Automated Cassava Mobile Processor For Rural Women

Development and deployment of automated cassava mobile processor for rural women farmers. Located within cassava growing communities and on farms of women farmers. With market ‘’IVSC-Cassava App’’on smartphones for women farmers to sell and customers to buy cassava products

The Problem: 

Cassava is most important food crops,with annual global production of approximately 276 million metric tons (MT) in 2013. African countries account for the majority of global production,at 158 million MT(57%) in 2013.A significant proportion-70% farmers grow cassava in Ghana every year,with a female majority smallholder farmers,producing more than 90% of cassava.However,half of their harvest is lost before reaching the  market because fresh cassava spoils within 24-48 hours after if not processed or dried. Women farmers lack of access to mobile processing technologies and high cost of transport to the processing facilities. Example in the Awutu Senya District ,where IVSC operates cassava is either consumed with no value addition or no mobile processor This has food security implications

The Opportunity

No business has yet developed a viable,sustainable model to competitively aggregate, process, package and sell cassava domestically and to export using a mobile processor for women farmers in 216 districts in Ghana and in Sub-Saharan Africa region (IVSC field missions & farmers needs assessment 2014-2016). Meanwhile,cassava has the potential to contribute greatly to national agricultural Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Mission & Value of Proposition

The Innovations Village Seed Company (IVSC) is an agricultural company that believes in scaling-up technologies of farming and processing local food products for local consumption, export, jobs for the youth and better incomes for female farmers. Therefore, the development and deployment of automated cassava mobile processor for rural women farmers directly link them to appropriate technology in their communities and on their farms for use.

Cassava is one of the popular and cultivated crops,with numerous uses and a promising yield.It is able to withstand the weather conditions in Sub-Saharan region.A significant proportion- 90% of women farmers grow cassava in Ghana every year but,half of their harvest is lost before reaching the market because fresh cassava which spoils within 24-48 hours after if not processed or dried.Women farmers lack access to mobile processing technologies and faced with high cost of transport to processing facilities in the rural communities where most of cassava is produced with implications for the region’s food security situation.

IVSC’s installed automated mobile cassava processing facility will links women farmers directly to appropriate technologies on cassava production and processing facility within their communities and on their farms. Based on IVCS's model on cassava farming, it will focus on continuous production rather than absorbing seasonal harvest gluts.The facility will process over 100,000 MT of cassava per year into various products; 1) High Quality Cassava Flour Composite flour for noodle, bread, and biscuits) 2) Cassava Chips (animal feeds for poultry, fish & livestock and export for ethanol production),3) Cassava Starch (food-grade native starch),for local consumption and export to other countries

This will remove high cost of transport, high post-harvest losses and increased yields thereby improving the lives and incomes of female smallholder farmers, provide more non-farming job opportunities for the increasingly youth population, and increase the uptake of technologies by women in farming. Benefiting rural cassava women farmers,youth farmers(18- 24 years, adults,students and women with disabilities.The processor will be deployed in communities and on farms of women for use.

a)Track IVSC farmer performance records, operational and facility checklist, and annual reports Agricultural Entrepreneurs

b)Reports on IVSC Training checklist and Entrepreneurs records - 300,000 women using automated mobile cassava processing facility in cassava growing communities in 216 Districts of Ghana.

a)Track Facility Processing records and cassava products reports monthly and annually

b)Monitor IVSC Geographical and Market information Systems at IVSC stores and market-outlets - 500,000 cassava products processed and sold to guaranteed market for approximately 30,000 female farmers within our network by year five of operation.

a) Track & Monitor IVSC cassava app in google store and apple store, market-outlets and sales records monthly and operational reports

b)Monitor & Assess reports IVSC Technical and Financial monthly revenue records and annual audited accounts - 1,000,000 downloads of cassava app to purchase cassava products

The automated cassava mobile processor technology and cassava mobile app on smartphone for women farmers is first of its kind to be introduced in the Sub-Saharan Africa. This is located in communities of women farmers and on selected farms.Therefore, it has the potential to assist women farmers to add value to harvested cassava for a guaranteed market.

In addition, by using the IVSC Cassava Mobile app on smartphone, women
farmers can sell in advance and consumers buy cassava products

.

Based on IVSC cassava-field missions and farmer needs assessment, it shows that majority of harvested cassava undergo basic processing to meet demand for traditional foods such as ‘Agbelima’ (fermented cassava mash),‘Kokonte’ (dried & pounded cassava) and Gari.Our solution links women farmers directly to cassava processing facility within their communities with appropriate technologies on and off-the farm. This is tailored with appropriate agricultural technologies and machinery that incorporates women farmer specific needs and characteristics

Women farmers will access the facility either at designated place in the community or on a farm selected by them. It will run 10-12 hours daily, 7- days a week. A truck will be in standing-by to transport processed cassava to IVSC centralized factory. An out-grower network in each cassava growing community and IVSC nucleus farm will serve as source of constant supply of fresh cassava for processing.Farmers in the out-grower will not pay a fee for using the facility due to pooled procurement arrangement with them.

At scale, IVSC will generate revenue by processing cassava into 1) High Quality Cassava Flour (Composite flour for noodle, bread, and biscuits), 2) Cassava Chips (animal feeds for poultry, fish & livestock and export for ethanol production), 3) Cassava Starch (food-grade native starch) for local consumption and export. These products will go through branding and packaging, and selling directly to two major markets, domestic and international.Also, women farmers who are interested to only process their produce without selling are allowed to pay a fee as per tons of cassava and cassava products that required. 

Primarily, the following factors limit IVSC ability  to pilot and scale-up interventions for rural women access to appropriate technologies for cassava processing such as automated cassava mobile processor ;

• Lack of grants and investments from partners/organizations 
• Low  local production of appropriate agricultural technologies due to limited funds
• Lack of Digital Systems (automation, machine learning, control systems, imaging, sensor technology, big data etc.) on cassava cultivation and processing

http://reliefweb.int/report/ghana/supporting-women-helm-african-seed-companies

https://twitter.com/IVSC_GH

https://twitter.com/ITCnews/status/880712512013914112

‘’I have farm and cassava is my livelihood, it's what I know," says a Female smallholder farmer under IVSC out-grower network, at Larbi Community in the Awutu-Senya District. She adds "but it's a very tough business.”  She harvests and sells fresh cassava without processing into other products.She expresses “we cannot afford machinery to process and only use few varieties of cassava but hard toil is not always rewarded with hard profit”. For this reason, opportunities such as;match-making, access to funding opportunities and platform for IVSC to share experience will change the lives of women farmers.

Ministry of Food and Agriculture,Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Ghana , AGRA and WAAPP on cassava in Ghana, Cassava Platform Ghana, Farmer Based Organizations on Cassava,Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Soil Science Department of University of Ghana ,Department of Entrepreneurship of Ashesi University,Ghana

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