Cassava drying for animal feed

The different operations involved in the cassava drying process to produce chips for animal feed are indicated, namely weighing the fresh cassava, chipping, spreading out of chips, turning over of chips, recollection, storage, and marketing. The organization and management of a natural cassava drying plant are also described. Costs of construction and financing are also discussed. A 500-m(2) drying plant can operate approx. 20 wk. during the dry season of the yr, from Nov. to March, and process approx. 18 t of fresh cassava chips/wk. for an annual production of 135 t dry cassava. The price of raw materials should not exceed 80 percent of total processing costs. An increased market price of dry chips, at the same purchasing price for the fresh roots, would increase the profitability of the operation. Crop productivity should increase to maintain the price for raw materials low enough and increase the benefits received by cassava growers in the region. (CIAT