An Assessment of Cassava Processing Plants in Irepodun Local Government Areas, Kwara State, Nigeria

T.A. Adekanye^1, , S.I Ogunjimi² and A. O. Ajala²

¹Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Landmark University, Omu Aran, Kwara State, Nigeria

²Department of Agricultural economics and extension, Landmark University, Omu Aran, Kwara State, Nigeria

Cite this paper:
T.A. Adekanye, S.I Ogunjimi and A. O. Ajala. An Assessment of Cassava Processing Plants in Irepodun Local Government Areas, Kwara State, Nigeria. World Journal of Agricultural Research. 2013; 1(1):14-17. doi: 10.12691/wjar-1-1-4

Abstract

An assessment of cassava processing plant was conducted in Irepodun local Government Area of Kwara State, Nigeria to evaluate different cassava processing machinery being used by the processors, the common machines, and costs of machines, type of prime movers and sex of machine operators. The study was carried out in five communities and five cassava processing centres were selected from each of the community to give a total of twenty–five processing centres. Many of the processing centres were owned by private individuals. 292 cassava processing machines were observed altogether during the study and most of these were obsolete equipment. Grating machine, dewatering machine and milling machines were more prominent in the Local Government. The diesel engine was the only prime mover in all visited centres. Cassava processors preferred diesel despite its high cost, this may be as a result of incessant petrol scarcity and constant absence of electricity supply from Power Holding Company of Nigeria. This assessment showed that inappropriate and unaffordable cassava processing machinery is responsible for low level of cassava processing and utilization in Nigeria which is the largest cassava producer.

Keywords:
adaptive technology processors machines mechanization operators

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