PROGRAM

Working Groups

Tuesday and Wednesday - Nov. 24-25

Co-sponsors of Consultation Meeting

International Fund for International Development (IFAD) -- Rome, Italy Centro Intemacional de Agricultura. Tropical (CIAT)- Cali, Colombia

Organizing Committee

Reinhardt Howeler - CIAT Regional Cassava Office, Bangkok, Thailand. Charn Thiraporn. - Department of Agriculture (DOA), Bangkok Preecha Suriyaphan - Field Crops Research Institute, DOA, Bangkok

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A consultation of Asian cassava stakeholders was held in Bangkok from 23-25 November 1998, as part of an ongoing process to develop a broad-based global strategy for optimizing cassava's contributions to development. The meeting had the following objectives:

1. Providefeedback on the draft Global as well as regional cassava development strategies, and supplementary documents, from the perspective of the Asian region.

2. Formulate a set of priority issues, for the Asian region, that should be considered in the final formulation of the Strategy and its subsequent implementation.

3. Discuss the priority projects to be submitted to IFAD or other donors for financial support.

Participants represented national research programs, private industry, and universities from the seven most important cassava-growing countries of South and Southeast Asia: China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. In addition representatives from international R&D centers attended (CIAT, CIP, CIRAD, NRI).

The program involved five basic activities:

1. Country reports to provide a broad overview of the current cassava situation in each participating country.

2. Review of regional and global strategy reports.

1 BACKGROUND

2. FORUM FOR THE REGIONAL CONSULTATION

The Asia regional consultation was held at the Maruay Garden Hotel, Bangkok, 23-25 November 1998. The thirty-two participants included representatives of governmental and nongovernmental institutions, producer and processing organizations, the donors, the national and international research centers and the private sector. The list of participants is noted in Annex 1.

3. PLENARY PRESENTATIONS

3.1. Opening Remarks

Dr. Vijai Nopamornbodi, Deputy Director General, Department of Agriculture opened the meeting with a welcome to participants.

Dr. Reinhardt Howeler described the background of the Global Cassava Strategy, and the series of events and papers leading up to the current consultation. Objectives of the meeting were to:

1. Providefeedback on the draft Global as well as the Regional Cassava Development   Strategy and supplementary documents, from the perspective of the Asian region.

2. Formulate a set of priority issues, for the Asian region, that should be considered in the final formulation of the Strategy and its subsequent implementation.

3. Discuss priority projects to be submitted to IFAD or other donors for financial support.

3.2. Country Reports

The first half day of presentations consisted of country summaries from the seven major producing countries of the region: China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.²  Each country presented an overview of production, cassava use and trade, and the constraints and opportunities for further development of the crop.

In China cassava production is growing on marginal lands where rice cannot be cultivated. The main market growth is for industrial products - native or modified starch and their derivatives. On-farm animal feeding, mainly pigs, is important as a means of adding value to the crop. Constraints are: unstable markets, competition with other crops, soil fertility degradation and erosion. Guangxi Province in China, with the highest concentration of production, is already experiencing political and economic pressure to reduce the pollution from processing plants.

India produces cassava almost exclusively in the South. A research center (CTCRI) at Trivandrum works across a broad range of research activities. Intensive cultivation practices result in the world's highest mean yields for cassava, of 24.5 t/ha. Cassava is mainly used for human consumption (Kerala) or starch extraction (Tamil Nadu). Process and product development are seen as the principal research needs to bring additional benefits to the cassava sector.

Indonesia has a long history of cassava utilization as a staple food, especially where soil and climate conditions do not permit growing of rice, or in years of rice shortfalls. Nonetheless, cassava's role as food security crop is declining, with new interest in further diversification of products and markets. Most of the production is used internally, although there are significant exports of dry chips for animal feed and of starch. Indonesia is historically Asia's major producer, although overtaken by Thailand in the 1970s and 1980s. There is interest in expanding demand in the processed food industry, and for flour as a wheat substitute.

Cassava in Malaysia is used mainly for starch - three companies have been in business for over 40 years. Nonetheless, other crops, mainly rubber and oil palm, compete with cassava for land; as a result area planted has declined from a high of 20,000 hectares in 1976 to only about 2000 ha in 1996.³ High labor costs are also a major constraint for cassava, and there is a strong need to mechanize. While the government is promoting domestic production of agricultural products as a means of saving foreign currency, the competitiveness of cassava remains a concern, both in starch and animal feed markets.

In the Philippines the main market for cassava continues to be food uses (44%), followed by starch (3 8%) and animal feed (18%). Like in much of Asia, cassava occupies areas unsuited to rice, the preferred food. Future growth is expected to be mainly in the industrial sector. The research program at the Philippine Root Crops Research and Training Center has developed a range of production and processing technologies. Market development was defined as the highest priority area of research for the future.

The declining export market for pellets for animal feed is a broadly felt force in Thailand, and to a lesser degree in Indonesia. This has driven a search for new markets, mainly native and modified starch. In Thailand about 50% of production now goes to starch. Exports of starch rose at a rate of about 10% per year from 1974 to 1996. The domestic animal feed market has also been targeted as a means of absorbing production. One of the constraints is the high cost of imported protein required to balance diets for poultry, pigs or ruminants.

² Full reports or their summaries are available from the CIAT Bangkok office

4. WORKING GROUPS

4.1. Working Group Organization and Tasks

Participants organized into two working group sessions (Days 2 and 3 of the consultation). Both sessions were organized by country 4 . The first working group session concentrated on reviewing and reacting to issues raised in country reports, the re ional review, and the global strategy 9 paper.

⁴ Initially it was planned to organize the second working group session according to themes. However, participants felt that a session on project development on a country basis was a higher priority.

The following tasks were assigned to Session 1:

1. Provide corrections, additions or other comments regarding country reports, the regional review and the draft global cassava strategy;
2. Correct and complete a table prepared by Dr. Howeler, summarizing characteristics of cassava production and utilization in Asian countries;
3. Review and discuss the vision for cassava as defined by the draft strategy (as stated in Section 3.4);
4. Rank the relative importance of different roles or contributions that cassava makesfor each country, or for sub-regions within countries, vis-a-vis food security, equity, income generation, and environmental impact;
5. Identify and evaluate new cassava opportunities, describe what is required for development of the opportunity, identify limitations or barriers, and identify catalysts and champions for each market opportunity;
6. Rank the importance of various components within a cassava development strategy, for each country.
   

The second working group session (Day 3) focused on preliminary project planning, based on the analyses from the first session. Each working group chose a priority area around which to develop a draft proposal, such as might be later refined and submitted to IFAD or another donor.

4.2. Summary of Working Group Discussion: Session 1

4.2.1. Feedback on country reports, regional review and draft global strategy

There were few direct comments on improvements to be made to reports as presented. The Thai representatives suggested to eliminate the second sentence of the draft global strategy vision statement, such that the statement would read: Cassava can spur rural industrial development and raise incomes for producers, processors and traders.

The comprehensive, corrected table on characteristics of cassava production and utilization in Asia will be incorporated into the final version of the regional review. One participant offered to send comments at a later date on the regional review document.

4.2.2. Contribution of cassava to development goals

Table 1 summarizes each country's perceptions of the relative importance of cassava in contributing to development goals. There are some clear distinctions among countries, but also some common threads. Cassava's role in income generation is highlighted in all countries, although less important in a few sub-regions within countries. In contrast, cassava's role in food security is limited to a few specific areas, most importantly, Kerala (India), Java, the Philippines, and North Vietnam. Equity is most important in Indonesia, where cassava is a basic staple in some areas. Environmental issues are noted broadly across the region; however, the nature of these issues varies. Two issues were noted. Problems of soil erosion and loss of soil fertility are widespread, given cassava's cultivation generally on sloping soils. Pollution from processing, especially for starch extraction, is somewhat of a constraint everywhere, and especially in Guangxi province of China, in Tamil Nadu state of India, and on Sumatra Island of Indonesia.

4.2.3. Identification of opportunities

The various market opportunities, by country, are noted in Table 2. Since in this exercise, these were not ranked in terms of importance, most countries noted most of the categories of opportunities. The animal feed market is seen as an opportunity in every country - this in spite of the sharply declining export opportunities to Europe. The optimism with regard to this market is
based mainly on internal growth rates of consumption of meat and other animal products, and lack of internal capacity to produce sufficient grains. Starch and the wide range of starch products are growth markets throughout most of the region. The attention given to snack and ethnic foods is a recognition of the potential for niche markets where cassava or cassava starch has special advantages because of its starch or culinary characteristics. Flour substitution in bakery and other products is a good potential market in the Philippines and Indonesia, both of which import all their wheat. China and the Philippines noted the potential for producing alcohol from cassava (beverage industry).

4.2.4. Activities and conditions for realizing development opportunities.

Table 3 lists the assumptions or preconditions, and activities or products needed, in order to achieve successful development based on different cassava products. This table does not identify these with specific countries, but rather synthesizes regional commonalities. Working groups were more easily able to identify activities or products needed, than to identify the assumptions or pre-conditions. The integration among various public and private sector partners is noted. Appropriate varieties figure heavily in the needed technology, both to bring value-added traits to the marketplace (e.g., high starch), and to reduce production costs to make cassava competitive with alternative carbohydrate sources. Improved processing technologies are needed to create new, high quality products that can compete in increasingly more demanding markets. Several products involve processes that have potential to cause environmental pollution, and low-cost by-product recycling and pollution control technology are needed.

Given the multilingual composition of the working group participants, with few people having English as a first language, the concept of catalysts and champions was somewhat difficult to transmit fully. While the exercise was intended to separately identify catalysts and champions for each market opportunity, this was not possible. Annex 2 lists the details of each country's analysis of market opportunities. In Table 3, the identified catalysts and champions are combined for each market. On the whole, participants identified mainly the champions, and few catalysts. These include a range of public and private institutions and NGOs. Research institutes figure heavily as champions across all the markets, as well as industries specific to each market.

4.2.5. Ranking of components of strategies for meeting development goals.

Working groups for each country went through a two-part exercise to prioritize various components in a cassava-based development strategy: first, a rating from 1-5 (1 =not important; 5=highest priority); and secondly, a relative ranking of all components from highest to lowest. Table 4 summarizes the latter of these two approaches. Process and product development, and market development, stand out as clear high priority areas across the region (except China and India, where there are broad markets for cassava products, and Thailand, where process and product development is well advanced, and capacity for continued progress is in place. Varietal development, long a priority in the region, retains a high priority except in India and Malaysia.

It should be noted that nearly all the components were given an absolute rating of important or very important, so even those that are ranked last in the relative ranking are not considered unimportant in the region.

4.3. Summary of Working Group Discussion: Session 2.

The working documents for project development are appended as Annex 3. The following summarizes the goals and outputs of the projects proposed by each country.

China (Guangxi Province)
Title: Controlling pollution from small and medium-scale cassava starch factories in southern China.
Goal: Improved water quality for aquatic life and human uses
Outputs:
1. Modified technology from factories using other starch sources
2. Cleaner water for environmental safety and recycling
3. Demonstration model for other regions

India
Title: Integrated production, processing and marketing system for cassava
Goals:
1. Improving income and food security
2. Protecting the environtrient
3. generating rural employment
Outputs:
1. Local utilization of production
2. Stabilization of price and market opportunity
3. Employment generation
4. Improved income for marginal farmers
5. Improved food security
6. Protection of the environment

Indonesia
Title: Cassava flour utilization in small-scale industries
Goals:
1 . Increasing demand for cassava flour
2. Increasing food security through food diversification
Outputs:
1 . Food products development (wheat flour substitution; new products; improved traditional products; characterization
2. Market development (feasibility studies - economic and consumer preference)
3. Small-scale business development (flour mill factories; equipment development)

Malaysia
Title: Processing and drying of cassava for animal feed
Goal: Substitution of imported maize with locally produced cassava
Outputs:
1. Practical and efficient system to process and dry cassava, and incorporate into animal feed
2. A competitive form of cassava-based feed as a partial substitute of maize

Philippines
Title: Development of high-value products from cassava
Goal: Expanding the cassava industry in the Philippines
Outputs:
I . High quality starch produced at the village level
2. Sustainable alcohol production
3. Utilization of cassava for HFGS
4. Integrated system involving production, feed mills and livestock

Thailand
Title: Market development for cassava products
Goal: To encourage the demand of domestic and foreign consumption of cassava
Outputs:
1. New flour and starch-based products for domestic use in human consumption
2. Modified starches for industrial use
3. Products competitive in the animal feed industry

Vietnam
Title: Integrating cassava production based on improvement of small-scale cassava processing in the south of Vietnam
Goal: Generate additional income for cassava growers
Outputs:
1 . Improved on-farm processing systems
2. Rural development through increased farm income
3. Linkages developed among producers, processors, traders and consumers to improve system efficiency and product quality.

5. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

A broad range of stakeholders from the Asian cassava sector affirmed the importance of cassava in the region as a vehicle for development, through income generation and for achieving greater equity among income groups. In specific regions it remains a food security crop, though its importance as such is declining. Enviromnental impact is a concern both from the production (soil conservation; fertility maintenance) and processing (starch factory wastes) sides.

Since income generation is the main development goal, the identification of market opportunities is a central element of defining future potential. Across the region, the principal current and future market opportunities are seen as: native and modified starch, value-added processes to derive a wide range of domestic and industrial products from starch, snack and ethnic foods (specialty and niche markets), flour, and animal feed.

Successful development of these markets depends on a combination of improved production technology that reduces unit production costs and has low environmental impact, improved efficiencies in processing, and market development. This will necessarily involve a wide range of players, including public R&D institutions, universities, and the private sector.

In general the public sector has covered development of production technology, and the private sector the processing technology and marketing. New varieties with high yield and high starch are having substantial impact in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and China. Soil erosion control methods are being developed with a strong component of farmer participation. Methods for reducing and recycling wastes from starch factories are gradually being implemented.

Given the low levels of funding traditionally dedicated to cassava research, and minimal involvement of the private sector, maximum efficiency in use of resources is needed. Regional representatives ranked process and product development, market development, and varietal development as highest priorities for meeting development goals.

Stakeholders noted that as agricultural production and trade become increasingly a part of a global free market system, regional coordination to achieve greater efficiency and competitiveness is ever more important. The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) has spearheaded network coordination for almost two decades. Obtaining a combination of public and private support for a continuation of this coordination is a clear future priority.
Table 1. Relative importance of cassava in contributing to development goals.

Table 2. Identification of market opportunities.

⁵ This category was added by some working groups, but not considered by others.

Table 3. Summary of research activities or conditions required to realize development opportunities.

Table 4. Relative ranking, by country, of components of cassava-based strategies for meeting development goals.

Annex. 1. List of Participants, Asian Cassava Stakeholders Consultation Meeting, Bangkok, Thailand, Nov 23-25,1998

Annex 2. Identification and evaluation of new cassava opportunities.

Thailand

Vietnam

China

India

Indonesia

Philippines

Malaysia

Annex 3. Working documents on project development.