Cassava Cake (Kpokpo-Garri) in Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria.

OKPEKE, MERCY YEMI

Department of Agric. Extension and Management, School of Agric.

Delta State Polytechnic, Ozoro. Delta State, Nigeria.

E-mail: mercyokpeke@gmail.com; okpekemercy@yahoo.com   

ABSTRACT

The need to bridge the wide gap between inadequate food supply and increasing population rate in developing countries calls for addition of values to agricultural products by way of processing to avert huge amount of wastes in seasonal production. This had prompted this study on the value chain addition of cassava processing into edible starch and local cassava cake in Isoko north local government area of Delta state, Nigeria. Cross sectional data were collected using purposive and simple random sampling techniques with the aid of well-structured questionnaire for the 2012 processing season. Purposive sampling technique was used to select six towns from the study area based on their involvements in cassava processing activities. Thereafter ten (10) respondents were randomly selected from each of the towns making a total sample size of sixty (60) respondents. Data were analyzed using simple descriptive statistics such as mean, frequencies percentages and inferential statistics including gross margin and regression analysis. The results showed that all the respondents were females, the highest proportion (38%) of the respondents were of the age group of 50 years and above and 90% were illiterates, 75% of the respondents were widowed and 58% had household size within the range of 5>8 persons, 66% of them were into cassava processing on part-time basis, while 33% had 11 > 15 years of processing experience and about 90% used family labour. The estimated annual total revenue was N450,000,  total variable costs was N310,000 and the  gross margin was N140,000 per annum per respondent which represented 45.16% of the total variable cost of production. The implication was that for every one naira invested in the processing of cassava, the farmer gained 45 kobo. The result of the regression analysis revealed that 77% of the variability of the estimated revenue per annum (Y) was being accounted for by the independent variables in the specified model. Inadequate capital, lack of improved technology, inadequate processing and storage facilities, small sized enterprises with low earnings, poor markets characterized by low pricing of products were the major constraints encountered by the processors in the industry. It was therefore recommended that  credit facilities should be channeled to processors through the micro-credit scheme of the Delta State Government, Government policies should be modified to include the provision of training programme to disseminate scientific knowledge to cassava processors, the Research-Extension Farmer linkage should be strengthened to furnish the processors with modern processing techniques, Processors should form co-operative association to establish edible starch and local cassava cake  added value centres for improved and modern weighing and packaging methods, Government and non-governmental organizations/agencies should assist in educating the cassava processing farmers through effective extension system on improved cassava processing technology, to bring about improved production, marketing and profitability; and in doing so, improves livelihood, income, and food security of the people.

Keywords:  Cassava Processing, Value Chain, Gross margin, Regression analysis, Delta State, Nigeria.