Reducing both hunger and high expenditure on food imports is a priority for most developing African countries. Countries that hitherto have relied heavily on food imports are seeking new approaches to increase the utilization of locally grown crops. This review uses the case of cassava to propose that scientific and technological innovations, supported by public investment and appropriate policies, offer opportunities for better utilizing locally grown crops, encouraging agro-industrial development, reducing import expenditure, and providing much-needed income (bread) to smallholders. This review highlights areas that require further research in order to achieve sustainable development in the processing of raw cassava root into cassava flour for bread production.

Within communities in Osun and Imo States of Nigeria, farmer–processors grew and processed a diverse set of improved and landrace cassava varieties into the locally popular foods, gari, eba and fufu. Local and 15 main varieties were grown in a ‘mother and baby trials’ design in each state. Mother trials with three replications were processed by farmer–processors renown in their community for their processing skills. Baby trials were managed and processed by other farmer–processors. The objective was to identify food quality criteria to inform demand‐led breeding to benefit users, especially women, given their key roles in processing. Farmer–processors evaluated the overall quality of fresh roots and derived food products through pairwise comparisons. Improved varieties had higher fresh and dry root yield. Overall, landraces ranked first for quality of gari and eba, but several improved varieties were also appreciated for good quality. Landraces in Osun had higher gari yield and a higher swelling power compared to improved varieties. Colour (browning), bulk density, swelling power, solubility and water absorption capacity were the criteria most related to food product ranking by farmer–processors. Evaluation of varieties under farmer–processors’ conditions is crucial for providing guidance to breeders on critical selection criteria.

Dried cassava products are perceived as one of the potential sources of mycotoxin ingestion in human foods. Processing either contributes to the reduction of toxins or further exposes products to contamination by microorganisms that release metabolic toxins into the products. Thus, the prevalence of microbial metabolites in 373 processed cassava products was investigated in Nigeria. With the use of liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for the constituent analysis, a few major mycotoxins (aflatoxin B₁ and G₁, fumonisin B₁ and B₂, and zearalenone) regulated in food crops by the Commission of the European Union were found at concentrations which are toxicologically acceptable in many other crops. Some bioactive compounds were detected at low concentrations in the cassava products. Therefore, the exposure of cassava consumers in Nigeria to regulated mycotoxins was estimated to be minimal. The results provide useful information regarding the probable safety of cassava products in Nigeria.

The scourge of poverty, including its correlates, has been witnessing an incremental sequence over the years in Nigeria despite the natural endowment of the country. Efforts by various stakeholders to address this problem have not yielded tangible results. Using cross-sectional data collected in 2015 on 775 cassava farmers spread across four geographical zones, this study estimates multidimensional poverty of cassava producers in Nigeria. This is to determine the factors responsible for poverty increase and contribution(s) of these factors to poverty. The study found that about 74% of the respondents were multidimensionally poor. Assets and public/housing utility were the main contributors to aggregate multidimensional poverty index (MPI), while education and health contributed most to povertyreduction. The results also showed major contributing indicators to MPI to be formal employment, school enrolment, years of schooling, frequency of hospital visits, and household assets’ ownership. The South-eastzone of Nigeria had the highest adjusted headcount of poverty among cassava producers. The estimated coefficient of age, farming experience, years of schooling, household size, and access to informal credit were significant determinants of poverty in the study area. In conclusion, the results suggest that although Nigeria is a federation of more than 30 states that continue to rely on nation-wide policy initiatives of the central government, policies on cassava aiming to lift millions of people out of poverty should instead vary according to the peculiar poverty dimensions of each federation unit. We suggest reform in the agriculture sector that will emphasize facilitation and access to incentives (credits, training, extension, cooperate system, etc.) by younger farmers to engage in modern cassava farming, thereby, enhancing the chances of rural cassava growers to move out of poverty.

Unripe plantain has been considered as having commercial potential or used as an ingredient for other foods. Information on the physicochemical and carotenoid properties of flours from hybrid plantain cultivars in the literature is limited. This study was conducted to determine the physicochemical properties and carotenoid contents of unripe plantain flour from selected hybrid plantain cultivars using standard laboratory methods. The unripe plantain pulps of four varieties (PITA 26, PITA 27, Mbi Egome and Agbagba (control)) used in this study were cabinet dried at 65°C for 48 h and milled into flour. The result showed that moisture content ranged from 6.15 to 7.27%, Ash (2.01–3.69%), Fat (0.49–1.20%), Protein (2.47–2.99%), Fibre (0.73–0.97%), Sugar (6.29–9.33%), starch (84.34–104.96%), total carotenoid content (2.96–24.19 µg/g). Potassium ranged from 328.30–528.50 mg/kg, Calcium (9.46–11.98 mg/kg), Magnesium (24.73–29.11 mg/kg), Sodium (6.30–7.24 mg/kg), Zinc (0.12–0.29 mg/kg), and manganese (0.03–0.15 mg/kg). The L∗ (Lightness) ranged from 62.88 to 67.00. Bulk density ranged from 0.72 to 0.77 g/ml, WAC (143.59–174.08), OAC (98.07–100.66%), swelling power capacity (10.63 to 11.82%), solubility (5.58–6.71%), and dispersibility (86.50–88.00%). Peak viscosity ranged from 568.17 to 761.64 RVU, final viscosity (378.53–496.58 RVU), and peak temperature (81.62–83.23°C). The results suggest that the hybrid plantain cultivars could be used to produce good quality plantain flours with improved physicochemical and pasting properties.