ADOPTION OF CASSAVA PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES AMONG ENTREPRENEURS IN EKITI STATE, NIGERIA

Cassava products are among the cheap processed foods that are available, accessible and affordable by the majority of households in the developing countries including Nigeria. Therefore, this study assessed the adoption of cassava processing technologies among entrepreneurs in Ekiti State, Nigeria. However, the technologies for the processing are largely inadequate. Personal interview and 200 well-structured questionnaires were distributed among the cassava processors. Multistage sampling technique was used to randomly select 180 cassava processors and these were analysed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression model. The results showed that the cassava processing business was dominated by female households (70.4%) with an average age of 48 years. Majority (89.6%) of them were married with at most secondary school education (85.0%) and an average of 8 persons per household. The results also showed that cassava processing business were profitable in the area. It revealed that gari, lafun, fufu, pupuru, starch and tapioca were the main consumable products from cassava tubers in the area. Sieve, miller, peeler, hydraulic press, grater and dryer were the most commonly used equipment for processing cassava tubers into other forms. The results of multiple regression showed that age of the processors, processing experience, family size, education, total cost of processing and quantity of cassava tubers processed were the factors significantly affecting numbers of technologies adopted in the study area. Therefore, Government should make the environment conducive for the processors and help researchers to improve on the technologies and come up with affordable technologies.   Key words: , , , ,