A recent report in the Concord Times of Sierra Leone confirms what we already knew here at Bread and Water for Africa® — that cassava, along with maize, has been identified “as two of the main pillars of West Africa’s food security that could form the backbone for a thriving agro-industry in the sub-region.”
That’s why we are working with our partner in Sierra Leone, Faith Healing Development Organization (FHDO), to construct a plant to process cassava into flour, known as gari, which is a food staple in the country.
As FHDO Executive Director Rev. Francis Mambu explains, FHDO will provide 500 female farmers with cassava seedlings to plant on their small tracts of land, who will then sell the mature cassava root to FHDO, which will process the cassava into gari. Then the women will purchase the gari in bulk at wholesale prices which they can sell at their local markets – effectively making two profits on the same product.
The study recently released by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Fund for Agricultural Development entitled “Rebuilding West Africa’s Food Potential” pointed out that countries in West Africa such as Sierra Leone, one of the poorest in the world, “can realize full agricultural potential if they boost productivity, foster competitiveness and ensure than small-scale farmers have greater access to markets.”
And that is exactly what FHDO with help from our supporters here at Bread and Water for Africa® is working to accomplish.
Read more at http://slconcordtimes.com/maize-cassava-identified-as-west-africas-food-security-pillars/
