A COMPREHENSIVE & PRACTICAL GUIDE ON HOW TO START CASSAVA FARMING & PROCESSING BUSINESS By : Micheal B . O .
In the traditional areas of North and South America , the tubers are grated and the sap is extracted through squeezing or pressing . The cassava is further dried over a fire to make a meal , or it is fermented and cooked . The meal can then be rehydrated with water or added to soups or stews . In Africa , the tubers are processed in several different ways . They may first be fermented in water , and then either sun-dried for storage or grated and made into dough that is cooked . Alcoholic beverages can be made from the roots . Cassava has a high content of fermentable substances . This makes it appropriate for the production of alcohol . The fresh tubers contain about 30 % starch and 5 % sugars , and the dried tubers contain approximately 80 % fermentable substances ( which are equivalent to rice as a source of alcohol ).
STARTING UP A CASSAVA FARM
A QUESTION AND ANSWERS IN DETAIL FOR AN INITIAL PREPARATION FOR CASSAVA
FARMING ( What To Look Out For )
Cassava is one of the most common food crops grown and consumed in many parts of Africa . The crop grows well in various soil types and ecologies . It can be planted alone or in association with many other crops , like maize , groundnuts , vegetables , and rice . Growing cassava is not very labor intensive and usually requires 75 – 125 person-days per hectare from land preparation to harvesting . The storage roots can be harvested 9 – 18 months after planting . Under traditional farming practices , one can expect between 8 and 15 tonnes of storage roots per hectare of land planted only with cassava . Even under harsh environmental conditions cassava will provide some food when other crops fail . In most places there is a good market for cassava . The storage roots can be processed into various food products and starch for domestic consumption , local , and / or export markets . Cassava leaves are nutritious vegetables . The leaves and storage roots can also be used as animal feed . The stems can be sold as planting material .
HOW DO I SELECT A GOOD SITE FOR PLANTING CASSAVA ?
Cassava grows best in areas with deep and well-drained loamy soils , adequate rainfall , and warm and moist climatic conditions . The factors which guide you to determine if an area will be suitable for growing cassava include vegetation cover , soil texture and fertility , topography of land , and the field history of the area .
1 . Look for an area with thick vegetation cover : Sites with dense vegetation cover are likely to have fertile soils . The dense vegetation shades the soil from direct sunlight , reduces the amount of moisture that is lost from the soil through evaporation , and minimizes run-off water which may otherwise cause soil erosion . The dense vegetation also drops a lot of leaves which rot and add nutrients to the soil . In addition , decaying leaves encourage an increase in the number of earthworms and other small invertebrates in the soil , which in turn help to increase the air in the soil and make it better for growing cassava .
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