cassava processing Archives

NextGen Cassava project develops new gari product for consumers in Benue, Imo, and Osun states

Traditionally, the cassava mash used for gari production in Nigeria is left to ferment between 48 and 96 hours, depending on its quality. Thus, there is high variability in the sensory attributes and consumer acceptability of the gari Additionally, the fermentation process takes longer in some communities where highly sour gari is preferred, reducing the…

Biofortified cassava processed into gari.

Biofortified cassava: Researchers call for gender-responsive strategies to improve food and nutrition security and reduce poverty in Nigeria

Market demand is a key driver of the production of biofortified cassava for male adopters and farmers. However, for women, consumer acceptance, preference, and market coupled with the health benefits of biofortified cassava—mainly targeting children and pregnant women—are the motivation for adopting and processing. A study to identify gender-based constraints affecting the production, processing, and marketing activities of biofortified cassava in Oyo and Benue states has established this fact. The study carried out by researchers from IITA, Association of Uganda Professional Women in Agriculture and Environment (AUPWAE) Gender and Development…

PIDMA delivers technologies to farmers’ organizations for sustainable cassava and maize production in Cameroon

The IITA Cassava and Maize Breeding Units in Nigeria have developed multiple cassava and maize genotypes with improved yields, starch content, resistance/tolerance to major pests and diseases, and other characteristics that will satisfy industry requirements, such as improved nutritional content (e.g., higher provitamin A content). The deployment of these newly developed varieties into Cameroon required…

IITA builds six cassava processing factories in Liberia

The former President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, entrusted IITA with a project to build six processing factories in Liberia within two months. It was the end of her tenure and the close of the financial year, but Mrs Sirleaf wanted the factories built and commissioned before her retirement, as it was her brainchild. IITA…

Picture of the participants pose with the Station OIC Chris Okafor (center, wearing a cap) after the workshop.

CCPC operators in South Kivu, DR Congo, meet to chart action for steady progress

For two days, 9—10 May, managers of eight community cassava processing centers (CCPCs) in Kavumu, Katana, Mulamba, Bunyakiri 1, Bunyakiri 2, Kamanyola, and Luvungi as well as technicians in charge of production met at IITA Kalambo to take stock, exchange experiences, share knowledge, and articulate strategies on the way forward.

Picture of IITA/SARD-SC cassava processing center building at ZARI-Mansa.

IITA looks to spur cassava sector growth in Zambia as it hands over processing center to national partner

IITA, through its “Support to Agricultural Research for Development of Strategic Crops in Africa” (SARD-SC) project funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB), turned over a modern cassava processing center to its national partner, the Zambia Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI), on 12 April in Mansa, Luapula Province, some 800 km north of the capital Lusaka.

FMS refurbishes cassava processing centers and trains machine fabricators in DR Congo to reinforce its cassava value chain

IITA’s cassava processing center in Kalambo, DR Congo, now wears an improved look, thanks to the intervention by members of the IITA Facility Management Services (FMS).

Making large scale-cassava drying technologies work for small-scale processors

One of the greatest challenges facing smallholder farmers and small-scale entrepreneurs in processing cassava is drying. Many of them rely on sun-drying which limits processing during the rainy season as well as affects the overall quality. As a result they are not able to supply their produce to industries which need regular, all-year-round supply and…