Cassava Processing and Rural Economic Change in Igalaland, Nigeria, 1967–2020: Technology, Labour and Commercialisation
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Background and Aims: Cassava processing has contributed to agricultural livelihoods and rural economic activity in Igalaland, Nigeria; however, processing practices remain insufficiently examined. This study investigated technological change, labour organisation, and commercialisation in cassava processing across Igalaland between 1967 and 2020.
Methodology: A qualitative historical approach was employed, drawing on oral-history interviews conducted during 2022–2023, supplemented by field observations and published scholarship. Seventeen informants—including farmers, processors, traders, agricultural extension officers, community representatives, and knowledgeable residents—were interviewed in Anyigba, Egume, Ikanekpo, Ojapata, Agojeju-Ajocheji, and Abocho. Evidence was organised thematically and chronologically and compared across communities and processing stages.
Results: Technological change was gradual, selective, and uneven. Traditional practices, particularly manual sieving and frying, persisted alongside the increasing use of motorised graters and hydraulic presses. These technological shifts affected labour organisation and production processes. Nevertheless, available evidence permitted only limited conclusions concerning machine ownership, control over processing income, and the economic position of gender groups. Processors integrated established practices with newer technologies according to production conditions, labour requirements, capital constraints, equipment availability, market demand, and processing knowledge. Consequently, technological adoption did not follow a uniform progression from manual to mechanised production.
Conclusion: Cassava processing in Igalaland developed through adaptive combinations of traditional practices and selected technologies rather than through a linear transition from traditional to modern systems. The findings highlight processors’ agency in responding to local production realities while demonstrating the need for further research on ownership, income distribution, gender relations, and the commercial consequences of mechanisation.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright on any article in the International Journal of Sociologies and Anthropologies Science Reviews is retained by the author(s) under the under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Permission to use text, content, images, etc. of publication. Any user to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose. But do not use it for commercial use or with the intent to benefit any business.
References
Abdoulaye, T., Abass, A., Maziya-Dixon, B., Tarawali, G., Okechukwu, R., Rusike, J., Alene, A., Manyong, V., & Ayedun, B. (2014). Awareness and adoption of improved cassava varieties and processing technologies in Nigeria. Journal of Development and Agricultural Economics, 6(2), 67–75. https://doi.org/10.5897/JDAE2013.006
Adejumo, O., Okoruwa, V., Abass, A., & Salman, K. (2020). Post-harvest technology change in cassava processing: A choice paradigm. Scientific African, 7, Article e00276. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sciaf.2020.e00276
Adeniyi, V. A., Akangbe, J. A., Kolawole, A. E., Ayeni, M. D., & Olorunfemi, D. O. (2023). Women cassava processors’ livelihood: Implications for improved processing technology usage in Nigeria. Cogent Social Sciences, 9(1), Article 2191898. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2191898
Akpoghelie, P. O., Owheruo, J. O., Edo, G. I., Yousif, E., Zainulabdeen, K., Jikah, A. N., Mohammed, A. A., Ndudi, W., Nwachukwu, S. C., Opiti, R. A., Ainyanbhor, I. E., Onyibe, P. N., Ugbune, U., Ezekiel, G. O., Ekokotu, H. A., Oghroro, E. E. A., Ekpekpo, L. D., Isoje, E. F., Igbuku, U. A., . . . Agbo, J. J. (2025). The benefits and processing technologies of gari, a famous indigenous food of Nigeria. Discover Food, 5, Article 91. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44187-025-00370-1
Apata, T. G. (2019). Analysis of cassava value chain in Nigeria: Pro-poor approach and gender perspective. International Journal of Value Chain Management, 10(3), 219–237. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJVCM.2019.100929
Awoyale, W., Alamu, E. O., Sanders, J., & Maziya-Dixon, B. (2021). A review of cassava semolina (gari and eba) end-user preferences and implications for varietal trait evaluation. International Journal of Food Science & Technology, 56(3), 1206–1222. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijfs.14867
Awoyemi, A. O., Adesokan, O. J., Kayode, A. O., Omotesho, K. F., & Osasona, K. K. (2020). Assessment of cassava processing technologies usage among rural women in Kwara State, Nigeria. Journal of Applied Life Sciences and Environment, 53(3), 314–320. https://doi.org/10.46909/cerce-2020-027
Balagopalan, C., Padmaja, G., Nanda, S. K., & Moorthy, S. N. (1988). Cassava in food, feed and industry. CRC Press.
Chuzel, G. (2001). The cassava processing industry in Brazil: Traditional techniques, technological developments, innovations and new markets. African Journal of Food and Nutritional Security, 1(1), 46–59. https://doi.org/10.4314/fns.v1i1.19233
David, P. A. (1985). Clio and the economics of QWERTY. The American Economic Review, 75(2), 332–337. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1805621
Donkor, E., Onakuse, S., Bogue, J., & de los Ríos Carmenado, I. (2022). Income inequality and distribution patterns in the cassava value chain in Oyo State, Nigeria: A gender perspective. British Food Journal, 124(13), 254–273. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-06-2021-0663
Doss, C. R. (2001). Designing agricultural technology for African women farmers: Lessons from 25 years of experience. World Development, 29(12), 2075–2092. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0305-750X(01)00088-2
Doss, C. R., & Morris, M. L. (2000). How does gender affect the adoption of agricultural innovations? The case of improved maize technology in Ghana. Agricultural Economics, 25(1), 27–39. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-0862.2001.tb00233.x
Fatuase, L. O., Mogbojuri, A. O., & Anyaeche, C. O. (2020). Adoption of cassava processing technologies among entrepreneurs in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Journal of Natural Sciences, Engineering and Technology, 18(1), 143–154. https://doi.org/10.51406/jnset.v18i1.2038
Forsythe, L., Posthumus, H., & Martin, A. (2016). A crop of one’s own? Women’s experiences of cassava commercialisation in Nigeria and Malawi. Journal of Gender, Agriculture and Food Security, 1(2), 110–128.
Grace, M. R. (1977). Cassava processing (FAO Plant Production and Protection Series No. 3). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. https://www.fao.org/4/x5032e/x5032e00.htm
Ineke, U. J. (2025). The food economy of colonial Igalaland, 1900–1960. Economic History of Developing Regions, 40(2), 126–142. https://doi.org/10.1080/20780389.2025.2504681
Ndjouenkeu, R., Ngoualem Kegah, F., Teeken, B., Okoye, B., Madu, T., Olaosebikan, O. D., Chijioke, U., Bello, A., Osunbade, A. O., Owoade, D., Takam-Tchuente, N. H., Njeufa, E. B., Chomdom, I. L. N., Forsythe, L., Maziya-Dixon, B., & Fliedel, G. (2021). From cassava to gari: Mapping of quality characteristics and end-user preferences in Cameroon and Nigeria. International Journal of Food Science & Technology, 56(3), 1223–1238. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijfs.14790
Ngoualem Kégah, F., & Ndjouenkeu, R. (2023). Gari, a cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) derived product: Review on its quality and its determinants. Journal of Food Quality, 2023, Article 7238309. https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/7238309
Ocheni, B., Eze, J. N., Ugalahi, U. B., Dauda, N. S., & Sallawu, H. (2024). Adoption of recommended technologies for cassava processing among women in Ankpa, Kogi State, Nigeria. Badeggi Journal of Agricultural Research and Environment, 6(3), 77–84. https://doi.org/10.35849/BJARE202403/207/09
Odebode, S. O. (2008). Appropriate technology for cassava processing in Nigeria: User’s point of view. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 9(3), 269–283. https://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol9/iss3/15/
Odebode, S. O., & Adetunji, T. A. (2015). Gender differentials of cassava processing activities among cassava processors in Ogun State, Nigeria. The Nigerian Journal of Rural Extension and Development, 9(1), 1–6.
Olagunju, F. I., Babatunde, R. O., & Salimonu, K. K. (2012). Market structure, conduct and performance of gari processing industry in South Western Nigeria. European Journal of Business and Management, 4(2), 99–112.
Ospina-Patino, M. T., & Ezedinma, C. (2015). Understanding the linkage of urban and rural markets of cassava products in Nigeria. African Journal of Agricultural Research, 10(40), 3804–3813. https://doi.org/10.5897/AJAR12.1037
Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). Free Press.
Ruttan, V. W. (1977). Induced innovation and agricultural development. Food Policy, 2(3), 196–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/0306-9192(77)90080-X
Suri, T., & Udry, C. (2022). Agricultural technology in Africa. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 36(1), 33–56. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.36.1.33
Thompson, P. (2000). The voice of the past: Oral history (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Vihi, S. K., Chomini, E. A., Tor, L. G., Jesse, B., Dalla, A. A., Bassey, E. A., & Owa, G. T. (2022). Factors influencing adoption of improved cassava-garri processing technologies among rural women in Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria. FUDMA Journal of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology, 8(1), 177–188. https://doi.org/10.33003/jaat.2022.0801.082