CASSAVA ENTERPRISE
Cassava
food products are the most important staples of rural and urban households in
Nigeria. Current estimates shows that the dietary calorie equivalent of per
capital consumption of cassava in the country amounts to be about 238kcal.
This
is derived from the consumption of garri (toasted granules), chips / flour
fermented pastes and / or fresh roots, the principal of cassava food forms.
INDUSTRIAL UTILIZATION
OF CASSAVA ROOT
Processing
of agricultural products in Nigeria is as old as farming itself. In Nigeria,
traditional foods processed at homes or in small scale cottage operations constitute
the principal mode of utilization of cassava. Commercial livestock producers are
fast adopting the use of cassava processed by- products in livestock feeds
which appreciates the great potential in feed formulations. Cassava is also
useful in several others industries, such as baking and brewing but the
domestic consumption of cassava product, has resulted in a limited availability
of cassava products for industrial use.
Women
are the most responsible for processing agricultural commodities and marketing
of cassava produce. They assist their husbands in marketing by buying the
cassava produce from their husbands and market it at a profit. At times, they
buy cassava in the soil, harvest, process and market it.
Small
scale cassava processing is the demand of women although most of the mechanized
equipments (graters and grinders) are owned and operated by men. It is
necessary to ensure that the shift from manual to mechanical processing does
not put them in a disadvantaged position.
INTERVENTIONS
- Changes in
food market developments
There
is a strong demand for cheap food, especially cassava products within Nigeria.
Since 1980s, real producers price have increased as a consequence of devaluation
of the Naira abolition of the commodity boards and import restrictions on
selected food stuffs and animal feed. As a result, consumers have shifted from
expensive foods such as meat, eggs, bread and rice towards locally produced staples
such as cassava, yam, sorghum e.tc
- Marketing
of Cassava
The
marketing system for Cassava is characterized by fluctuations in supply. The
laws of demand and supply determine produce price. To forestall early deterioration
and also due to its bulky nature, cassava is traded in some processed form
generally garri or cheap / flour.
POTENTIALITIES OF
CASSAVA PRODUCTS
- Fresh
cassava root.
In
some part of the north, raw roots of sweet types of cassava are eaten as snacks
(rogo), otherwise most harvested roots are processed. Marketing of these fresh
cassava roots is directly related to a number of factors, due to their
bulkiness, weight and high perishability fresh cassava roots cannot be
transported over a long distance.
- Dry Cassava
Chips
Traditionally
cassava chips are the intermediate products in one of the pathways of flour
production. Currently cassava chips are being industrially converted to alcohol
in one of Nigerian foremost alcohol manufacturing companies - The Nigeria yeast
companions manufacturing company (NIYAMCO) consuming 24 tonnes of cassava chips
daily.
- Cassava
Flour
The
use of cassava flour as a raw material for the bakery, biscuit and pastery
industries.
- Cassava Starch
Cassava
starch is produced by soaking peeled cassava in water to separate the starch
from the fibre and this is used to produce what we know as industrial starch
commonly used in laundry business.
Food
you can make from cassava products: Fufu, Garri, Abacha, Bread e.t.c
CASSAVA FLOUR
PRODUCTION IN NIGERIA
There
are two methods of making cassava flour from cassava tuber, which is a root
crop.
·
Processing
cassava tuber crop to making cassava flour mechanically.
·
Processing cassava tuber crop to making cassava flour
locally. (we
will only be discussing about the local method due to our targeted audience
because it is the only cheap method for a start-up farmer )
High
Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF) is made by cooking, drying and grinding cassava
root to a fine powder. It is differ from Tapioca in that Tapioca flour is made
from the starch of the cassava plant where the cassava flour is the ground nut.
Cassava flour is used
as substitutes for wheat flour in bakery and confectionary produces.
The
demand for High Quality cassava flour in Nigeria is high. The driving force behind
the demand is the Federal Government policy on cassava in flour inclusion in
wheat flour for cassava wheat composite flour production especially for bread
and confectionary baking.
The
annual National demand for high Quality Cassava Flour (HACF) is estimated at
750,000 tonnes while the National supply estimated is about 50,00 tonnes.
High
Quality Cassava Flour is also used in the paper board and plywood industries.
The
major machinery and equipment for production of cassava are
- Granulater
- Flash
fryer
- Hydraulic
press
- Detoxifier
- Vibro
sieve
- Hammer
mill grater
- Hammer
mill with cycline
- Packaging
machine
- Weighing
machine
THE LOCAL METHOD OF
MAKING CASSAVA FLOUR
Steps
of processing cassava flour locally:
·
Purchase
or harvest of cassava tuber crop: Cassava tuber for
processing cassava flour can be purchased from cassava farmers or from your
cultivated farmland after 6 -12 months of planting.
·
Peeling
of cassava tuber crop and cutting of woody parts:
Immediately after the cassava to use for the processing has been purchased it
is necessary for them to be peeled. The process of peeling cassava is mostly
done with the aid of knife locally.
·
Thorough
washing: After the process of peeling has been carried out
with the ridding of wood and unwanted parts from the cassava the next step is
to wash thoroughly to rid dirt like sand and other foreign materials that may
interfere with the smooth local processing and impair the palatability of the
end product.
·
Soaking:
Soaking
is the next step to put in place immediately after thorough washing of the
peeled cassava tuber crop.
Ø Get
an air tight container depending on the quantity of the available crop to be
processed.
Ø Wash
the container thoroughly to rid foreign materials and dirt.
Ø Fill
the washed container with the peeled cassava tuber crop.
Ø Fill
the container with water till it rises above the level of the peeled cassava.
Ø Cover
the container to prevent the interference of air to establish effective
fermentation process which takes place within three to five days.
After three to five days, the cassava
mass would have start becoming pulp.
·
Pressing:
Pressing
is the next step to carry out after the soaked peeled cassava is almost turning
pulp. Pressing can be carried out locally (stones) and mechanically (cassava
draining machine).
Ø Get
a good draining sack and wash effectively to rid foreign contaminants
Ø Get
the soak peeled cassava out of the fermentation system, transfer them directly
into the washed draining sack and hold the exterior of the sack tightly with
any strong material capable of withstanding any applied force on the draining
process.
Ø Implement
the draining activity with the aid of cassava draining machine for quick
result.
Ø Press
and drain the mass to the best minimum moisture content.
·
Drying:
Drying
is carried out in the process of cassava flour production to finalize the work
done by the pressing process. It reduces the moisture content of the mass to a
satisfactory level to enable smooth, easy and quick sieving.
It
is divided into two
o
Sun drying: it is the act of spreading
mass in the sun to reduce their moisture content to the best possible minimum
level. This method is commonly used in Africa by small scale cassava flour
producers.
o
Artificial drying: It is the act of
reducing the moisture content of a material mechanically. Materials are passed
into hot steamed plant to reduce their moisture content to the best possible
minimum level. It is mostly used by large scale cassava flour producers.
Ø Get
the pressed and drained cassava pulp out of the sack and prepare it for drying.
·
Sieving:
This
is the final step to obtain cassava flour. After the drying of the pressed and
drained cassava pulp to the best minimum level, there is a need to separate the
chaffs in the product obtained after the drying process to obtain cassava
flour. The process of sieving is carried out with sieve. Sieve comes in any structure, wood, metal, plastic etc.
Get a sieve of either 2mm or 1.5mm and two
containers for the sieving activity. The first container is where the chaffs
that has been separated from the sieving mass will be placed and the second
container is placed under the sieve to accommodate the finely sieved mass, free
of chaffs which is the cassava flour.
It
is estimated that at 10% inclusion, the demand by flour miller is 550,000
tonnes. From the above figure, it is sustainable market for cassava flour in
Nigeria.
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