due to poor market prices.
Auma says farmers are always forced to sell fresh cassava in a heap considering the fact that it is highly perishable when raw.
“There are no good returns for farmers who are engaged in cassava growing unless they dry it and sell it in the local market where a cup can go for just Shs200.
Auma expressed hope that selling processed cassava will save them from the exploitation by petty traders who always enjoy the profits.
Farmer groups have already procured two sets of cassava processing machines, cassava chippers with funding from UN Women through Gulu Women’s Economic Development and Globalization (GWED-G), an indigenous Non Governmental Organization that focus on empowering women who were affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) war.
Currently, the farmers’ groups have 70 acres of cassava’s plantation.
The Executive Director of GWED- G, Ms Judith Pamela Angwech says processing cassava will increase market value since farmers will not hurry to dump it into the market.
Angwech explained that, “Unlike fresh cassava, the processed one can take long to go bad giving the farmers an upper hand to negotiate for favourable prices with buyers.”
Mr Martin Ojara Mapenduzi, the District LCV Chairperson says processing cassava will not only empower the farmers economically but will also go a long way to tackle food insecurity among families.
Mapenduzi noted, “Using modern simple machines will save a lot of time and will also improve quality of the products.”
A single cassava machine can produce up to 920 kilograms per hour with only 3 liters of petrol.
Cassava flour is used as an ingredient for making sausages, alcohol, fructose for soft drinks, biodegradable plastics, and in textiles.
The flour is also used in some pharmaceutical products, ethanol for powering vehicles and cooking stoves, among others.
Currently, Uganda imports about 400,000 tonnes, equivalent to $300m (Shs772b), of wheat every year from USA, Russia, France and Australia.
A kilogramme of wheat costs about 2,400 shillings yet there can be cheaper alternatives like cassava.
Annually, Uganda produces 5.5 million tonnes of fresh cassava but most is consumed at subsistence levels; if a good portion of this is turned around for industrial use, it could transform farming and the economy.
