Foods from cassava and their relevance to Nigeria and other African countries

The need for an indigenous crop locally grown by subsistence farmers that will help bring direct economic benefits to those who need it most is very important. Cassava has a great potential for this purpose if certain problems are solved, because cassava has played vital roles in the diet of many African countries especially the grassroot people, yet the utilization of the crop in diversified forms has been very limited. There are few food products from cassava that are processed industrially with added value that will be of higher nutritional value and have longer shelf lives. There are a number of traditionally processed staple foods from cassava in Nigeria and other African countries that need improvement. Most of these foods can be improved on if the market for them is assured by the end users, a market that is currently lacking. It will be necessary to create more public awareness within Nigeria and other African societies to increase the acceptability of such novel products and this requires a multidisciplinary approach to interpret what scientists and technologists are doing to the old crop in the present age. © 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers.