Commercialization of traditional processed cassava products to maximise benefits and sustain rural livelihoods

Partners:
University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria
Food Research Institute, Ghana
Food and Flour (Ghana) Limited, Ghana

Challenge:
Cassava is a food security and income generation crop for many millions of people in the developing world and is now increasingly being processed to meet the demands of rapid urbanisation.  These projects sought to develop cassava-based foods to meet the changing and growing urban demand through the manufacture of products that are convenient, of high quality and are safe.  This was achieved through the development of private sector partnerships which were central to providing linkages between rural producers and the urban market. 

Achievements:
This project developed “best practice” tools and technologies to develop the value-chain from production to consumption and considered market demand and consumer preferences, the needs of rural processors, the private sector and market traders.  This was achieved by developing an understanding of the changes that different approaches to commercialisation are likely to have on case study producers and processors.  This was achieved by:

• Developing partnerships between researchers in Europe and Africa, the  private sector and rural processors;
• Working with small-medium scale enterprises to bridge the gap between primary local processing and urban demand.
• Developing specific processed products to meet identified markets (such as: dried fermented odourless fufu, instant unfermented fufu, high quality cassava flour)
• Developing, in partnership with a local fabricator, two dryers appropriate for producers in West Africa.  Through partnership linkages, 34 have been manufactured or are on order;
• Establishing private sector training centres for cassava processing for training of local businesses, professionals and post-graduate students:
• Developing a food safety training manual for SME cassava processors;
• Developing improved processes for fermented cassava products that reduced the cost, increased throughput and reduced environmental pollution;
• Establishing the consumer acceptability in major urban locations in West Africa so that products are developed to meet their needs;
• Established factors critical to the success for small-scale cassava processors such as the scale of production, use of water, fuel and economic/financial and social factors.