4
Box 1.2 Innovative Ways to Create Value Out of Agricultural
Byproducts
Cassava is the main crop in Africa on a wet weight basis, with Nigeria being
the world’s largest cassava-producing country
3
. Cassava peels make up 20%
of the whole root, but are discarded during processing. The peels amount to
nearly 40 million tons per year in Africa alone, giving cassava a bad name as
an environmental polluter with the mountains of waste around processing
centers. To create a business opportunity out of this undesirable byproduct,
the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture has developed high-quality
cassava peel (HQCP) feed ingredients from wet peels. This innovation enables
rapid water removal and accelerates the elimination of hydrocyanide. The
intermediate product (60% dry matter, up from 30% in fresh peels) is safe for
livestock to consume and stable for up to a week and can be sun-dried or heattoasted to a storable product (90% dry matter). This can be done any time of
the year in a small- and medium-scale setup or flash-dried in a more industrial
case (see http://bit.ly/2j7bRu3). Since three tons of fresh peels yield about one
ton of HQCP, Africa’s cassava peel waste could generate at least 12 million
tons of HQCP annually – equivalent in metabolizable energy (ME) to 8 million tons of maize thus spared for direct human consumption. In addition,
there is willingness to pay for HQCP; for example, when maize prices reached
$300, HQCP was being purchased for $150. This ratio holds for wide
price bands.
The huge value creation of this high-impact innovation provides an alternative source of feedstuff, protects the environment, and provides new income
sources to smallholders producing cassava. It has been supported by the
CGIAR Research Program (CRP) on Root Tubers and Bananas (RTB), and it
leverages the expertise of several private and public partners in Nigeria, such
as the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP),
Raw Material Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Bank of
Industry, and SingleSpark® from the Netherlands, makers of FeedCalculator®.
Source: Dr. Iheanacho Okike, International Institute of Tropical
Agriculture, (i.okike@cgiar.org)
3 http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home [verified on October 11
th , 2019].
The pace of change is increasing rapidly. While this shift can be cause for concern in traditional organizations, it also presents an opportunity – a bright outlook
for those bold enough to launch innovations that contest the status quo.
Innovation is the key to how an organization not just survives but thrives instead.
H. Campos
Box 1.2 Innovative Ways to Create Value Out of Agricultural
Byproducts
Cassava is the main crop in Africa on a wet weight basis, with Nigeria being
the world’s largest cassava-producing country
3
. Cassava peels make up 20%
of the whole root, but are discarded during processing. The peels amount to
nearly 40 million tons per year in Africa alone, giving cassava a bad name as
an environmental polluter with the mountains of waste around processing
centers. To create a business opportunity out of this undesirable byproduct,
the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture has developed high-quality
cassava peel (HQCP) feed ingredients from wet peels. This innovation enables
rapid water removal and accelerates the elimination of hydrocyanide. The
intermediate product (60% dry matter, up from 30% in fresh peels) is safe for
livestock to consume and stable for up to a week and can be sun-dried or heattoasted to a storable product (90% dry matter). This can be done any time of
the year in a small- and medium-scale setup or flash-dried in a more industrial
case (see http://bit.ly/2j7bRu3). Since three tons of fresh peels yield about one
ton of HQCP, Africa’s cassava peel waste could generate at least 12 million
tons of HQCP annually – equivalent in metabolizable energy (ME) to 8 million tons of maize thus spared for direct human consumption. In addition,
there is willingness to pay for HQCP; for example, when maize prices reached
$300, HQCP was being purchased for $150. This ratio holds for wide
price bands.
The huge value creation of this high-impact innovation provides an alternative source of feedstuff, protects the environment, and provides new income
sources to smallholders producing cassava. It has been supported by the
CGIAR Research Program (CRP) on Root Tubers and Bananas (RTB), and it
leverages the expertise of several private and public partners in Nigeria, such
as the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP),
Raw Material Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Bank of
Industry, and SingleSpark® from the Netherlands, makers of FeedCalculator®.
Source: Dr. Iheanacho Okike, International Institute of Tropical
Agriculture, (i.okike@cgiar.org)
3 http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home [verified on October 11
th , 2019].
The pace of change is increasing rapidly. While this shift can be cause for concern in traditional organizations, it also presents an opportunity – a bright outlook
for those bold enough to launch innovations that contest the status quo.
Innovation is the key to how an organization not just survives but thrives instead.
H. Campos