Taraba residents turn to boiled cassava as grains prices rise

It was discovered that raw cassava of N500 can feed a family of five and many of the residents especially low-income earners have opted for cassava.

Cassava farmers are making money in Jalingo town as many of the residents have turned to eating boiled cassava as a result of soaring prices of foodstuffs.

Findings revealed that raw cassava is cheap in Jalingo compared to other foodstuffs.

It was discovered that raw cassava of N500 can feed a family of five and many of the residents especially low-income earners have opted for cassava.

At Tashan Lau vegetable market in Jalingo, raw cassava is one of the major foodstuffs being sold and traders are making brisk business.

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Similarly, at Palace Way and areas around Jalingo main market as well as Sabongari, Kasuwan Bera, Mile 6 market, among others areas in Jalingo, raw cassava is now an attractive foodstuffs and traders are making brisk business.

A resident, Mallam Yakubu Adamu, said raw cassava is very cheap and can be eaten after boiling with or without groundnut cake.

He said N500 worth of raw cassava when boiled can feed a family of four or five and you don’t need to add any other ingredients.

Another resident, John Simon, said rice, yam, maize and other foodstuffs are now very expensive and that was why most of the residents opted for cassava.

Findings revealed that the number of girls hawking boiled cassava in Jalingo town has increased, and the hawkers are getting patronage from residents.

Both men and women now sell cassava and most of them buy it directly from the farmers in villages around Jalingo to resell in the town.

A trader, Madam Bless, told Daily Trust on Sunday that they buy a cassava farm at the cost of N300,000 though the price depends on the seize of the farm, and from it they produce cassava flour but they sell the raw cassava because of high demand in the town.

She said last year, a 100kg bag of raw cassava was sold for N3,000 but this year it is being sold for N8,000.

Another trader, Bello Sani, corroborated that there is high demand for raw cassava because many residents cannot afford to buy maize or rice.

He said cassava in addition to being cheap can be eaten with or without groundnut cake.

According to him, boiled cassava was considered as food for the poor but now, even the rich eat it.

Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that cassava farmers are making money because of the demand for both raw and locally processed cassava.

A farmer, Alhaji Muhammed Haruna, said he has been farming cassava for the past 12 years but this year, he made more money from his cassava farms compared to previous years.

He said there was a year 100kg bag of dried cassava sold for N3000 but this year the same bag is sold at the rate of N23,000.

Haruna also revealed that last year 100kg bag of raw cassava was sold at N3,500 but this year the same bag costs N8,000.

He said apart from the demand by residents of Jalingo, middlemen from outside Taraba State are buying raw cassava in large quantity.