Marketing Opportunities for cassava based products: An Assessment of the Industrial Potential in Kenya

Prof. Edward E. Karuri, Prof Samuel K. Mbugua, Dr. Joseph Karugia, Kelly Wanda, John Jagwe

February 2001

University of Nairobi, Department of Food Science Technology and Nutrition
Foodnet / International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

PREFACE

This study was carried out by the Department of Food Science Technology and Nutrition of the University of Nairobi, in collaboration with Foodnet which is a regional network promoting marketing oriented research in order to identify opportunities for value added processing of agricultural products.

Funding was provided by USAID through ASARECA, a sub-regional research organisation coordinating the Foodnet network

Prof. Edward E. Karuri, Prof. Mbugua and Dr. Joseph Karugia of the University of Nairobi and Kelly Wanda and John Jagwe of IITA-Foodnet wrote the report.

ASARECA                  Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa

IITA                         International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

KAM                         Association of Manufacturers of Kenya

CPC                         Corn Products Corporation (Kenya)

SBA                         Starch-Based Adhesive

USAID                      United States Aid for International Development

Much effort has gone into the preparation of this report.  We wish to appreciate first and foremost the co-operation that we received from the personnel in the industries visited in the various parts of the country.  Their willingness to provide us with relevant information without fear despite our calling on them at very short notice was very encouraging.  Special thanks go to those who embraced our effort and were willing to participate in future industrial trials.

We would like also to thank all the staff of the Department who tirelessly devoted their time in supporting this survey.

Lastly, it ought to be pointed here that without the financial support from USAID through the Foodnet ASARECA network this report would not have been written and published.

Since the era of development aid in Africa, research efforts have been focused on increasing agricultural productivity mainly through improved technology at the farm level.  In spite of such programs, rural household incomes have largely remained low thereby perpetuating the relatively higher poverty level with all its negative consequences notably, low savings, low investment, low productivity and low incomes.

It has now been increasingly realized that real benefits to rural communities are going to come from forward linkages of rural producers to more stable and higher value industrial markets.  In turn industry too stands to benefit from increased rural household incomes in terms of higher effective demand for industrial products.

Therefore, this report presents findings on the current state of the Kenyan market for starch, starch-based adhesives and high quality cassava flour for industrial purposes.  An assessment of the potential for locally made cassava-based products to substitute for existing raw materials has also been attempted.

KEY FINDINGS

The total market for starch-based products in Kenya is estimated to be over 12,000 MT per annum.  A bigger portion, about 60%, goes into the brewery industry.  Other major consumers include paperboard, paper and the food sector.

Native maize starch dominates the market for starch.  This is mainly produced locally.   Modified starches are not significant.

Cassava starch has the potential to substitute maize starch in the paperboard industry.  Some of the industry in this sector had used cassava starch before which they found preferable.  However, use was discontinued due to inconsistency in quality and erratic supply. The manufacturing costs are high in the local scene because of inefficiencies in the production chain.

At the moment production and supply of cassava starch is low and not timely.  This was attributed to higher costs of local production, poor infrastructure and low raw material production

The potential use of cassava in animal feeds has not been exploited in Kenya. This is mainly due to lack of information especially in terms of the processing steps and the rate of substitution of cassava for maize in the commercial animal feeds.

The economy of most of the developing countries is still largely based on agriculture.  However, if agriculture in the developing countries is to contribute to real growth and development in these countries, the link between it and industry has to be developed and strengthened.  This would in turn then offer alternative and cheaper sources of raw material to industry while at the same time offer the much-needed internal market to stimulate industrial production.

1.1 Objectives of the study

This study aimed at making a rapid and detailed investigation of the existing industrial markets for starch-based products in Kenya and to assess the potential for cassava based products to replace or partly substitute existing raw materials.

In addition, an attempt was made to identify firms within the respective high priority industries that researchers could work with to achieve market penetration and assess consumer acceptability.

Survey effort was concentrated in the towns constituting the pinnacle of Kenya's industrial base and those around the production areas.  These included Nairobi, Mombasa and Nakuru

1.2 Methodology

The design of the survey followed a sub-sector approach and the technique employed involved conducting unstructured and informal interviews in addition to directly observing the critical stages in the production-transformation line wherever possible.   Also, sound secondary data sources were relied upon whenever possible. 

Prior to the interviews contact with the respective business associations was established and a list of potential firms compiled.  Through these preliminary visits, the objectives of the survey and its expected outcome were explained and appointments booked for the primary visits that were to follow.   A deliberate attempt was made to contact key informants in each of the categories.

Thus the sample was purposively selected to include respondents from each of the relevant categories identified during the literature review as potential raw material users.  Rather than concentrating on numbers, the focus was placed on contacting key firms in the industry in order to obtain a more representative sample.

For each industry to be visited, questions (guidelines) focusing on key production and marketing activities were developed.  The semi-structured informal interview guidelines were not written up in the form of a formal questionnaire but they were drawn up as checklists of key issues and topics.  Once the survey team was familiarised with the detailed questions of the original checklist (approx. 7 pages), a shorter version of the latter (i.e. 1 – 2 pages max.) was found useful to stimulate a free-flowing discussion with members of the industries.

Researchers formed two different groups comprising of at least two a technologist and an economist.  This combination was found to be very useful both for the research team and the industries visited.  It made it possible to understand the relationship between technology and economics and also recent technological developments in the various concerned areas.

A report about each industrial visit made was compiled after the interview, relying on the checklist to make sure that no issue had been overlooked.

It was important that note-taking should not inhibit a free flow of discussion.  This effort to keep the interviews informal seemed to encourage frankness on the part of the respondents.

For far away firms, where bookings could not be made by telephone due to various reasons, visits were nevertheless made.  This form of “cold-calling” was generally accepted, and useful data was obtained.  However, there is a danger that without prior appointment key individuals might be missed.  In this case, another visit was obligatory.

Responses from each interview were carefully compared with the responses from other interviews carried out with firms in the same category.  This approach was conducted through meetings of the entire research team, which were designed to:

·        Ensure that all the collected data had been summarised.

·        Identify gaps in the existing information.

·        Start forming hypotheses about constraints and opportunities within the marketing system.

·        Assess the progress of the survey.

·        And design a follow-up of the fieldwork where necessary.

The researchers also used the team meetings to refine their understanding of the roles, responsibilities and links within the production and manufacturing business.

Agriculture dominates the economies of sub-Saharan Africa, where it accounts for 70% of total employment and 40% of the total merchandise exports. In this region the contribution of agriculture to GDP is 32%. Agriculture is the mainstay of Kenya’s economy, accounting for 26 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) while manufacturing accounts for about 14 percent. Tea, tourism, coffee, and horticulture in that order are the main foreign- exchange earners (CBS, 1998). In Kenya one to two thirds of manufacturing value added is based on agricultural raw materials ( Jaffee, 1995). Many services are linked to agriculture. Food processing, beverage and tobacco industries are among those dependent on agricultural  raw materials. Of the industries mentioned, the food processing industry is the single largest component of the manufacturing sector of most African countries.

Since independence in 1963, the country has had mixed performance. In the first 10 years of independence, the country enjoyed high GDP growth rates averaging 6.5 percent per annum, low inflation, high job creation, and a relatively stable balance-of- payments position. During the 1973-1980 period the country’s record growth was by three major shocks. The first was the sharp rise in oil prices in 1973, which created considerable internal and external economic imbalance. In 1997-78, the price of coffee and tea rose significantly, which immediately improved the balance of payments position but subsequently created internal economic imbalances. The third shock was in the GDP of 5.2 percent per annum, reflecting a moderate reduction in the high growth rates achieved in the first 10 years of independence. In 1990, growth in the GDP fell to 4.3 percent and 1991 to 2.2 percent; by 1992, it was just 0.4 percent per annum. In 1993, the government introduced more and far-reaching structural reforms, including removal of price controls, removal of all import licensing, and removal of foreign exchange controls. These growth slowed to 4.8 percent in 1996 and declined substantially to 1.2 percent in 1997 (CBS, 1998).

The food industry may be classified into formal and informal sector. The formal sector is classified into large, medium and small scale industries. The criterion for classification is based on the number of employees. Large-scale industrial units have above 50 employees; small-scale industrial units have below 20 while the medium scale industrial units have between 20 and 50 employees. A summary of some of the food industries is given in Table 2 below. On the other hand the informal sector consists of the cottage industry, family and the sole proprietor. After independence and up through the mid-1980’s the policies and direct investments of the Kenyan government favoured relatively large-scale industrial units in the food industry and elsewhere. Most of these large scale units were owned by multinationals and some by farmer co-operatives. After the mid 80’s the small scale to medium scale industrial units began to mushroom. This is mainly due to the high overheads incurred when running large scale industries. The food for  export is processed mainly by the large-scale units while that for local consumption is produced by the medium to small scale industries. The informal sector has proved vital in supplying processed and ready to eat foods to domestic consumers particularly in towns. 

The essence of food processing is to produce a high value food product. Processing begins with the articulation of consumer demand and leads to decisions to produce. This continues through the series of activities which produce and subsequently transform the crop or animal product in form, time and place to match consumer demand (Breimer, 1976). In Kenya the best established industry is the dairy industry. This transforms raw milk to pasteurised milk, dry skim milk, butter, cheese e.t.c. Which fetch a higher price. This industry is dominated by the private sector. The development of the commercial dairy production and trade can be divided into five historical stages as listed below.

¨      The origins of export oriented butter production (1900-1930’s)

¨      Discovering the domestic milk market (WW II- mid 1950’s)

¨      Dualistic development (late 1950’s to 1970)

¨      Market consolidation and the “publicization” of the private sector (1971- early 1980’s)

¨      High cost expansion and creeping liberalisation (mid-1980’s to present)

Most of the foods processed in Kenya can be historically classified in the same manner except the first two stages.

Table 1. Classification of some the Food processing

Much of the new agribusiness investment over the past decade by foreign companies has been made by firms, which had already been established for a long time. Investments have been geared toward diversifying product lines away form commodities facing adverse market trends. Kenya has witnessed the diversification of foreign owned tea, coffee and sisal companies into horticultural production and trade (Jaffee, 1995).

Gender in the food industry.

Most of the large scale to medium scale units are run by the men. In Kenya, the women take charge only of the micro enterprise and the informal sector in food marketing and processing. Several Kenya’s small peri-urban firms including dairy processing are owned and/or managed by women including one that is considered to be the most dynamic single owned dairy company. The Table 2 below shows the ownership of micro enterprises in Kenya by gender. It is clear from the table that men dominate in the ownership of the food industry in Kenya. It is also evident that partnerships between men and women is not common.

Table 2. Ownership of micro-enterprises in Kenya by gender

Gender of proprietor %                        Kenya

Female                                     43

Male                                        53

Mixed                                      4

3.0 CASSAVA PRODUCTION

Cassava is classified under roots and tubers, which is the class of foods that basically provide energy in the human diet in the form of carbohydrates. The term roots and tubers refer to any growing plant that stores edible material in the subterranean root, corm or tuber (FAO, 1990). The cassava is important historically for acting as a food security crop for various communities during tribal warfare and innovations where it was hidden under ground and for saving the Rwanda-Burundi kingdoms in 1943 when potato blight destroyed all their production. It also fed the Biafrans during the Biafran war in Nigeria in 1966-69.The spread of the cassava was facilitated by its ability to thrive poor husbandry and to tolerate drought. It originated in tropical America and was introduced in Kenya by the Portuguese and Arab traders (Jones, 1959).

 In Kenya as in the rest of Africa, the cassava is usually a subsistence crop grown mainly as food and only the surplus is sold. Cassava is consumed as a basic source of low cost calories or as a supplement to cereals. The proximate composition of the cassava is shown in Table 1 below. This table shows clearly that the crop is a rich source of carbohydrate. It has been documented that the cost of cassava is about 25 to 50 percent that of the locally produced traditional grains and pulses (Goering, 1979).

Table 1. Nutritive value of the cassava

Source: FAO, 1972.

Cassava (Manihot esculanta crantz) is one of the major staple foods in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is estimated that Africa produces above 42% of the total tropical world production of the crop (FAO, 1978). Cassava is grown virtually throughout Kenya. However, the Western, Coastal and semi-arid (Eastern) regions of Kenya have the highest production in that order. Traditional utilisation in Kenya is limited to roasting and boiling of fresh roots for consumption in all the growing areas (Khaemba, 1983). In Nyanza and Western provinces of Kenya, roots are also peeled, Chopped into small pieces, dried and milled into flour for ugali. This is normally in combination with a cereal (maize or sorghum). In the Coast province cassava leaves are used as vegetable (Khaemba, 1983). In the Coast province cassava leaves are used as vegetable (Khaemba, 1983) while in Machakos and Kitui, cassava roots are used as a snack.

The bulk of cassava produced in the country is used for human consumption and surpluses are processed in to starch or used for animal feed. However, the present production is adequate for both the demands of starch production and as a food source (Khagram,1983). The market for fresh cassava as a food is more lucrative than for starch extraction but the market for fresh cassava is limited (Karisa, 1983 ). Fresh cassava has a very short post-harvest storage life, and it must be used or processed into durable forms soon after harvest (Ayernor, 1981). Except for cassava crips, there is no commercial processing of cassava for human consumption.  Other products such as deep-fried and sun dried cassava are produced but at a very small scale in the coastal areas. The cassava production in Kenya unfortunately  seems to reduce with time as shown by Figure 1 below. This may be because of the high opportunity cost of production.

4.0 CASSAVA MARKETING

In Kenya, cassava is marketed mainly as a fresh root. The marketing of the roots is through village markets situated at the areas of production. Some of it is transported to larger markets situated in the district towns. Processed cassava products are also sold at the markets centres and at residential areas. These processed products include sundried cassava crisps and deep fried cassava. The two latter products are mainly sold in the coastal region. The price of fresh cassava fluctuates depending on the season. In Nairobi for example the price is highest in May and lowest in June.

In the market areas the cassava is marketed as heaps or in bags. There is need to standardise the quantity sold.

5.0 CASSAVA UTILISATION

Fresh cassava has a very short post-harvest storage life, and it must be used or processed into durable forms soon after harvest (Ayernor,1981). Various communities in the region have found different methods of cassava. The main reason for processing other than making the food palatable is to remove the antinutrients in the cassava especially the cyanide.

5.1 CASSAVA CONSUMPTION IN KENYA

5.1.1 INTRODUCTION

Traditional cassava utilisation in Kenya is limited to roasting and boiling of fresh roots for consumption in all the growing areas (Khaemba, 1983).  In Nyanza and Western provinces of Kenya, roots are also peeled, chopped in to small pieces, dried and milled in to flour for ugali.  This is normally in combination with are a cereal (maize, sorghum or millet). In the coast province cassava leaves are used as vegetable (Khaemba, 1983) while in Machakos and Kitui, cassava roots are used as snack.

The bulk of cassava produced in the country is used for human consumption and surpluses are processed in to starch or used for animal feed.  Except for cassava crisps, there is no commercial processing of cassava for human consumption.  This could be explored to make it more acceptable to a larger section of the population thereby increasing the demand for cassava products and the income of the farmer.

The following discussion focuses in the preparation of different cassava based food by 7 communities in Kenya.

Ì    Embu tribe of eastern province

¨      Mucui

Cassava roots, yams, potatoes and arrowroots are peeled, washed with a lot of water, sliced in to small pieces and mixed with meat. The mixture is fried in oil with onion to taste. Water is added and the mixture is left to boil until cooked.  Mucui is served and eaten as a complete meal.

¨      Roasted cassava

Whole cassava roots are peeled, washed, either split in to smaller pieces or left intact as dictated by size, placed on burning embers and left to cook.  Once done, the charred bits are scrapped off and the roasted cassava is served with tea.

Ì    Kamba tribe of eastern province.

¨      Mukimwa

Cassava roots are peeled, washed, sliced in to small pieces (chips) and mixed with green maize, par-boiled beans, par-boiled cowpeas or par-boiled green grams.  The mixture is fried in oil with onions.  Water is added and left to boil until cooked.  After adding salt Mukimwa is served as a complete meal

¨      Mulikyo

Cassava roots are peeled, washed, sliced in to 2 or 3 big slices and placed in a cooking pot.  Water is added and left to boil until cooked.  It is served with tea or milk for breakfast.

¨      Raw cassava

This is prepared by peeling, washing and slicing cassava roots in to 4 or more slices.  The pieces are spiced with a mixture of salt and ground chilli and eaten as a snack.

Ì    Luo tribe of the Nyanza province

¨      Ugali or kuon

Fresh cassava roots are peeled, washed and sliced into chips, which are then sun dried for a period of 1-to2 weeks.  The sun-dried chips are then mixed with dried maize, sorghum, or finger millet at the ratio of 2:1 and the mixture is milled into fine flour.  The flour is put in boiling water and stirred into a semi-solid porridge called ugali or kuon, which is then served with either, smoked fish, smoked meat or okra soup.

¨      Busaa (a local beer)

Cassava roots are peeled, washed and sliced into chips, placed and stored in a tightly closed darkroom.  The cassava is removed from the sack after 1 week and sun dried for a period of 14 days. The dried cassava is then mixed with dry maize and pre-germinated finger millet that has been sun dried for 2 weeks. The mixture is milled in to flour and prepared in to ugali or kuon. The ugali is broken into small pieces, which are then sun-dried for 3 weeks then milled into flour.  The flour is placed in a big earthen pot where 40 litres of water is added, stirred and boiled to produce a light porridge or gruel called Busaa.  After cooling, the Busaa is ready for drinking. It has been locally nicknamed two in one; it is a beer as well as a food.

¨      Mariwa

Cassava roots are peeled, washed, split into 2 pieces with the central pith removed and placed in a pot with 1 litre of water (strictly 1 litre to prevent the cassava from absorbing water and becoming watery).  Salt is added and the pot is covered with either pumpkin or banana leaves on top of which a metal lid is placed and sealed with cow dung to become airtight.  It is left to boil for 30 min after which it should be properly cooked.  Mariwa is served with sour milk or milk for either lunch or supper or with tea for breakfast.

3.4 kuogo cassava roots are peeled, washed, placed in a sack or large baskets and stored in a dark cold room for a week.  During storage, the cassava roots develop moulds and become soft.   The roots are removed from the sacks and crushed in to small pieces, spread and sun dried for a period of 7 to 14 days.  The dried roots are mixed with either millet, sorghum or maize and milled in to fine flour which is added in to boiling water, stirred and prepared into either light porridge (nyuka) or thick porridge (ugali).  The ugali is served with fish, green vegetables or any stew.

¨      Chapati

The flour obtained in the preparation of kuoga is mixed with wheat flour and kneaded into dough.  Small balls of the dough are spread into thin disks, which are then pan fried to produce chapatti.  Chapatti is served with tea for breakfast or with fish or any stew for lunch or supper.

¨      Ugali

This dish is prepared for someone going on a long journey.  Cassava roots are peeled, washed, sliced into small pieces and dried for 7 to 14 days.  The dried pieces are mixed with finger millet at the ratio of 4:1 and milled into fine flour.  The flour is added in to boiling water, stirred and prepared into either light porridge (nyuka) or thick porridge (ugali).  The ugali may be served with fish, green vegetables or any stew.

Ì    Baluhya tribe of western province.

¨      Ugali or Obusuma

Cassava roots are peeled, washed and sun dried for about 6 hours to get rid of excess moisture.  The semi-dried roots are heaped in a corner of the kitchen and covered with a sack, a piece of cloth or canvas for a period of 3 to 5 days.  The mould formed during this period is scrapped off with a blunt knife and the soft roots are put on a clean floor and crushed with stone in to big soft pieces.  The soft pieces are sun dried for a period of 12 to 14 hours.  The dried roots are mixed with sorghum, millet, or maize and milled in to flour. Alternatively the dried roots may be milled into flour without any cereal.  The cassava: millet or sorghum ratio is usually 4:1 and cassava: maize ratio is 2:1. A cassava: maize mixture is not popular.  The flour is added to boiling water and stirred until it cooks into either ugali (thick porridge) or uji (light porridge).  The uji is a beverage while the ugali is served with fish, meat or any green vegetable.

¨      Boiled cassava

Cassava roots are peeled, washed, chopped into small pieces, placed in a pot with boiling water and boiled soft or completely cooked.  Salt is added during boiling and the dish is served with tea or light porridge.

¨      Roasted cassava

Unpeeled cassava roots are placed on glowing embers until cooked.  The roots are peeled and served with a beverage.

¨      Infant light porridge

Cassava roots are peeled, washed, sliced into very small pieces and sun dried for 12 to14 hours.  The dried pieces are ground using stone grinders into very fine flour, which is added into boiling water and cooked into a light porridge.  The porridge is then served to young babies.

Ì    Maasai tribe of the Rift Valley province

¨      Boiled  cassava

Cassava roots are peeled, washed, chopped into big pieces and boiled with water until cooked.  The dish is served with tea or milk.

¨      Raw cassava

Raw cassava is prepared by peeling, washing and slicing cassava roots.  The pieces are then eaten as a snack in the field.

¨      Roasted cassava

The cassava roots are peeled, placed on glowing charcoal and roasted until cooked.  The cassava is served with tea or milk for breakfast.

Ì     Kikuyu tribe of the central province

¨      Stewed cassava

Stewed cassava dish is prepared from sweet cassava or low cyanide containing varieties.  Cassava roots are peeled, split, sliced into small chips and boiled in water until soft or cooked.  The cassava is fried with onion in oil after which water is added and the dish is served with any stew.

¨      Ugali and Ucuru

Cassava is peeled, split, central pith is removed, sliced into small pieces and sun dried for a period of 3 to 7days.  The chips are milled in to flour, added into boiling water and stirred to produce either a thick porridge (ngima) or a light porridge (ucuru).  Ngima is served with stew while ucuru, a beverage, is served alone.

¨      Cassava bread

Cassava is peeled, split, the centre pith is removed, sliced into small chips and sun dried for a period of 3 to 7 days.  The cassava chips are milled in to flour mixed with wheat flour and kneaded into dough from which bread is baked.  The bread is served with tea for breakfast or with any stew for dinner.

¨      Roasted cassava

Cassava is peeled, boiled and roasted on charcoal.  Alternatively, the cassava is not peeled but placed on burning charcoal and roasted until properly cooked.  The charred bits are scrapped off and the cassava is served with tea, milk, any stew or alone.

Ì    Coastal people of the coast province

¨      Mashed cassava with milk

Cassava is peeled, washed and cut into small pieces.  The pieces are boiled with onions in salted water until done and then mashed together.  Milk is added and dish is served.

¨      Cassava meat stew

The meat is washed, cut into small pieces and mixed with curry powder.  Onions and tomatoes are cleaned and sliced.  Meat is fried with onions until a golden brown colour is obtained.  Salt and water are added to the stew.  Cassava is peeled, washed, cut into small pieces and added to the meat stew.  The mixture is cooked for 30 to 45 min until soft.  Tomatoes slices are added 5 min before serving.

¨      Cassava-bean stew (kimanga)

In preparing cassava bean stew one may use cowpeas or grams instead of beans.  Beans are cleaned, washed and soaked overnight.  Cassava roots are peeled and cut into slices.  The beans and cassava slices are boiled together until soft and mashed.  Onions and tomatoes are also cleaned, sliced and fried in oil.  Salt, pepper and milk are added and the mixture is cooked for a few minutes, seasoned  to taste and served.

¨      Cassava-fish stew

Cassava roots are peeled, cut into slices and cooked for 20 min.  Fish is cleaned and washed as well as onions and tomatoes, which are sliced.  Cups of thick and thin coconut milk are prepared. The fish is put on top of the cassava slices and onions, pepper, tomatoes and coconut milk are added.  The mixture is cooked until the fish and the cassava is done.  Thick coconut cream is added and ladled over the fish.  Season to taste and serve.  A similar dish involves frying the fish with onions and tomatoes in a little oil.  These are put on top of the boiling cassava and groundnut flour is added instead of the coconut milk.  The juice of one lemon is also added.  Dried fish could be used instead of fresh fish.

¨      Cassava leaves

Cassava leaves are washed, pounded and boiled in salted water for 60 min.  Onions and tomatoes are cleaned, sliced and fried in oil.  Curry powder, coconut cream and the cassava leaves are added.  The dish is ready to be served with any carbohydrate.

¨      Cassava pudding

Grated cassava roots are mixed with grated coconut and sugar.  A banana leaf is cut in to two big pieces and softened over fire.  Half of the cassava mixture is put on one piece of the banana leaf, folded and tied.  The other package is prepared in a similar manner.  Both packages are put in a greased tin or a small pan and baked in a moderately hot oven until brown.  The cassava pudding could either be served hot or cold.  A variation in a similar dish involves steaming the pudding instead of baking and groundnut flour could replace the coconut cream

¨      Fried cassava

Cassava roots are split into 5-6 pieces and deep-fried in oil.  The cooked cassava pieces are spiced with salt, pepper and lime or lemon to required taste.  The dish is served and eaten as a complement to another meal or as a snack.

5.2 CASSAVA UTILIZATION IN UGANDA

5.2.1 INTRODUCTION

Cassava is a very important food especially to the low income group of people in Uganda.  The traditional methods of processing cassava are boiling, baking, frying, sun drying, and either hand grinding or milling.  Cassava can also be prepared mixed with broad beans, peas and sometimes meat.  Composite flour is also produced usually consisting of cassava flour mixed with millet, sorghum or maize (corn).  The main method of processing cassava is boiling.  However, composite flour consumption is also significant and is the major method of cassava preservation.

5.2.2 Preparation of cassava products

v     Boiled cassava (‘mogo’ ‘otedo’ muwogo’)

Fresh cassava roots are peeled, washed and boiled in water for 20-40 min until cooked.  Mostly urban people may add spices, whereas the village inhabitants added salt to the cooking cassava.  Some other foods like groundnuts stew, simsim paste, broad beans peas and, at times, meat were added to the cooking cassava and the mixture was called Aputta in Lira and Apach, whilst in Iganga it is called katogo.

v     Cassava paste (‘kwonmogo’ ‘chawda’)

The cassava roots are peeled, sliced and then dried in the sun on  mats, flat rocks, or specially prepared ground smeared with cow dung to reduce dust and dirt.  The drying takes about 3-4 days, and the dried chips are then stored in old tins, baskets or granaries.  When the paste is required, the chips are pounded then ground into flour, and added to boiling water with mixing until a consistent paste is obtained.

v     Cassava flour mixed with millet and sorghum (‘kwon kal’ kwonbel’ ‘obuita’ ‘mutama’)

Cassava flour was mixed with either millet or sorghum and then a paste was prepared as in pure cassava paste.  One part of sorghum was added to 2 parts of cassava and ground into flour, the resulting paste was called mutama.  Millet was mixed with cassava and ground into flour; the resulting paste was called obuita.  When one part of cassava is mixed with 4 parts of millet, the resulting is called kwon kal, whilst one part of sorghum added to 2 parts of cassava results to kwon bel.  Some districts fermented cassava (obtained by slicing fresh cassava into chips and leaving them covered in a cool place for a day or 2 until the chips are slightly mouldy) for this use in which case the amount of cassava was reduced, and some people preferred this because of the flavour it imparted to the resultant paste.