Philafrica Foods, a food processing company operating in Africa and based in South Africa, sees great potential in cassava processing and has expanded its operations accordingly.

The firm, which forms part of Afgri Group Holdings, has bought a controlling stake in The Dutch Agricultural & Trading Company’s (DADTCO) cassava processing business.

DADTCO holds innovative mobile technology to process the crop that will benefit small-scale African farmers. Philafrica wants to harness this technology, and DADTCO’s management experience, to increase the scale of cassava processing in sub-Saharan Africa.

Roland Decorvet, Philafrica Foods’ CEO, says the company’s vision to change the lives of millions of small-scale African farmers’ lives through the creation of market demand and large-scale food processing.

NEW PRODUCT

DADTCO has created a new product – Cassava Starch Flour – as a gluten free alternative to wheat flour and cornflour, which it hopes will grow along with the African middle class.

The crop also uses less water than maize and rice, and can be left underground for more than two years after maturity is reached, which reduces the need for storage facilities.

Philafrica intends to work with donors to make its technology available to as many small-scale farmers as possible.