The processing house was inaugurated by the Governor of the Gaza province, Stella Zeca

7 June, Gaza- The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in partnership with the Government, funded by EU, inaugurated a Cassava processing small company with capacity to process 700 kg of cassava / day at Massingir district headquarters.

This initiative is part of the project "Improving the Cassava Value Chain in Gaza Province", which aims to stimulate micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to contribute to poverty reduction through income and employment opportunities in rural areas.
This small-scale private company will also process cassava from another 215 farmers in surrounding areas, thus helping to boost cassava production in the district.

The processing house was inaugurated by the Governor of the Gaza province, Stella Zeca, who during her speech called on the population to increase production of crops resistant to drought, such as cassava.

"Climate change has come to stay and we have to focus on resistant crops that tolerate water shortages. FAO has taken up the challenge of supporting the Government in increasing cassava production and processing, but also in multiplying cuttings. Today FAO has presented us with the results of this investment. We thank FAO on behalf of the people, "said the Governor.

"Our bet is to increase cassava consumption. If each of us starts to include cassava in the menu we will be helping our farmers to increase production more and more. Cassava is a safe food and contributes to the development of children and adults, "she concluded.

The Representative, Olman Serrano, said that "FAO will continue to support the Government of Mozambique in adopting increasingly resilient crops to climate change."

This initiative marks the culmination of the cassaca Value Chain Project in the Massingir and Mabalane Districts that began in June 2016.

In Massingir, the three-year project is benefiting 534 producers (384 women) organized in 6 associations and 8 individual producers. An initial (2017) 11.25 ha of cutting multiplication fields were established, from which 112,420 cuttings were cut and used for the creation of cassava fields.

At the moment the district has 62 ha planted. These fields are both for the production of cuttings for the planting of new areas, and for the production of cassava, which will be consumed fresh or processed.

18 ha were harvested that produced 214,470 kg of fresh cassava that was used for the consumption of families or for the processing and subsequent sale in fairs and markets.

The project acquired three mechanical processing units with capacity to process 700 kg of cassava / day and were distributed by an equal number of beneficiaries of the project.