Cassava Peels for Animal Feed

In promotion of more circular food business models, Bopinc, MVO Nederland and NFP made an assessment of viable avenues. In support of this effort, a tool was developed that helps to identify high-potential waste streams, the impact of particular solutions and building blocks for the development of business cases for those solutions. 

Cassava Peels in Nigeria

One of the most promising solution appeared to be the valorisation of cassava peels into animal feed in Nigeria, especially due to the country's status as the world’s largest cassava producer. Cassava peels, a major agricultural byproduct, are abundant and often discarded contributing to negative environmental consequences. Utilizing them for animal feed addresses waste management challenges, reduces costly imports, and supports Nigeria’s growing livestock sector. Moreover, it presents opportunities for entrepreneurs that want to set up a business around this solution or combine it with an existing business (e.g. cassava processing). 

Development of the Business Model

A joint team of Bopinc and the CEIP further explored the opportunity by talking to experts and practitioners in Nigeria. From seasoned experts from ILRI, to cassava processors such as Promise Point and Asanita, equipment producers such as Quadropack and product offtakers such as OLAM. To better understand the targeted segments, the demand, the context and the business case behind the model. The result is a blueprint of a business model that outlines options for both centralised and decentralised processing of peels and can be found here. 

Next Steps

The big challenge now will be to validate this model in 'the real world'. Therefore, NFP is currently supporting the establishment of a partnership of actors across the value chain (producers, processors and feed companies) and the system (academia, service providers and government) to test this model and make processing of cassava peels for animal feed common practice. Not only in Nigeria, but also across the region.