The New Year will see the production of value-added products from cassava in the Caribbean region increase significantly, as five countries, including Jamaica, have been selected to be a part of an existing cassava project being led by the Government of Colombia.

In July of this year, a processing plant was opened in the community of Elim, North East St Elizabeth as part of a joint initiative with the Colombian Government and the University of the West Indies, Mona, to manufacture cassava flour, which was identified as the ideal substitute for imported wheat flour.

The first phase of the project, which started in 2012, was funded and led by the Presidential Agency for International Co-operation of Colombia (APC-Colombia), along with the Colombia-based Latin American and Caribbean Consortium to Support Cassava Research and Development (CLAYUCA) at the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), to provide new varieties of cassava and train the relevant technical personnel.

“What has happened since July was that all the efforts of Colombia have been concentrated in Jamaica, and Colombia donated the processing plant. But this year the European Union (EU) opened a call for proposals and the only ones allowed to present proposals were the international corporation agencies of any Latin American country, so the Colombian APC said let’s present one in cassava for the Caribbean,” Executive Director of CLAYUCA, Bernardo Ospina, told the Jamaica Observer in an interview last Thursday at the Embassy of Colombia in New Kingston.

He said that they explained the work done in Jamaica and pitched their proposal for expansion into other Caribbean countries, which was positively received by the EU.

“I am here because I have been this week telling the countries the good news. The countries are Barbados, Guyana, Suriname, Grenada and Jamaica. We really start in January 2017 and each country will have one plant like the one we established here and what will happen is that Jamaica will be used as a training ground for the other countries,” Ospina said.

He explained that he along with the Ambassador of the Republic of Colombia to Jamaica, Roberto Garcia Marquez, would also be attending a meeting with the relevant persons at the University of the West Indies, Mona, to chart the way forward for the phasing out of the project.

The executive director highlighted that building operations in Barbados are underway, but on his recent visit was pleasantly surprised to find that the island already had cassava flour as well as sweet potato flour on shelves. He noted that there were also other value-added products such as a branded cassava cake called ‘Carmeta’s Great Cake’ being sold.

“So this is an idea that is picking up in the region and it is very important because you guys in the Caribbean are spending five billion dollars a year importing and it’s probably increasing. The governments have already decided to make policies to include cassava, so I think we will see in the future more consumption of cassava, more production and more value added products,” Ospina stated.

But Ospina also pointed out that there was a problem with the flour and other cassava derived value added products being produced by Barbados, not in terms of quality, but that of cost.

The ambassador reasoned that this may have to do with the production costs, but he maintained that this should not be so, as the project is geared at providing locally produced flour for persons who are unable to afford much.

“As we understand, the St Elizabeth plant is producing good but on the basis of a request, so if they don’t have a request of course they do not produce and that’s the process. It’s a part of the learning curve but on the other hand, Bernardo…explained how we as governments have to deal with how to reduce the price of the final product because those products made by Barbados are so expensive,” Ambassador Garcia Marquez stated.

“I mean the commercial chain of production; I don’t know why it becomes so expensive. It’s five American dollars for one pound of cassava flour in Barbados, so when we do this programme, that’s not the way we want it because it is very expensive and that’s the goal of CLAYUCA and the Government of Colombia — to reduce prices in order to feed the population and especially those persons who don’t have it,” he continued.

Ospina also reiterated the importance of having affordable cassava flour available in rural areas for people with low incomes and explained that is the main task for them going ahead. He noted that there are other plans underway for Jamaica, as currently on the Elim site, there are Colombian agronomists who are helping to establish a ‘thoroughly irrigated’ pilot plot that will reduce the dependence on rain for irrigation.

Ospina said that it will also be used as a demonstration plot for farmers and will employ solar powered technology, with focus to be placed on fertilization efforts as well. This, he said, is just one of the ways they are trying to tackle the growing problem of climate change through the use of sustainable practices. He added that the plot should be finished by the end of the year, where it will then be planted with cassava.

The ambassador also said that Colombia were working on getting solar cells into Jamaica to provide the electricity the plant requires and turn it into a ‘green factory’. He added that they are trying to make contact with other embassies to get support for these types of projects.

“We’re proving that ideas like these can work, for example the European Union got attracted because they saw that this is inclusive participation, it’s regional and farmers will benefit and participate. It is a lot of hard work but it’s rewarding, so we are very excited,” Ospina stated.