The project seeks to increase the production of quality cassava which is a staple food in Cameroon

An elaborate study on cassava seed system in Cameroon has been examined and validated. Farmers and other stakeholders in the sector validated the study, Tuesday September 26, 2017, in Yaounde during a national workshop. They also used the come-together to share experience in cassava cultivation amongst themselves.

The study was carried out by consultants within the framework of the project – “Strengthening linkages between small holders and the cassava value chain.” The project is being sponsored by the European Union and implemented in Cameroon by UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The project which is regional in its nature, covers seven countries amongst them Cameroon.

According to Moussa Djagoudi, Agribusiness Officer and Coordinator of the project in central Africa, the cassava seed system in the country is weak. It is against this backdrop and in order to fight poverty and ensure food security that the project was initiated. He said cassava came under focus because it is a staple food in the country.

To Felicitas Atanga, Programme Officer of FAO Cameroon, “we have to go to the roots to see whether the seed system that is used in the value chain are of good species – cassava cuttings.” Felicitas Atanga said after the validation, it is likely that they will come out with a strategy for cassava seed production in Cameroon.

Cassava offers an affordable source of calories and contributes to household food security. Most often, it is turned into flour or paste, while the rest is used to feed animals, fermented to produce local liquor and increasingly processed into biofuel.