Twickenham Bammy Industries has benefited from a $2.7 million expansion project, which is expected to boost the company's production capacity and satisfying the growing demand for cassava products.

Manager of the Social Services and Home Economics Unit at the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Lorna Gooden, told JIS News that in addition, the organisation has acquired some six new stoves at a cost of approximately $60,000.00.

According to Mrs. Gooden, Twickenham Bammy Industries, which was established at Twickenham Park, near Spanish Town in St. Catherine, by RADA in 2004, has revolutionised the bammy industry with its wide array of cassava products, and as such, other companies, impressed by their products, followed suit.

RevolutioniSed industry

"Twickenham Industries has revolutionised the bammy industry with its wide assortment of bammies, the different sizes and flavours. People saw what we had done, liked what we had done, and fashioned their businesses based on what they had seen," she elaborated.

"As a result of this, we have to keep ourselves relevant on the market and this expansion and acquisition will do this, as it is expected to increase our production capacity. It will also make life more comfortable for the production workers. We have the demand for bammy and so we have to make sure that we are able to occupy as large a market share as possible," she added.

To ensure that the organisation remained competitive and viable, Mrs. Gooden told JIS News that the organisation was also seeking to improve its packaging methods to increase the shelf life of its bammies.

Packaging improvement

"We are looking into improving our method of packaging ... we are improving on that for a specific market, and a specific client who wants a bammy with an extended shelf life," she said.

"We want to package bammy that when you put it with other products, it doesn't have to go into cold storage. So, we are currently exploring that with a company that has a wide range of products abroad, so that we can have all the products together," she added.

Located on the campus of the Farmers Training Centre at Twickenham Park, Twickenham Bammy Industries currently provides employment for 25 men and women.

They produce a wide variety of products from cassava, such as bammies, pancake mix, gari, and cassava flour for the local and export markets. They also make pancake syrups made from fruits, such as guava, mango, othaheite apple, jackfruit and pineapple.