Potential of soy-cassava flour processing to sustain increasing cassava production in Nigeria

Cassava production is increasing in Nigeria and needs to be sustained. One way of achieving this is to process cassava into high-grade products with positive and high-value elasticity of demand. Soy-cassava flour, a blend of cassava and soy bean flours, was produced and tested for consumer acceptability and economic viability. The results showed that the soy-cassava flour, with 16% protein, compared favourably with gari and cassava flour as food material for the preparation of fufu (the popular local cassava food product). Its production was profitable, with a pre-tax profit of close to N5,000 (equivalent to US$62.5 at a rate of US$1 = N80) per tonne. There are clear prospects for large-scale production and marketing of soy-cassava flour in Nigeria. This would establish a large market for cassava roots, since it takes over 2.5 tonnes of cassava root to produce one tonne of soy-cassava flour. Widespread production of this cassava-based, high-grade product can therefore contribute significantly towards sustaining the increasing trend in cassava production in Nigeria.