Creating Systems of Innovation in Africa: Country Case Studies

Chapter 4 - Innovative Approaches to Industrial Utilisation of Cassava in a Developing Economy

78 SUMMARY Nigeria has remained the world’s leading economy in the production of cassava for about two decades. Nevertheless, the industrial utilisation of this agricultural produce has remained low. We synthesise the findings of an extensive literature on some innovative approaches to this challenge. There is a need for policy learning on how Nigeria can sustain global leadership in cassava production by an efficient utilisation of cassava in the industrial sector to transform the Nigerian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The Nigerian government is encouraging private sector participation in developing technologies for expanded use of cassava as raw materials in the food and non-food industries. The development of the sector will require activities in capacity building, further product development, fabrication and transfer of processing technologies to target beneficiaries, and development of clusters to supply identified markets. To sustain Nigeria’s global leadership in cassava production, the paper also suggests the need to map out the cassava value chain in the cassava sectoral innovation system. This will help, no doubt, to strengthen the links between the supply and demand in the most effective way. INTRODUCTION Advancement is not new to industrial economies in the level of technical know-how and widespread application of technological innovations resulting in high productive capability in agriculture and industry. As technology makes goods and services cheaper to produce, the quantity available at a given price can increase greatly, stimulating processes of economic growth. This is not so however, in developing nations like Nigeria where Innovative Approaches to Industrial Utilisation of Cassava in a Developing Economy Abolaji D. Dada, Godwin A. Ali, Oladele O. Afolabi, and Williams O. Siyanbola CHAPTER 4 79 INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO INDUSTRIAL UTILISATION OF CASSAVA IN A DEVELOPING ECONOMY these technologies are not often available to farmers. Users also find such innovations difficult to maintain even when they are appropriate for local conditions due to lack of maintenance and skill training. For more than a decade, Nigeria has remained the global leader in cassava production, with an annual production of 42 million metric tonnes (FAO, 2007). However, cassava processing, market efficiencies and productivity have remained stumpy due to poor technological development (Odebode, 2008, Dada et. al., 2009). The rate of cassava processing has not matched the rate of its production in Nigeria (Oke, 2005). In Nigeria, it is estimated that only 16 per cent of cassava root were utilised as an industrial raw material, out of which 10% was used as chips in animal feed, 5 per cent was processed into syrup concentrate for soft drinks and the remaining 1 per cent was processed into high quality cassava flour used in biscuit and confectionary (Kormawa and Akoroda, 2003). The transformation of cassava processing from the traditional food crop to an industrial raw material will complement the shift of cassava production from a low-yielding, famine reserve crop, to a high-yielding cash crop. The strategies revolve around the technological-solution to the constraints and harnessing opportunities in cassava production. Processing is important for the marketing of cassava, and reduces the bulk, extends shelf life thereby reducing transportation cost. Fresh cassava roots have low value per unit weight; whereas processing adds value to it and therefore increases the market value. In addition, fresh roots of some cassava cultivars contain cyanogens which are reduced or eliminated through processing. This paper, therefore, synthesises the findings of an extensive literature on cassava transformation for Nigeria, with the aim of making useful policy suggestions on how technology can be harnessed to enhance Nigeria’s sustained global leadership in cassava production. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN AGRICULTURE Science and technology activities include scientific and technological research , experimental development, scientific and technological services, innovation and diffusion (Ilori et al., 2002). S&T is the key to progress and industrial growth in today’s increasingly knowledge-driven world. New product development is a fundamental factor for stimulating and supporting economic growth, and constitutes a key issue for wealth generation in many industrialised nations. The contribution of S&T to economic development has become increasingly important as a result of new waves of technologies, with generic characteristics that enable them to affect almost all facets of human endeavour (Adeoti and Adeoti, 2005). According to 80 CHAPTER 4 Odebode (2008), the gap between developed and developing countries in the area of agricultural production can be attributed largely to differences in the level of technological development, adaptation and transfer process. In the two...