Cost benefit analysis of cassava processing technologies

Abstract

The Root and Tuber Improvement Programme seeks to enhance food security and increase income of resource-poor farmers by facilitating access to new but proven locally adapted technologies for root and tuber crops (cassava, cocoyam, sweet potatoes, and yam). Through the activities of the Programme, the number of adopting farmers of improved cassava technologies increased from 33,294 in December 2001 to 159,854 in December 2002 and 343,949 in December 2003. This has resulted in reported cases of excess cassava supply in some parts of the country, with its attendant drop in cassava prices since 2001. The interim evaluation of RTIP attributed this to the low focus of programme design and, consequently, the implementation on post-production issues. As part of the on-going evaluation of RTIP, the Programme Coordinating Office (PCO) assigned the Food Research Institute (FRI) the task of conducting this study, which investigates the adoption requirement for alternative approaches to cassava processing, costs, and benefits as well as user perceptions of the existing cassava processing approaches