CASSAVA OPPORTUNTIES IN NIGERIA - FAO.org

Secondly, a project sponsored by the Department
of International Development (DFID) – United
Kingdom and now the European Union (EU) with
NRI and the University of Agriculture Abeokuta
(UNAAB) on the commercialization of traditional
processed products from cassava, such as wet
fufu and dried fufu has proven to be a successful
initiative in South West Nigeria. This initiative has
the potential to offer new opportunities to rural
households – either through the sale of fresh roots
or through processing and marketing. Several
options exist for the commercialization of fufu,
including the production of a shelf-stable product.
At the rural level, processors have demonstrated
their ability to adopt low-tech, low cost
improvements to processing such as the
construction and use of water tanks and “double
fermentation”. A processing technology has also
been developed for village level production of
dried fufu flour using a simple drier that can
operate in areas with or without electricity.
The fabrication of user-friendly equipment for
cassava processing in Nigeria is also witnessing
renewed interest. Since 1970, the Federal
Institute of Industrial Research Osodi, FIIRO, has
provided a processing plant for the mechanization
of cassava gari. National, regional and private
fabricating centres have also demonstrated new
processing equipment such as mobile graters,
modified fryers, dryers and millers. Data on the
adoption rate of this equipment, however, remains
scarce.
As part of the IITA Cassava Mosaic Disease
(CMD) project, an initiative has been put forward
for the collection of needed data on processing
technologies and equipment. Benchmarks are
needed to measure the progress of the cassava
industry in the years to come. It is known that
small-scale operators using low level technologies
do process, but their needs, capacity or the
intended benefit from moving to higher levels of
technology are not known. This IITA CMD project
survey will hopefully answer these questions and
develop targets for future research and
development in cassava processing and
utilization. For example, technologies targeted to
peeling may have implications on breeding of new
cassava varieties.
15
An important initiative was started in September of
2003 when a meeting of manufactures of textiles
and producers of cassava starch was organized.
These types of dialogues are necessary and
strongly recommended. The position put forward
by the textile manufacturers was that corn starch
is better than cassava starch and since Nigeria
does not produce corn starch it should be allowed
to import it. The key constraints identified by the
textile representatives were the high moisture
content of cassava starch above 13 percent, poor
packaging, irregular supplies, high prices
compared to imported corn starch, and
unacceptable pH levels and values. The
response from the cassava starch manufacturers
was to suspect micro to small scale starch plants
for the low standards and low starch purity levels.
It was further explained, that the problems caused
by low quality standards could be easily solved by
patronage of medium to large starch plants. This
response by the starch manufacturers is less than
satisfactory and seems more like an attempt to
shift blame and obtain new business. Instead an
enquiry should have been suggested to determine
where the textile firms were purchasing their
cassava starch and what measures can be put in
place to guarantee the desired product and
delivery regardless of whether the supplier was a
small, medium or large cassava starch
manufacturer.
Other processing research initiatives currently
underway include developing a thin-skinned
cassava that would remain unpeeled, dried and
used in poultry animal feeds. By leaving the thin
skin on it increases the conversion rate but also
increases the fibre content of the feed 16 . Use of a
yellow cassava in poultry feed is also being
investigated as a positive contributor to making
yolks more yellow and higher in nutrition.
Finally although the new Federal Food Reserve
Scheme has earmarked the collection of gari from
various zones, implementation to date has been
poor.
16 In addition to this research, livestock feeding practices
should also be investigated to see if placing the water in
containers above the birds would lessen the caking of the
cassava flour around the bird’s beaks.