News Date: July 05 2016
Do you know that cassava can be stored in the ground for several seasons? This, coupled with being one of the highest value calorie foods, makes cassava one of the ideal crops for food security.
This tropical root crop is a staple in Indigenous communities and is enjoyed by a wide cross section of Guyanese. While cassava is a common ingredient in soup and methem it could be used in the baking and poultry feed industries.
The National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) recently conducted studies which successfully proved that grated cassava could be incorporated in bread making and poultry feed. However, local cassava production needs to increase for this to become a reality.
As such, the Ministry of Agriculture through NAREI has been partnering with regional and international bodies to boost local cassava production. In 2014, the Regional Development Project geared towards increasing cassava production commenced. The project was funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and implemented by the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI). Guyana, Jamaica and Grenada were the beneficiaries of this pilot project.
News Source:Â Guyana Chronicle
