CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
- Background of the study
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) provided support to the Nigerian Cassava Multiplication Programme (CMP) in response to the need to develop and disseminate improved varieties of cassava planting materials resistant to the cassava mealy bug and mosaic disease that ravaged the cassava fields in the 1980s. Cassava production and productivity would increase significantly if improved varieties are widely used under good soil management but throughout the tropics, smallholder farmers grow cassava in areas with poorer soils using traditional methods of cultivation with susceptible varieties, which necessitates the use of high-yielding cassava varieties with resistance/tolerance to pests and diseases. The CMP ran from 1987 to 1997 and within the period, cassava yields increased from 7 tonnes/hectare to 12 tonnes/hectare, which contributed to the increase in national production from 10.6 million metric tonnes in 1987 to 33 million metric tonnes in 1997. While this intervention was largely successful in terms of increasing production, it enjoyed limited success in the area of processing, marketing and industrial utilization. The design of the Root and Tuber Expansion Programme (RTEP) became necessary in order to build on the gains of the CMP and address the pitfalls in the processing and marketing component of the programme, and in the process achieve a sustainable and organized movement of cassava products from production to consumption. As a food crop, cassava is grown in all the agro-ecological zones of Ghana (Graffham et al., 1998). Fresh cassava does not store well because of its high moisture content. Therefore cassava is usually processed traditionally to obtain different relatively shelf stable intermediate and final products for various food applications. These products include “gari”, a roasted fermented cassava meal, “agbelima” which is a fermented cassava mash and the dried cassava chips known as “kokonte” which is further processed into cassava flour. Tapioca is a minor product or by-product from cassava processing. For industrial use, cassava is processed to obtain starch. Nutritionally, cassava is a major source of dietary energy for low income consumers in many parts of tropical Africa including the major urban areas (Berry, 1993). One hundred grams of cassava roots contain 62.5g of water, 34.7g of starch, 1.2g of protein, 0.3g of fat, 33g of calcium and 36mg of vitamin C while 100g of the leaves on the other hand contain 80.5g of water, 9.6g of starch, 6.8g of protein, 1.3g of fat, 20.6g of calcium and 265mg of vitamin C (Nweke et al., 2002).
- STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is an important food crop in the tropics and is a major carbohydrate staple. According to FAO, cassava is the third most important source of calories in the tropics, after rice and corn (FAO, 2002). The use of cassava as a source of ethanol for fuel, energy in animal feed, and starch for industry is increasing (Kolawole and Agbetoye, 2007; Kehinde, 2006). As a food crop, cassava is grown in all the agro-ecological zones of Ghana (Graffham et al., 1998). Fresh cassava does not store well because of its high moisture content. Therefore cassava is usually processed traditionally to obtain different relatively shelf stable intermediate and final products for various food applications. These products include “gari”, a roasted fermented cassava meal, “agbelima” which is a fermented cassava mash and the dried cassava chips known as “kokonte” which is further processed into cassava flour. Tapioca is a minor product or by-product from cassava processing. For industrial use, cassava is processed to obtain starch. Village level agro-processing activities are responsible for the preservation and distribution of the bulk of Nigeria’s agricultural produce, playing a major role in the post-harvest food system. These activities constitute the main occupation of rural women (IFAD, 2007) who employ age-old traditional techniques in the processing of root and tuber crops. Traditional methods employed are simple and convenient for their scale of production. The equipment used for the traditional processes are cheaper compared to the requirements for modern high technology processes. However, these traditional technologies are low yielding, time consuming, labour intensive and give products of relatively low quality (Scott et al., 2002; Westby, 2002; Dziedzoave et al., 1999; Oduro and Clarke, 1999). It is in view of this that the study becomes pertinent.
This study is to investigate various techniques of method of producing and processing cassava in Nigeria and also considers the various stages ranging from planting of stem cutting to the harvesting and finally processing of the products. As there are many problems encountered by both rural and urban farmers in relation to the production processing and storage of both the products and the implements.
- Limited stem cutting i.e. Planting material
- Inadequate land due to land tenure systems
- Use of crude implements like cutlass, hoe etc
- Pest and disease
