Flour production is a very delicate activity especially from crops of high humidity content like plantain, cassava and sweet potatoes. Accurate timing gives best results in flour quantity and quality. To obtain best quantity and quality of dry matter, the following conditions should be respected:
- Maturity
- Cassava: maturity is between 11 and 13 months.
- Plantain: maturity is within 3 months from the date of flowering.
- Sweet potatoes: maturity is between 3 and 4 months.
- Post-Harvest
Post-harvest losses in Cameroon are estimated on average at 35% of expected production in the various production areas. Crop losses in 2019 assessment amounted up to 5, 133,221tons. To reduce post-harvest losses from 35% to 5% by 2030, PROFALCAM plan to:
- Structure markets: Members specialize in activities to meet internal demand at pre-established prices already accepted by all stakeholders.
- Stabilize the fair prices for the purchase of raw materials from producers;
- Reduce the hardship of post-harvest work;
- Facilitate sales, purchases and transport of raw materials through upstream contracting;
- Facilitate access to processing equipment and technological innovations;
- Facilitate the reduction of moisture levels in raw materials through the following ways
- Dewatering Processing ( 1stlevel Processing)
- Cassava – within 24 hours
- Potatoes – 48 hours
- Plantain – before the commencement of Ripening (3 -5 days)
- Drying Process (2nd level Processing)
- All crops with high humidity content.
- Best within 3 days.
- Milling and Packaging
- After drying to bring humidity content to 12%
- Best within 7 days.
The adoption of these three separate delocalized processing techniq
ues is an out of the box solution to the challenge related to bad farm to market roads; res
pect basic delays practices in flour processing; production volu
me; equipment and energy supply; availability and the capacity of promoters to purchase and inst
all the adaptable equipment in villages and council areas.
Apart from the technical reasons, policy reas
ons have also been considered in the lo
cations of the milling and packaging production units. These consi
derations include:
- Stabilization of the price of flour for a long time.
- Ensuring the quality of the flour, respecting all production and packaging norms.
- Ensuring that there is no fluctuation of prices between the different regions.
- Maintaining the use of flour of crops grown and consumed in the region.
PROCESSING STRATEGIES
- Dewatering Processing (First level Processing – Village Level)
This is done in the villages of production so that only wet cake of about 50% of the original weight of produce is taken to a central drying unit in a council area.
- A village may have one or more dewatering processing units.
- The promoter may be a medium size agro entrepreneur and some youth processors.
- The promoter must be a member of PROFALCAM.
- The suppliers of the raw material may or may not be members of PROFALCAM.
- The raw material must be purchased at the same rate agreed for PROFALCAM members.
- Drying Processing Unit (Second Level Processing at Council area)
- Drying units receive wet cake from several villages on well designed schedules at price already established.
- A production basin/council area may have one or more drying units. The promoter(s) of the Drying unit(s) must be member(s) of PROFALCAM carrying out their personal businesses.
- Regional Community Flour Milling and Packaging Units
There will be a minimum two per Region in locations chosen by promoters (members of PROFALCAM) of the Region. These units are properties of PROFALCAM. The promoters of the drying units deliver the dry products of approximately 12% moisture content to the regional packing units at an agreed price per kilogram.
Each packaging unit has a laboratory and strictly adheres to production standards. The purchase, production and marketing costs are the full responsibility of PROFALCAM, which sets the selling prices per kg.