The Oyo State Government has partnered with African Development Bank (AfDB), through the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Banana, on how to turn cassava wastes to wealth, through practical demonstration to agriculture stakeholders across the state.
The partnership through the office of the Special Adviser on Intervention funds and Development partners organised the second development partner/stakeholders forum on equipment demonstration for cassava peels processing yesterday, at the International Institute for Tropical Africa, Ibadan.
At the forum, which is a follow up to the first edition held in December, 2018, stakeholders such as cassava farmers, livestock farmers, feed millers, and cattle rearers have been urged to harness the High Quality Cassava Peels technology which has the potential to add around 15 million tons to quality livestock feed in the nation.
The Forum according to the Special Adviser on Intervention funds and Development Partners, Dr. Mrs. Bukola Adebusuyi was to avail farmers across the State, the opportunity to witness the practical demonstration of how to process cassava peels into livestock feed ingredients for ruminant and non-ruminant animals.
She further revealed that Oyo State Government is considered it necessary to improve farmers’ livelihood by adopting the cassava waste as part of livestock ingredient, stressing that Oyo State is the first to adopt this feeding method across Nigeria.
The Special Adviser said, “Oyo State Government will keep developing agriculture to make it more sustainable, profitable and veritable alternative to liberate farmers from the threat of famine and hunger”.
Speaking also, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development, Prince Oye Oyewole, affirmed that the Abiola-Ajimobi administration, since inception has collaborated with ILRI to ensure cassava peels is turned to source of wealth, by transforming it to valuable feed resources.
Describing the workshop as a door to economic prosperity, he stressed that it is a launching pad for the elimination of cassava peels waste and its transformation into useful feeds for ruminant animals, non-ruminants and fishes in Nigeria
“This administration’s commitment to agricultural production, food security, job opportunities and creation of wealth for the citizen, in a way, will be met by this demonstration”, he said.
Speaking on behalf of AfDB, ILRI and other development partners, the Country Representative of ILRI, Dr. Tunde Amole, noted that the transformation of wet cassava peels into High Quality Cassava peels was an outcome of a multi-center collaboration among different organisations, with the support from African Development Bank through its Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation program.
He urged farmers and all stakeholders to harness such gesture, which would be an uptake of proven technologies, with Oyo State being the first to benefit such.
He revealed further that, with this technological development, henceforth cassava crops are not only raw materials for products like garri and other cassava-based staple food, but would create additional employment and income from the peels considered to be wastes and create about 2 billion dollars yearly in the livestock feed industry in Africa.
Speaking further, he said, the technology would reduce the current import bills on maize, reduce environmental pollution, create employment, and increase wealth for cassava processors, especially women who work in the value chain.
In his words, the Director General, Raw Materials Research and Development Council, Dr. Hammed Ibrahim, congratulated Oyo State Government for adding another feather to its empowerment programme by implementing the technology based initiative in the State.
It would be recalled that the State Government organized the first edition of the Development Partner/Stakeholders forum titled “Waste to wealth: Cassava peels utilization” on December 13, 2018.
