Yaoundé hosts the celebration of ‘Cassava Day’ on August 26

The celebration of ‘Cassava Day’ will be held August 26 in the Cameroonian capital Yaounde. The day is reserved to show the importance and the need for the enhancement of cassava transformation and the economic, social and cultural aims associated with it, learned APA on Saturday from the Organizing Committee.

Placed under the theme: "Aim of enhancement of cassava", this agro-industrial demonstration of the network of actors of sustainable development (RADD), will be punctuated by conferences, workshops, debates and a tasting of by-products.

"We intend to publicize the multiple uses of cassava and the species to be used for each finished product, proceed to test some new varieties for human consumption, plead with public and private partners on the need to support communities in the utilization of cassava, put in place a framework for exchanges to promote its utilization," explained the executive Secretary of the RADD, Marie Crescence Ngobo.

There will also be the need to introduce and develop new cassava varieties which are well known, to outline possible solutions to facilitate access to training and the acquisition of processing infrastructure and to set up a framework of actions to promote products from cassava.

Second staple crop after rice, cassava is one of the most important food crops in Cameroon with 270,000 hectares of land dedicated to its production. According to the United Nations food and agriculture Organization (FAO), 3.9 million tons of its roots were produced in 2011 for annual requirements which are valued at 10,000 tons dedicated to local consumption, export to the Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and the Central African Republic but also in manufacturing of flour and for starch industries and beer companies.

In 2009, the country was also ranked 19th in the World for the exports of cassava roots to France (93%), Belgium (4%) and Switzerland (3%).

The Government and the international fund for agricultural development (IFAD) have, since July 2003, signed a loan agreement of about $ 22 million for the development of the sector through the national program of development of roots and tubers (PNDRT) supported among others by the national network of multipliers of yams seeds and cassava cuttings (RENAMUSIM) , which has trained more than 25,000 people including 53% female.