Awareness and adoption of improved cassava varieties and processing technologies in Nigeria

Development of high yielding and disease resistant cassava varieties, coupled with the promotion of efficient processing technologies, was the principal intervention aimed at changing the cassava sub-sector in Nigeria. National research and extension programs in Nigeria and IITA have been spearheading efforts to disseminate these varieties alongside improving farmer’s access to processing machineries. Several Research-for-Development (R4D) projects were implemented to this effect between early 1980 to date. This paper investigated the effects of improved cassava varieties and processing technologies on adopting households. It also attempts to test and establish the link between adoption of improved cassava varieties and access to processing technologies. The data used in this paper come from a sample household survey of 952 households conducted in four regions of Nigeria. The results showed that in all the study sites farmers grow mixture of improved and local cassava varieties. They process cassava at home using small processing machines and also using services of commercial processors. The most common processed cassava products were found to be garri and fufu. Adopters of improved cassava varieties have higher cassava yield of 16 tons/ha compared to 11 ton/ha for non-adopters. There was also significant yield variation between villages that participated (15 tons/ha) in research for development (R4D) training and those which did not (13 tons/ha). The bivariate probit model estimates showed a strong relationship between adoption of improved cassava varieties and farmers’ access to grating machines. Moreover, farmers that were members of either community organizations or cooperative organizations had a higher tendency of using improved varieties than others, suggesting that the introduction of new cassava varieties would be enhanced by farmers’ access to processing facilities and services. Moreover, training of farmers and processors through R4D programs has led to increased use of improved technologies. Key words: Cassava, improved varieties, processing, bivariate probit.