Root and Tuber Crops Conference & Trade Fair – A Focus on the Cassava Value Chain
Theme: “Innovative Promotion of Cassava value chain initiatives for Wealth, Food and Nutrition Security in Kenya
Self Help Africa, the Root and Tubers Crops Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and cooperatives, and KALRO in collaboration with other stakeholders plan to hold annual conferences on Roots and Tuber Crops value chains. This year’s conference will focus on the cassava value chain.
The Conference will create an opportunity to promote cassava as a critical value chain in increasing income, food and nutrition security among small holder farmers and Kenyans in general. Cassava, having been an orphaned crop for a long time; without well-developed value chain structures; and traditionally considered a low-value crop, has recently attracted the attention of many development agencies and government, whose collaboration with research institutions has not only exposed the health value in cassava, but also the crop’s suitability to moderately harsh climatic conditions making it a key food security crop for the Country. The crop’s potential to boost economic growth and food and income security for smallholder farmers cannot be over-emphasized. It is arguably the fourth most important source of carbohydrates for most rural and urban households after maize, wheat, and rice and is the most important source of industrial starch all over the world. It is through these facts, interactions and relationships that the need to commercialize the value chain by increasing and strengthening private sector participation takes priority; and calling for national awareness among the different actors and general public can be attained.
The general goal of the conference and Trade Fair is to increase knowledge and uphold innovative positive values and attitudes, about the economic, social, environmental and food & feed benefits of cassava and provide a platform for various cassava value chain stakeholders to share their experiences with one another for scale up.
Increase awareness, knowledge, and understanding on the different products and value of cassava, business opportunities in the value chain and different forms of cassava utilization;
Mobilize key actors to share and gain new intellectual, practical, and professional skills and interventions that have proved successful in strengthening the cassava value chain;
Share innovations and new technologies within and outside Kenya that inspire all actors for increased engagement along the value chain.
Thematic focus
Theme 1: Processing, Product Development & Market Access
Agro processing & Value addition
Flour Blending
Markets
Theme 2: Best practice Dissemination, Learning and Scaling up
Scalable Case studies
Evidence Based Research findings on cassava
Theme 3: Innovation & Technologies
Youth & ICT
Seed Systems
Mechanization (planting, uprooting, processing)
Register here https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1L2d8nustQ9f_pyHUVOY5Ujd72MWbV0wp2tgs87xyd08/edit