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Title Opportunities to Commercialize Cassava Production for Poverty Alleviation and Improved Food Security in Tanzania
Full text https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8820v5mt
Date 2019
Author(s) Mtunguja, MK; Beckles, DM; Laswai, HS; Ndunguru, JC; Sinha, NJ
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.
Subject(s) No Poverty; Zero Hunger; Food Sciences
Coverage 13928 - 13946
Publisher eScholarship, University of California
Type of publication article
Format application/pdf
Source African Journal of Food Agriculture Nutrition and Development, vol 19, iss 01
Rights public
Identifier qt8820v5mt
Repository Berkeley - University of California
Added to C-A: 2023-06-19;10:07:33