Cassava and garri
The
potential industrial uses for cassava and research priorities for developing
cassava starch and dried cassava roots as industrial raw materials in six
different industries in Nigeria: textile, petroleum drilling, pharmaceutical,
soft drink, beer malt and ethanol/alcohol industries. Among these six industry,
there are three potential industrial uses for cassava is high: soft drink, beer
malt and ethanol/alcohol industries.
The
first is syrup concentrate for the soft drink industry. In Nigeria, the soft drink
industry is dominated by Coca Cola which imports the syrup concentrates and
keeps them as a trade secret. Syrup concentrate has been successfully made from
cassava starch by International Institutes of Tropical Agriculture - (IITA) post-harvest technologists. A pilot project is needed to
determine its acceptability and potential profitability in making soft drinks.
The chart flow of cassava flour making
processing
The
second potential industry use of cassava is in the beer industry. Beer has been
brewed in Nigeria with imported barley malt for many decades. However, in
1985/86, Nigeria banned grain imports and the brewery industry began to produce
beer malt with sorghum produced in northern Nigeria. The initial concern that
sorghum beer would not be acceptable to consumers proved to be without basis as
beer consumption did not decline after sorghum malt was used to replace barley
malt. The Nigerian beer industry currently uses about 200 000 tonnes of sorghum
each year to make beer malt (RMRDC, 1996). No attempt has yet been made to
prepare beer malt from dried cassava roots produced in southern Nigeria where
most of the beer industries are based. However, biochemists at the National
Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) believe that given the right enzyme, it
is possible to prepare beer malt from dried cassava roots. The manager of the
Golden Guinea Brewery, Umuahia believes that consumers would accept cassava
malt beer judging from their ready acceptance of sorghum beer in the mid 1980s.
However, the manager reported that Golden Guinea would be reluctant to invest
in research on making beer malt from cassava roots because patent law is not
enforced in Nigeria. Research is needed to develop the technology for making
beer malt from dried cassava roots.
Cassava washing and peeling machine
The
third potential industrial use for cassava as an industrial raw material is a
cassava-based alcohol industry. Currently, Nigeria imports about 90 million
litres of alcohol annually with about 80 million litres being used by the
liquor industry. If the 80 million litres were produced from cassava, it would
require 500 000 tonnes of dried cassava roots which would increase the demand for
cassava, raise farm income, generate on-farm and off-farm jobs and save foreign
exchange. However, a cassava-based ethanol industry should be of more help to
other cassava producing countries that import petroleum because Nigeria is
subsidizing the retail price of gasoline. A feasibility study should be carried
out to determine the economics of a cassava-based alcohol industry in Nigeria
and a cassava-based ethanol industry in other African cassava producing
countries that import petroleum.
Did you know there is a huge potential for
the establishment of Cassava Processing Plant in Esanland. You can process
Cassava for local use and export. The market is huge and untapped. check out Matna Foods Limited,
a Cassava Processing company, near Akure, in the Southwest, who’s been in
business since 2001; this modern plant has been producing high quality, food-grade
cassava starch for export and for local manufacturers.
For high yield cassava stems, cassava
research from production to marketability visit IITA, in Ibadan.
To learn on Cassava processing machines visit: Doing Company
