The fisheries department in Samfya has warned that
large scale processing of cassava for commercial purposes may pose a hazard to fish and other animals living in water.
The warning comes ahead of the launch of an integrated
cassava production and processing project by the government of Zambia and the Food
Agricultural Organisation (FAO) to commercialise the
cassava.
Speaking during a sensitisation workshop on integrated
cassava production and processing project for
stakeholders, Fisheries Research Officer, Bornwell
Semani said the current trend by farmers to use ponds and river
banks to ferment cassava to process it for food was not health.
Mr Semani said that these practices have been
found to be dangerous to water life especially fish
which has died from hydrogen cyanide released from
cassava.
He said a lot of fish has already died in fish ponds
due to hydrogen cyanide in Chibuye area where families
ferment cassava in ponds and along river banks.
He said unless other processing methods are devised
other than the use of rivers and ponds,the department of
fisheries foresees more serious destruction to fish
once the integrated cassava production and processing
project takes off next month.
Mr Semani said this is because farmers will start
processing cassava on a large scale for commercial
purposes, thereby increasing the amount of hydrogen
cyanide release into ponds and rivers.
The 1,081,000 United States Dollars integrated cassava
production and processing project is expected to be
launched by next month after Rome approves the
inception report for the project.
The integrated cassava production and processing
project will cover Serenje, Samfya and Mansa
districts.
Under the Technical Cooperation Partnership for
cassava production component of the project, FAO has
committed 331,000 United States Dollars while the
Italian government has given 750,000 United States
Dollars for processing and marketing of the crop.
