Sustainable Cassava Project, Moyen Comoe, Côte d' Ivoire.

Not too often these tuberous roots christened with the title “poverty fighter”. But cassava, the lanky brown root grown and consumed throughout West Africa, has become just that. Known in Latin America as yucca or mandioca, cassava is hoped to be the key to employing millions of African farmers and feeding additional millions across the continent.

Over the last decade, governments, UN agencies and agriculture experts have devoted resources to increasing the quantity and quality of cassava production, while also seeking to develop new markets beyond West Africa. In 2004, NEPAD launched initiatives to promote cassava farming, processing and consumption. The cassava root is used to make local staples such as the much loved Nigerian dish foufou and its leaves are an excellent source of protein and iron. Because cassava can grow in very poor soil, with little water, it can be planted where it is impossible to grow other crops. And because cassava is also used for animal feed and in some industrial compounds, its full market potential has not yet been reached.

Nestlé, which buys on average 7500 tonnes of cassava annually, supports sustainable production efforts and works with government to promote consumption. One example of these efforts is the Sustainable Cassava Project at Moyen Comoe, Côte d’Ivoire,which began in 2002, when Nestlé joined a partnership led by the Ivorian and German governments.The Nestlé project involves 800 farmers – 700 of them women – from twenty villages. It seeks to help these small-scale farmers increase and improve the quality of their crops, while also reducing pesticide and water use. Over the long term, this investment will ensure that the farmers have a stable, sustainable income, while the local Nestlé factory can rely on a high quality source of raw material for Maggi bouillon and other products.

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