HOW TO TURN CASSAVA WASTES TO WEALTH

The food industry has been making an impact because of its potential for value addition. Like food waste and animal feed, cassava peels have the potential of becoming big business.DANIEL ESSIET reports

Most farms in Ilero in Kajola Local Government Area of Oyo State are full of cassava. The crop is grown widely because there is a market for it. But cassava peel have become a stream of income opportunity.

Tunde Rasaki (not real name) is a secondary school pupil from a poor family.

To raise N3000 for his school fees, he joined other youngsters people to peel cassava for farmers. For 50 kg of cassava peels, he is paid N100.  He is also given the waste peels which he sells to goat and pig farmers. He makes money from it. In Nigeria, nearly three million households (mostly women) produce 50 million tonnes of cassava yearly. Most of the crop is used for human consumption, but about 14 million tonnes of its by-products, including peels and under-sized tubers, are thrown away. There is a thriving cassava industry that produce enormous peel waste.

Ilero is home to national cassava production enterprise.