Strengthening the cassava value chain in Colombia through co-innovation for sustainability and circularity.

This is a program financed by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation of Colombia. It is composed of 3 projects, articulated with each other, that seek to address the challenges identified in the industrial cassava production system, processing stages and access to markets. Project 1 works in a participatory approach with farmers to increase the yield of industrial cassava using registered cassava varieties adapted to the Caribbean region. It also includes integrated agronomic management strategies for soil conservation, agrobiodiversity, and disease management. Project 2 includes scaling up and field validation of the transformation processes. Strategies for the optimization of the use of by-products with circularity criteria for the animal feed industry, the transformation of flour for human and animal feed, and strategies for the dynamization of the value chain to influence public policies. Finally, project 3 includes the technical and economic validation of the use of national cassava starch and flour to produce biodegradable plastics and containers, in addition to an analysis of the circular economy of the materials.

SEI is participating in two work packages and is leading components related to: a) promote sustainability agreements for the value chain; b) monitor economic impact on job and income generation; c) enhance capacities for policy making focused on bioeconomy within local governments; d) research on market, technology watch and competitive intelligence for bioplastics.

Partners

• University of Cauca
• University of Córdoba
• CLAYUCA Corporation
• Areandina University Fundation
• Esenttia S.A.
• Canal del Dique-Compas Fundation
• Colombian Corporation for Agricultural Research (AGROSAVIA)