Cassava as animal feed in Ghana: past, present and future

Abstract

The study on the use of cassava as animal feed in Ghana was commissioned as part of FAO’s initiative supporting poverty reduction in northern part of the country. Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is one of the main staple food crops grown by almost all farming families in Ghana, contributing to large proportion of daily calorie intake of the population. It is used to prepare fufu, the local popular dish, and considered as the poor man’s food. Ghana is the fourth largest cassava grower in Africa, afte r Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola. In 2010, Ghana produced 13.5 million tons of cassava. Available information suggests that, cassava is cultivated by over 90 percent of the farming population and contributes to 22 percent to the agricultural GDP, making it the right target for the fight against poverty in the country. The multi-purpose use of cassava as food for humans and animals, making various industrial products, including its use as input for breweries, attracted many pr ojects and programmes working on its value chain in Ghana. These projects, particularly the IFAD funded Root and Tuber Improvement Programme, introduced improved varieties for better yield, reduced post-harvest losses, improved agro-processing and better access to markets, etc. The various interventions enhanced production and marketing of cassava in the country improving income of producers and other actors involved in the value chain and generating more employment for women and youth, contribu ting in this way to poverty reduction. FAO, with its comparative advantage of promoting agricultural and food production and rural development, is supporting poverty reduction initiatives in Ghana. In particular, FAO through its Strategic Objective three is implementing an initiative targeting reduction of rural poverty in Northern Ghana.