Eastern Croft Limited is an agro business company engaging in the business of Agriculture. Presently, we own and manage several farms, help agriculture enthusiasts in their farm set up, Farmland/Farm Machinery Lease and Purchase. We also engage in the processing of Cassava into starch and Garri and also help bridge the gap between small-holder farmers and food companies in Western Africa. Our added value lies in our vast contact and relationships with the local farmers and the major off takers which makes it possible for small holder farmers to have guaranteed markets for their products.
Cassava (Manihot esculenta), a major staple crop, is the main source of calories for 500 million people across the globe. A perennial woody shrub native to Latin America, cassava is primarily grown as an annual crop in the humid tropics. A cash crop as well as a subsistence crop, cassava’s large edible starchy roots are a source of low-cost carbohydrates for millions Cassava end products range from fresh roots cooked, boiled, baked or fried at the household level, to highly processed starch as a food additive. Characteristics such as low input requirements, resistance to drought, ability to grow in marginal soils and long-term storability of the roots in the ground, make cassava a truly resilient crop for food security. Studies indicate cassava stands to be the only staple crop that stands to benefit from climate change. As more land is rendered unusable due to changing temperature and rainfall patterns, cassava looks to gain importance as a staple around the globe
Cassava is important for food security in Africa
No other continent depends on cassava to feed as many people as does Africa, where 500 million people consume it daily. Africa’s small farmers produce more than half of the world’s cassava, or about 86 million tons from over 10 million hectares. On the continent, where 40% of the population consumes cassava as a staple crop, cassava is the second most important staple crop after maize. Cassava is indispensable to food security in Africa. It is a widely preferred and consumed staple, as well as a hardy crop that can be stored in the ground as a fall-back source of food that can save lives in times of famine. Despite the importance of cassava for food security on the African continent, it has received relatively little research and development attention compared to other staples such as wheat, rice and maize. The key to unlocking the full potential of cassava lies largely in bringing cassava breeding into the 21st century.
Maize
Maize is the second most cultivated crop in Nigeria in terms of area harvested (5.8million Ha, second to Cassava’s 7.1
million Ha, FAOSTAT, 2014). Nigeria is the second largest maize producer in Africa, after South Africa, with an
estimated 10.79 million MT produced in 2014
(FAOSTAT, 2014). Despite its high production
volumes, Nigeria’s average maize yield of 1.8
MT/Ha (FAOSTAT, 2014) is one of the lowest
among the top 10 maize producers in Africa. It
lags behind countries such as Egypt and South
Africa where the yields are 7.7MT/Ha and
5.3MT/Ha respectively (FAOSTAT, 2014). Simply
by addressing this low yield issue, Nigeria could
become the largest maize producer in Africa and
one of the largest producers in the world without
increasing the area currently used for its
cultivation.
Yam
Yams are starchy staples in the form of large tubers produced by annual and perennial vines grown in Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean, South Pacific and Asia. There are hundreds of wild and domesticated Dioscorea species. White Guinea yam, D. rotundata, is the most important species especially in the dominant yam production zone in West and Central Africa. It is indigenous to West Africa, as is the Yellow yam, D. cayenensis. Water yam, D. alata, the second most cultivated species, originated from Asia and is the most widely distributed species in the world.
Mobile Technology
We have plans to partner with DADTCO Philafrica whose patented innovative mobile processing technology has changed the way cassava is perceived, grown and processed in Africa. The technology will help us process fresh cassava on-farm or nearby, instead of transporting the perishable roots over long distances to a central factory. The mobile concept essentially overcomes main obstacles to the commercialization of cassava across Africa: the transportation of roots with high water content and bulky irregular shape and the rapid perishability of the root once harvested. This mobile technology results in zero waste as 100% of the cassava root is utilized.
It is our conviction that agricultural development only takes place when farmers have access to guaranteed markets for their products. We source cassava from thousands of smallholder farmers and partner with agricultural organizations to improve farmers best practices, facilitate agricultural inputs and ensure sustainable farming practices are communicated. A sustainable future for smallholder farmers guarantees a sustainable source of cassava for Eastern Croft LTD
