With increased production of cassava on the local market, Guyana is moving to establish an industrial cassava flour mill, President Dr Irfaan Ali announced on Friday.
This mill, he explained, can produce products that can target international and even niche markets.
“We’ve been able to increase the yield for cassava… by just investing in research and development…we’ve increased production, yield, per acre, by 100%,” he explained.
He was at the time speaking about the importance and benefits of investing in research and development in the agriculture sector during the launch of the Regional Economic Agri-Insurance Programme (REAP) at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre in Guyana.
“Years ago, we were experimenting with cassava flour but we never had enough production to support it. We’ve increased production now to the extent that we have enough production to justify a full cassava flour mill in the country,” he said, adding that this can be developed in an industrial scale.
“We want that cassava flour mill to do two things. One, production differentiation, you can have 100% cassava flour or you can have 50/50 and it goes to niche markets internationally…,” President outlined.
The Guyanese leader said he is hoping that the facility can be ready within a year.
Cassava is gluten free and serves as an ideal substitute for persons with food allegories or on a strict health diet. The root vegetable is also used to make tapioca – which is commonly used to make the pearls in bubble teas.
Cassava is also used to make cassareep – a key ingredient for Guyana’s national dish, pepperpot.
Only recently, President Ali had announced plans to develop 500 acres of land to expand cassava production for Mabaruma communities in Region One (Barima-Waini).
Moreover, the government had distributed some 500,000 additional pounds of cassava, valued at some $20 million, to communities in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Essequibo).
For the year so far, over 20 million pounds of cassava have been reaped.
Meanwhile, a part from the President’s announcement, in February this year, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the company, Kumasi and prominent engineering firm, Globaltec Dessarollos e Ingenieria S.A, for the establishment of a cassava processing plant in Guyana, to the tune of US$10 million.
The signing was facilitated on the sidelines of the ongoing Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo 2024 at the Marriott Hotel.
