Support the project to train and engage 300 youths in cassava cultivation organised by the non-profit organisation Youth Project Africa!

In short

In the South-west region of Cameroon, cassava is one of the largest sources of food, and eaten daily. It is processed into many products like garri, water fufu and flour. Unfortunately, in Cameroon, the cassave sector is yet to be developed. About 88% of women and men in the rural areas cultivate cassave on a hand to mouth basis.

Youth Project Africa has developed a training program where we train these people to grow cassava with modern techniques, and processing the product into garri and high quality flour for both local consumption and commercial purposes. After the training these people will be able to grow and process cassava more efficiently and therefore make some money out of it to take care of their families.

A training program for one person can already be realised for 15 euros only!

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About cassava production in Cameroon

Cassava is the third-largest source of food carbohydrates in the tropics, after rice and maize. Cassava is a major staple food in the developing world, providing a basic diet for over half a billion people. It is one of the most drought-tolerant crops, capable of growing on marginal soils. Cassava products include garri, water fufu, flour, roasted tubers, boiled, porished and fried pieces of cassava.

About 95% of cassava produced from farms is processed into garri and flour. The process is however tedious and associated with a number of health issues for the farmers. The tubers are crushed manually with graters and dewatered by passing the product under wooden machinery powered with the hands.

Frying through local methods is a common cause of lung diseases (through the smoke), heart, eye and blood problems, because this often requires long hours of sitting very close to intense fires.

About the project

The goal of this project is to ensure that women, men and youths from the villages Nchang, B'Abang, Okoyong, Nchemba, Bachou-Ntai and Bachou Akagbe in the Mamfe division acquire knowledge of modern techniques in cultivating cassava and processing the product into garri and high quality flour for local consumption and also for commercial purposes. This goal will be achieved through the following objectives:

• To train 300 youths (men and women) for about 3 months

• To empower youths (men and women) in entrepreneurship through the knowledge they will acquire

• To get more youths to get involved in commercial agriculture. This will reduce unemployment rates and also serve as sources of income.

Expected results

The training will encourage youths to move from subsistence to commercial cassava production for income generation. This venture will lead to higher standards of living in this communities. Because cassava is a food crop that is mostly cultivated by women, giving them commercial farming skills will empower them. Trainees will equally receive knowledge on how to improve on the quality of garri and flour. By showing them how to reduce the moisture content of garri, they can cut down on the shelf life which makes garri rancid and susceptible to microbial contamination and infestation. The cyanide and the sand content will also reduce. During the processing of cassava to garri trees are cut down to form a traditional presser and if this is repeated every time (as is the case), deforestation and the destruction of the ecosystem will be the results. Some farmers also use insecticides and pesticides indiscriminately which kill important microorganisms and deposits residues into streams. These streams are the only source of drinking water in some communities. Trainees will receive lessons on better farming methods to avoid these problems

About Youth Project Africa

Youth Project Africa is a registered non-profit organization in Cameroon with the objectives to promote education and community development for the poor and underprivileged in Cameroon and Africa as a whole. YPA also acts as a mediator between companies and students/young professionals from the YPA Alumni Network. We are different from other non-profit organizations in the sense that we work with the grass root population to identify day-to-day problems, especially in rural and semi-urban areas. We are also constantly looking for volunteers to help with our projects in Cameroon. For more information about YPA, please visit our website youthprojectafrica.org or Facebook page facebook.com/youthprojectafrica