Processors' Experience in the Use of Flash Dryer for Cassava-derived Products in Nigeria

Edmond Totin,Makuachukwu Gabriel Ojide,Simon Lukombo,Suraju Adegbite,Luis Augusto Becerra Lopez-Lavalle,Dominique Dufour,Adebayo Abass,Thierry Tran,Arnaud Chapuis,Murat Sartas,Marc Schut,Luis Alejandro Taborda

doi:10.3389/fsufs.2021.771639

Abstract

This study was designed and carried out to ascertain the situation and perceptions of end users of cassava flash drying equipment in Nigeria with the aim of giving suggestions to policies and approaches for improved technology. Forty-one processing firms were selected and interviewed. Descriptive analyses were used and a logistic regression model was estimated. The results revealed that 49% of the firms stopped using their flash dryers due to the low demand for high-quality cassava flour (HQCF) resulting from the high cost of processing occasioned by an inefficient heat-generating component. The estimated model provides evidence that cost effectiveness (p &lt; 0.05) and energy cost (p &lt; 0.10) are the two major determinants of the continuous usage of flash dryers in the study area. Forty-one percent of the firms indicated willingness to pay for any technical adjustment of their flash dryers, supposing such adjustment would improve on drying and the energy efficiency of the equipment up to 40%. The study recommends that machine fabricators in Nigeria and other African countries should be trained on the production of energy- and cost-efficient small-scale flash dryers. Again, the design and commercialization of flash dryers that can be mounted on mobile trucks for farm-gate processing should be encouraged to facilitate farm-gate processing, thereby reducing postharvest losses resulting from transporting perishable and bulky roots over a long distance.

Highlights

One of the major root crops with increasing food and industrial applications is cassava, especially in several tropical and subtropical countries
These are the experiences in using a cassava flash dryer, technical parameters and performance of the cassava flash drying equipment, market prospects, and willingness to pay for improvements to existing flash dryers
The study examined the experiences of processors in the use of flash dryers, the technical parameters and performance of the equipment, market prospects, and the willingness of the processors to pay for improved cassava flash dryers

Summary

Introduction

One of the major root crops with increasing food and industrial applications is cassava, especially in several tropical and subtropical countries. Over the last three decades, the total cassava output in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) exceeded that of other major food commodities. Cassava roots have a high moisture content at harvest (typically 60–75% wet basis), which makes it highly perishable due to physiological processes that take place from 2 to 3 days of harvest, which are subsequently followed by microbial decay (Beeching et al, 1993; Scott, 2021). It is, expedient to process cassava root soon after harvesting. In most sub-Saharan African countries, cassava is grown primarily by smallholder farmers and is a significant source of calories for the local population

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