Support from The Rockefeller Foundation, in close partnership with the African Development Bank and AGRA, will enable processors to integrate smallholder farmers in their supply chain.
IDH, The Sustainable Trade Initiative, is pleased to announce receipt of a $2,000,000 grant from The Rockefeller Foundation to the IDH Cassava Initiative, to go towards industrializing the cassava value chain in Nigeria. The purpose of the grant is to support six to eight industrial cassava processors to integrate smallholder cassava farmers into their supply chain. The farmers will be a secure source of supply and in turn they benefit from a consistent and reliable market, access to training and connection to inputs and financing.
Cassava — a woody shrub cultivated for its edible, starchy, tuberous root — is a major staple in Nigeria, the world’s largest producer of the crop. Drought tolerant and carbohydrate rich, cassava is a lifeline to the country’s 30 million smallholder farmers. But the root’s exceptionally short shelf-life means that more than 40% of this yield is lost before it is processed. It is IDH’s goal to reduce that loss to 20% by 2020 — and help turn a wasted crop into economic gain for the local farmers. Read more