Scaling Innovation: Development Marketplace & World Bank Collaborate in Nigeria

Now that I’ve introduced myself in my last blog, I want to tell you more about my DM2008 project called “Using cassava wastes to feed goats.” The project has created a new market linking cassava producers and goat keepers through the introduction of a simple drying technology that turns cassava waste into goat feed. As a result, the project is increasing farming incomes and reducing carbon dioxide wastes by eliminating the need to burn cassava waste.

Instead we are drying cassava wastes and using them to supplement goats’ diet to encourage daily weight gains among the goats. The project promotes a simple and profitable drying technology to add value to cassava wastes by turning them into a new product that mainly benefits vulnerable women processors and goat-keepers with dwindling access to forage.

To date the practices introduced by the project have been taken up and promoted statewide (126 locations) beyond the original twelve. And after only 18 months of implementation, more than 4,000 cassava processors are now engaged in the sale of cassava wastes to 860 goat-keepers. Transactions have spread from Ogun State to the neighboring Oyo and Lagos States.

Lastly, the Ogun State Office of the World Bank National Fadama Development Programme – Phase III project has begun to work closely with the project team to improve cassava processing facilities in 4 major locations in Ogun State, setting the stage for broader dissemination and scaling up in the near future.