创新背景

木薯耐旱抗贫瘠，是热带地区的第三大粮食作物，全球第六大粮食作物，广泛种植于非洲、美洲和亚洲等100余个国家或地区，被称为“淀粉之王”，是世界近六亿人的口粮，也是西非和东南亚等地小规模农村农民的主要收入来源。木薯具有粗生易长、容易栽培、高产和四季可收获等优良特性，但其产业和经济效益受到保质期的限制。木薯经采摘后的保质期仅二到三天，种植速度和效率受限于当地市场的出售速度，将其作为经济来源的农民投入和收获往往不成正比，难以提高收益。

创新过程

当今世界2000万木薯种植者中，75%是妇女，每天人均收入不到一美元。在全球范围内，每年记录会有9300万吨木薯因为保质期过短而腐败，能源损耗相当于2.35亿吨二氧化碳排放量。

创业公司CassVita根据木薯的优良特性和市场问题开发了一种新技术，致力于将木薯的保质期从短短几天延长到18个月。保质期的延长帮助种植木薯的农民能够拥有平衡的收益，帮助改变贫困农村的经济。

木薯不含麸质，无坚果、无谷物，与杏仁和椰子等其他小麦替代品相比，味道与小麦最相似。且木薯块根富含淀粉，是工业淀粉的重要原料和食用淀粉的重要组成部分。且木薯有助于改善葡萄糖耐量和控制血压，对食欲管理和抗癌症、治疗消肿疮疡和护肝抗氧化等具有积极影响，可以成为小麦的绝佳替代品。

CassVita在延长木薯保质期的同时研究将木薯加工为食用产品，如可用于糕点或其他烘焙食品用到的小麦粉替代品。为此，CassVita将木薯制作为一种非洲传统主食fufu。这原本是一种由捣碎的木薯制成的浓稠糊状物，常和汤一起食用。

木薯的保质期和捣碎过程在CassVita的创新技术下变得毫不费力，公司从农民手中购买木薯制成木薯粉以后，让fufu的制作时间大大缩短，5分钟就可以制作完成，且成品保质期在18个月内都得到充分保障。

创新关键点

将木薯制作成木薯粉，作为小麦的替代品之一，扩大木薯的利用范围并延长保质期。

创新价值

利用技术提高木薯粉的使用效能，帮助农民增加经济收益，为全球的粮食问题助力。

创新主体简介

CassVita由麻省理工学院的毕业的Pelkins Ajanoh 创立，关注木薯的问题，致力于开发技术提高木薯效能，为小麦提供更健康、更美味的替代品，同时为种植木薯的农民带来更好的经济收益。

Processing and production extend the shelf life to improve the efficiency of cassava use

Of the 20 million cassava growers in the world today, 75 per cent are women and earn less than a dollar a day per capita. Globally, 93 million tonnes of cassava are recorded each year rotting due to their short shelf life, with energy losses equivalent to 235 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

The start-up CassVita has developed a new technology based on the excellent characteristics and market problems of cassava, working to extend the shelf life of cassava from just a few days to 18 months. Extended shelf life has helped cassava farmers to have balanced returns, helping to transform the economies of poor rural areas.

Tapioca is gluten-free, nut-free, grain-free, and tastes most similar to wheat compared to other wheat substitutes such as almonds and coconuts. And cassava root is rich in starch, is an important raw material for industrial starch and an important part of edible starch. And cassava helps to improve glucose tolerance and control blood pressure, has a positive impact on appetite management and anti-cancer, treatment of swelling ulcers and liver protection antioxidants, etc., can become an excellent substitute for wheat.

CassVita is studying the processing of cassava into edible products, such as wheat flour substitutes for pastries or other baked goods, while extending cassava shelf life. To that end, CassVita makes cassava into a traditional African staple fufu. This was originally a thick paste made from mashed cassava and was often eaten with soup. The shelf life and mashing process of cassava has become effortless under CassVita's innovative technology, and after the company purchased cassava from farmers to make cassava flour, the production time of fufu was greatly shortened, it could be completed in 5 minutes, and the shelf life of the finished product was fully guaranteed within 18 months.