Background: A growing crisis in the Oti Region
Thousands of cassava farmers in the Oti Region are facing a troubling reality as processed cassava chips pile up in heaps with little demand. The distress stems from market dynamics, shifting buyer preferences, and cost pressures that make it harder for smallholder producers to convert a reliable harvest into usable income. In communities where cassava is a staple and a source of livelihood, this bottleneck threatens not only household budgets but broader rural resilience.
Why the chips are piling up
The chips, produced with peels intact and intended for various value chains, have reportedly fallen out of favor for cassava flour production due to quality and processing concerns. Some buyers argue that chips with peel residues require extra processing or recycling into other products, increasing handling costs. As a result, farmers who invested in drying and packaging find themselves with stock that is difficult to move. Limited access to buyers, weak price signals, and the absence of a robust local processing ecosystem compound the problem, leaving many producers stuck with inventory they cannot readily convert into cash.
Economic and social implications for farmers
The financial strain on cassava farmers in the Oti Region is mounting. When chips remain unsold, farmers face higher storage costs, potential spoilage, and reduced liquidity for the next planting season. The uncertainty also affects gender dynamics in farming households, savings behavior, and the ability to invest in inputs such as improved seed varieties and fertilizers. In communities where cassava is deeply integrated into daily life, this bottleneck can ripple through local food security, school feeding programs, and communal credit associations that rely on agricultural turnover.
What factors are constraining demand?
Several factors appear to shrink demand for dried cassava chips. First, the market for cassava-based products is competitive and fragmented, with buyers seeking standardized quality and consistent supply. Second, transportation and logistics friction at the regional level raise the effective cost of moving bulky dried produce from farms to processors or traders. Third, fluctuations in exchange rates and input costs can make processing less profitable, discouraging some buyers from expanding orders. Finally, limited access to reliable storage and drying facilities means some chips may deteriorate, lowering quality and buyer confidence.
Potential solutions and what’s next
Experts suggest a mix of immediate relief and long-term strategies to address the crunch. Short-term interventions could include establishing centralized drying and storage hubs to improve product uniformity, providing microcredit or product-safety certifications to reassure buyers, and creating coordinated market links between farmers and processors. In the longer term, developing a robust cassava value chain—integrating cassava flour mills, chips processors, and local traders—could stabilize demand, reduce post-harvest losses, and improve bargaining power for farmers. Public-sector support, private investment, and farmer-based organizations partnering on quality standards, branding, and collective marketing could turn the current challenge into a turning point for resilience.
What farmers can do now
Farmers facing this bottleneck might explore several practical steps: joining or forming farmer cooperatives to negotiate better terms, seeking training on quality control and post-harvest handling to maximize shelf life, and exploring alternative markets or product diversification such as animal feed or industrial starch applications. Stakeholders at district and regional levels can facilitate convenings between producers and potential buyers, assess infrastructure gaps, and advocate for policy incentives that unlock financing and market access.
Conclusion: A critical moment for the Oti cassava sector
The pile-up of dried cassava chips in the Oti Region is more than an immediate inventory issue; it highlights the fragility of informal agricultural markets and the urgent need for a coordinated approach to value-chain development. By combining enhanced storage facilities, better market linkages, and targeted investments, the region can transform a current hardship into a foundation for sustainable growth in cassava farming and related industries.
