DADTCO (Dutch Agriculture Development & Trading Company B.V.)

DADTCO is a social enterprise pursuing poverty alleviation with entrepreneurial zeal, business methods and the courage to innovate and to prevent soil depletion. They process cassava roots in a mobile factory called an AMPU (Autonomous Mobile Processing Unit) into a new non-perishable product (cassava cake) with which a whole new market has been developed. Cassava is solely grown by small scale farmers and with this innovation the small holder farmers are guaranteed of a market for their cassava. As a root cassava is very perishable, it will deteriorate within 48hr after harvesting. DADTCO developed a patented processing technology that allows processing cassava roots in the field near the farmer. Cassava cake is far more compact than cassava roots, its transport is three times more efficient than roots. Cassava cake can is a raw material for beer, flour, starch and glucose. The AMPU created the bridge between thousands of small scale farmers in Africa and the large scale processing industry.