International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2020 1
Original article
From cassava to gari: mapping of quality characteristics and
end-user preferences in Cameroon and Nigeria
Robert Ndjouenkeu,1* Franklin Ngoualem Kegah,1 B
ela Teeken,2 Benjamin Okoye,3 Tessy Madu,3
Olamide Deborah Olaosebikan,2 Ugo Chijioke,3 Abolore Bello,2 Adebowale Oluwaseun Osunbade,2
Durodola Owoade,2 Noel Hubert Takam-Tchuente,4 Esther Biaton Njeufa,4 Isabelle Linda Nguiadem Chomdom,4
Lora Forsythe,5 Busie Maziya-Dixon2 & Genevieve Fliedel6,7
1 Department of Food Science and Nutrition, ENSAI, University of Ngaound
er
e, Ngaoundere PO Box 455, Cameroun
2 International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Oyo Road, Ibadan, Nigeria
3 National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Km 8 Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene Road, Umudike, Abia State, P.M.B. 7006, Nigeria
4 International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Eco-regional Center HFS, IRAD Main Road, Nkolbisson, Yaound
e, BP 2008
(Messa), Cameroon
5 Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, Central Avenue,Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB, UK
6 CIRAD, UMR Qualisud, Montpellier F-34398, France
7 Qualisud, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, Montpellier SupAgro, Univ d’Avignon, Univ de La R
eunion, Montpellier F-34398, France
(Received 7 July 2020; Accepted in revised form 9 September 2020)
Summary User’s preferences of cassava and cassava products along the value chain are supported by specific root
quality characteristics that can be linked to root traits. Therefore, providing an evidence base of user pre-
ferred characteristics along the value chain can help in the functional choice of cassava varieties. In this
respect, the present paper presents the results from focus group discussions and individual interviews on
user preferred quality characteristics of raw cassava roots and the derived product, gari, – one of the
major cassava products in Sub-Saharan Africa – in major production and consumption areas of Camer-
oon and Nigeria. Choice of cassava varieties for farming is mainly determined by the multiple end uses of
the roots, their agricultural yield and the processing determinants of roots that support their major high-
quality characteristics: size, density, low water content, maturity, colour and safety. Processing of cassava
roots into gari goes through different technological variants leading to a gari whose high-quality charac-
teristics are dryness, colour, shiny/attractive appearance, uniform granules and taste. Eba, the major con-
sumption form of gari in Cameroon and Nigeria, is mainly characterised by its textural properties:
smoothness, firmness, stickiness, elasticity and mouldability. Recommendations are made, suggesting that
breeding will have to start evaluating cassava clones for brightness/shininess, as well as textural properties
such as mouldability and elasticity of cassava food products, for the purpose of supporting decision-mak-
ing by breeders and the development of high-throughput selection methods of cassava varieties. Women
are identified as important beneficiaries of such initiatives giving their disadvantaged position and their
prominent role in cassava processing and marketing of gari.
Keywords Cameroon, cassava, eba, gari, Nigeria, quality characteristics, root, user preferences, varieties.
of 100 kg of roots per person, with Nigeria being the
Introduction
world’s leading producer and consumer, with an
Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz), originating from annual production of 59.47 million metric tons, 65%
South America, is one of the world’s main root crops of which is consumed locally (FAO, 2018a). In Camer-
and constitutes the most important staple of rural and oon, although cassava production (
5 million tons) is
urban households in Sub-Saharan Africa (Spencer & ten times less than that of Nigeria, the root is the
Ezedinma, 2017; Petsakos et al., 2019). The tuberous major crop in this country, with an increasing produc-
root and its products feed more than 500 million Afri- tion yield (
13–14 tons per ha in 2012–2013), compa-
can households with an average annual consumption rable to values registered in Nigeria, both in terms of
level of consumption and calory contribution of the
*Correspondent: E-mail: rndjouenkeu@gmail.com roots (FAO, 1991; Spencer & Ezedinma, 2017). The
doi:10.1111/ijfs.14790
© 2020 The Authors. International Journal of Food Science & Technology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
on behalf of Institute of Food, Science and Technology (IFSTTF)
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use,
distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
2 End-user preferences of cassava roots and gari R. Ndjouenkeu et al.
importance of cassava as a staple food results mainly and uniformity) account among the main attributes of
from the simplicity of its cultivation; its ability to grow gari on buying.
on marginal land that are difficult to use for other The high number of cassava varieties, with a diver-
crops; and its drought tolerance, which justifies its geo- sity of quality characteristics, may lead to a large vari-
graphical expansion from its natural forest areas to ability in the processing, use and quality of gari. The
the Sahelian zones (Nweke, 2004; IFAD, 2008; Funke quality and acceptability of gari have been assessed in
et al., 2012; Ukwuru & Egbonu, 2013; Olanrewaju, different studies with respect to cassava varieties
2016). In addition, at the level of subsistence agricul- (Tokula & Ekwe, 2006; Komolafe & Arawande, 2010;
ture, the root can be left in the ground and harvested Sanoussi et al., 2015; Awoyale et al., 2020), coupled
piece meal, thus allowing a spread management of its sometimes to area of production (Sanoussi et al., 2015;
food use. These advantages have confirmed cassava as Olanrewaju & Oluwasola, 2017; Laya et al., 2018) and
a very important crop which is fast replacing tradi- processing tools and practices (Olaoye et al., 2015;
tional crops in some areas, gaining ground increasingly Tohnain & Bebnji, 2017). These studies focused on
as an insurance crop against hunger and climate proximate composition, and functional and sensory
change and consequently constitutes an essential com- properties of the gari. These studies provide an over-
ponent of food security for African populations. Cas- view of the elements justifying consumers’ needs in
sava is also a major cash crop for a large number of terms of product quality, thus highlighting the role of
households and is sold fresh or after processing to gen- the cassava variety in the quality of gari. Identifying
erate income, often used by women for household pur- quality characteristics associated with cassava varieties
chases, children’s education, health and investment in and gari appears as a critical issue regarding the differ-
business (Forsythe et al., 2016). ent processing practices, types of products, and proces-
Cassava has two main forms of consumption in sors’ and consumers’ expectations. Some of these
Africa: the peeled and cooked root absorbs about quality characteristics can be linked to genetic traits
30% of production and the remaining 70% is pro- and as such, integrated into breeding programs, leading
cessed into various derived products (chips, flour, to better adoption of new varieties. Varietal preferences
cooked fermented pastes and fermented granular prod- start with the demand from a range of users/actors,
ucts such as gari or atie
ke
). Processing methods and such as producers, processors, retailers and consumers
product names differ from one region to another, and along the food chain. However, there is a gap in
even within the same region. The diversity of cassava knowledge of preferences among different user groups,
food uses is reflective of the cultural diversity of the regarding the diversity of their needs, which may
producing populations. Fermented products are the depend on how the crop is used and what products are
major form of cassava consumed in almost all parts of made. This can result in multiple and, perhaps, con-
Africa, accounting for almost 75% of cassava-based trasting preferences that vary according to the user’s
foods (Westby, 1991). Gari, also called garri, garry or role within the food chain, implying that the input and
tapioca, depending on the producing area, is a toasted decision-making roles of different users is of primary
pregelatinised, fine to coarse granular flour, made from importance in crop breeding. Breeding programs have
fermented cassava mash. It is the most traded and historically focused on yield and disease resistance to
consumed cassava food product in West and Central face the challenges of food security in terms of feeding
Africa (Gouado et al., 2008; Sanni et al., 2009; Ngueu- a growing population (Ceballos et al., 2004; Manu-
lieu, 2013; Njukwe et al., 2013; Wassmer, 2013; Levai Aduening et al., 2006; Ojulong et al., 2008; Ceballos
et al., 2016; Fon & Djoudji, 2017; Mapiemfu-Lamar
e et al., 2020), and on malnutrition and safety issues
et al., 2017; FAO, 2018a), which could be compared (Adenle et al., 2012; Peprah et al., 2020; Xing et al.,
to what potato flour is to the Westerners. The growing 2020), with lower priority on post-harvest quality char-
popularity of gari as convenience food is mainly due acteristics, and processor and consumer demand. In
to its affordability, easy storage and ease of prepara- addition, information on product characteristics is
tion for consumption (Oluwafemi & Udeh, 2016). In often overly simplified by not including information on
Cameroon, consumption of gari is most common the optimal range or description that would help bree-
among people from the forest regions bordering Nige- der’s ability to meet user needs.
ria (Njukwe et al., 2013). Beyond the geographical Often, farmers and processors will prefer earlier
proximity to Nigeria, which is the largest producer varieties, higher yielding and more dense/heavy (dry
and consumer of gari, the common colonial heritage matter) roots but they will then assume that any new
of these populations with Nigeria may justify the simi- root will have the same quality of the varieties they
larity of production and consumption of gari. Con- are used to. Thiele et al. (2020) show, using data from
sumer trends and gari quality derived from the above a large cassava adoption study (Wossen et al., 2017),
studies have shown that taste (acid or sweet), colour that in Nigeria, the largest area attributed to improved
(white or yellow) and grain characteristics (fineness varieties is occupied by unreleased breeders’ material
International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2020 © 2020 The Authors. International Journal of Food Science & Technology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
on behalf of Institute of Food, Science and Technology (IFSTTF)
End-user preferences of cassava roots and gari R. Ndjouenkeu et al. 3
that are either the result of escaped clones from bree- persons, sampled from information obtained from
der trials or clones grown from botanic seed from KI, who grow cassava and/or process it into gari.
released or unreleased material. This supports the case These groups were interviewed on questions related
that it is not access to improved varieties that results to farming practices, gender role, asset ownership,
into low adoption but makes a case for a large part of varieties planted (preference, utilisation and process-
released varieties not living up to the quality character- ing techniques), profile of ideal variety, preferences
istics assumed to be present in an ‘improved’ variety.
and characteristics (high and low quality) of cassava
This suggest that breeders should start evaluating their
clones for characteristics preferred by end users along roots, intermediate products during processing and
the food chain, through a dynamic process comparable the final product gari, gari consumption forms and
to what has been done in heritability for starch and ingredients used for the preparation and/or consump-
carotenoid composition of cassava (Olayide et al., tion;
2020). • Individual interviews (II): persons (10 persons at most
Fliedel et al. (2016) developed a new approach for – man or woman – per village), who farm cassava
providing better information to breeders early in vari- and process it into gari. They were interviewed on
etal improvement programmes. It involved several suc- similar questions as in FGD, providing individual/
cessive steps, including qualitative surveys all along the household level description of preferred characteris-
food chain to identify quality criteria of a good cas-
tics at different stages of product processing, house-
sava crop and product, and effective participation of
hold decision-making and trade-offs.
processors to identify the ability of new genotypes to
make a good product. Forsythe et al. (2021) adapted • Market interviews (MI) (at least 1 per village), made
this approach in a multidisciplinary methodology to of a man or a woman, or a set of women who traded
better understand end-users’ demand of good quality gari, and who were interviewed on aspects related to
root, tuber and banana (RTB) crop and products. characteristics of sought gari and the profile of cus-
The aim of the present study, focused on gari in tomers.
some major production and consumption areas of Altogether, 466 persons were interviewed in the 17
Nigeria and Cameroon, is to address these gaps villages: 32 persons as KI (65.6% of men and 34.4%
through surveys on quality characteristics of cassava of women), 256 persons in FGD (52% of women and
roots and processed product as perceived by users 48% of men), 154 persons as II (74% of women and
within the food chain, and contribute to shaping crop 26% of men) and 24 persons in MI (19.2% of men
breeding to be more responsive to user needs. and 80.8% of women). Before starting the interviews,
explanations were supplied to the respondents about
the objectives of the work, their importance as stake-
Materials and methods
holder in the achievement of these objectives, how the
data would be used and data confidentiality. It is only
Survey locations and implementation
when a given stakeholder consented to participate, and
Our study was carried out between August 2018 and had signed the consent form, that the interview
July 2019 in Cameroon (Littoral Region) and Nigeria started. These interviews were carried out in the lan-
(Imo, Osun, and Benue States; Fig. 1). In each area, guage that the respondents are fluent with.
interviews and discussion groups were carried out in at
least four villages (Table 1) chosen on the basis of
Data collection and analysis
their current practices in cassava production and its
processing into gari. Qualitative data collected from respondents (farmers
In each village, four target groups of stakeholders and processors from FGD, processors from II and tra-
were interviewed according to Forsythe et al. (2021): ders from MI) were analysed by coding and categoris-
ing information on quality characteristics (good and
• Key Informant (KI) (at least 1 per village): a commu- bad) of raw cassava roots and products (gari and its
nity leader, a person or a set of persons (1-6 persons) main consumed form, eba), using Multiple Criteria
who have a deep knowledge of the village. The inter- Decision Analysis (MCDA) approach, both at individ-
view provided information related to livelihood activi- ual and location-specific (State/Region) levels. At
locality (State/Region) level, the analysis of ranked
ties, social segmentation, varieties planted and
quality characteristics was conducted based on the
utilisation of cassava in the village and contributed to methodology described by Forsythe et al. (2021) using
sampling and probing in the next step of the interviews. pairwise ranking. Similar quality characteristics were
• Focus Group Discussions (FGD) (at least 2 per vil- grouped under a category term. The frequency of cita-
lage, 1 for men & 1 for women): a group of 5 to 10 tion of each category term ranked as first, second or
© 2020 The Authors. International Journal of Food Science & Technology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2020
on behalf of Institute of Food, Science and Technology (IFSTTF)
4 End-user preferences of cassava roots and gari R. Ndjouenkeu et al.
Figure 1 Survey area (The States/Regions surveyed are highlighted in yellow).
third is multiplied by 3, 2 and 1, respectively, and the (coffee, palm oil trees and cocoa) being commonly
values obtained for each category term summed. All farmed in all localities, with cassava as the major food
the category terms of the locality were then ranked crop farmed. Though in all localities, actors involved
according to the obtained values, higher values corre- in agricultural activities originate from different
sponding to higher rankings, and weighted using the national ethnic groups, or even countries, the ethnicity
Ranking Ordered Centroid (ROC) method (Sureey- of actors is native dominated in Nigerian states (Yor-
atanapas, 2016; Roszkowska, 2013; Tofallis, 2014; uba in Osun State, Tiv in Benue State, and Igbo in
Sureeyatanapas, 2016). In order to bring out the main Imo State), while in Littoral Region of Cameroon,
characteristics describing users’ demand, only the high- Bamile
ke
s, originating from Western Region of the
est weight was used for diagrams. country, constitute the majority of farmers, the native
Sphinx Plus2 – Edition Lexica-V5, and Microsoft ethnic groups (Abo and Mbo’o) being in the minority.
Excel software packages were used for treatment of The compilation of information obtained from KI
questionnaires and analysis of data. Quality character- and FGD indicates that gender mapping of farming
istics of cassava and gari were analysed based on their systems is based on the wealth status of the actors,
citation frequencies, and principal component analysis depending on the farmed surfaces, land ownership,
(PCA) was used to represent their distribution in the crops, quantity harvested and level of work organisa-
survey areas. tion. In this respect, wealthy farmers are mainly males,
aged between 40 and 50 years old, who own land,
farm food and cash crops intensively on high superfi-
Results and discussion
cies (2–10 ha of cassava, 8–100 ha for cash crops), use
important quantity of agricultural inputs, hire impor-
Gender mapping of livelihood activities
tant number of labourers and use agricultural machin-
Regardless of the area (Region/State), agriculture is ery (in Nigeria only). Wealthy farmers represent about
the main livelihood activity, food crops and cash crops 10% of Nigerian farmers, with men representing
International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2020 © 2020 The Authors. International Journal of Food Science & Technology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
on behalf of Institute of Food, Science and Technology (IFSTTF)
End-user preferences of cassava roots and gari R. Ndjouenkeu et al. 5
Table 1 Geographical references of survey areas with corresponding number of respondents
Number of respondents
Total per Region/
State/Region Village Latitude Longitude KI FGD II MI state
Littoral Region (Cameroon) Bonagoum 4°1406.87″N 9°36056.7″E 6 17 10 4 131
Bonamukandjo I 4°13048.93″N 9°36037.37″E 1 15 10 3
Passim 5°200.05″N 9°55041.12″E 1 16 10 2
Nkongsoung Long Trait 5°7036.42″N 9°57038.97″E 1 6 0 0
Quartier 5 5°7043.93″N 9°56047.43″E 2 14 10 3
Osun State (Nigeria) Aba Gbooro Elefon 7°40043″N 4°27049″E 2 13 9 1 101
Agoowu farm settlement 7°07014″N 4°10008.1″E 2 14 9 1
Oyan 8°02040.7″N 4°02016.7″E 2 12 10 1
Wasinmi Iseyin 7°2607″N 4°15052″E 2 13 9 1
Benue State (Nigeria) Tyomu 7°40030.4″N 8°32008.8″E 2 17 10 2 110
Koti Shangev-ya 7°40038.5″N 8°32015.2″E 2 12 9 0
Nyam II 7°40037.2″N 8°32014.0″E 2 15 9 1
Al0Okete 7°40027.1″N 8°32010.6″E 2 17 9 1
Imo State (Nigeria) Isinweke 5°38034.16″N 7°21045.14″E 1 17 10 1 124
Amandugba 5°42030.31″N 7°3058.25″E 2 20 10 1
Akwakuma 5°48032.29″N 7°3039.35″E 1 21 10 1
Uzoagba 5°3404.62″N 7°9012.17″E 1 17 10 1
Totals 32 154 256 24 466
FGD, Focus Group Discussion; II, Individual Interview; KI, Key Informant; MI, Market Interview.
double the number of wealthy women. In all areas, use of land, since land availability and land ownership
poor farmers are mainly females, representing more appear among the major constraints of agricultural
than 80% of agricultural actors, who do not have activities (K
eb
e Diouf, 2016; Nkuintchua, 2016). In
secure land tenure, farm numerous food crops at small this respect, most smallholder farmers in Cameroon
scale and on low surface (1/4 to 2 ha for cassava), and rent land on which they farm. In areas where land is
cannot afford important quantity of agricultural available, as in some localities of Osun State, men and
inputs. These findings are comparable in almost all the women work on separate farms. When land is scarce,
study area and are perceived in the same proportion men and women work in the same farm, but generally
from KI and FGD. Land cultivation is generally done on separate plots, many food crops being found on
in mounds and in ridges in almost all areas. Mean- women’s plots and used both for market and for home
while, when soil is clayey and soft, as in Imo State, consumption. In Nigeria, immigrants from other Nige-
farming in flat soil is practiced. From gender point of rian states and countries (mainly Benin and Togo) in
view concerning farming practices, locality specificity Osun State tend to work together on the same land
is observed. In Benue state, men generally farm in with less pronounced gender division of labour (For-
mounds and women in ridges, while in Osun State and sythe et al., 2016). Regardless of the availability of
Littoral Region of Cameroon, farming in ridges is land, farming tasks are shared when a couple is work-
more common, both for men and women. Mono- and ing on the same land. In this respect, men are
mixed-cropping are practiced in all areas, mono-crop- involved, to a greater extent, in farm preparation
ping being more common in Nigeria and done by (clearing of the farm, spraying of herbicides, digging
wealthy farmers, who use tractors, while in Cameroon, of holes for mounds), while women are more involved
the practice is scarce and only found among specific in tasks which require patience with less physical
crops (tomatoes, pineapple, palm oil trees) for high strength (planting, weeding and harvesting). Some
national, regional or international markets. Mixed- crops are specific to men in some localities (tomatoes
cropping is generally more often practiced by women in Littoral region of Cameroon and yam in Imo State,
who combine subsistence needs and household chores Nigeria). The investment cost (case of yam) and the
with farming work by mixing crops of long vegetation risk level (high perishability and variability of market
cycle (cassava, yam and cocoyam) with those of demand for tomato) associated with the crop justify
shorter vegetation cycle (maize and groundnuts). This this differentiation. Men are more willing to take risks
mixed-crops practice is mainly for home consumption while women, because of their involvement in many
orientation farming and constitutes a way to maximise more household related tasks besides farming, are less
© 2020 The Authors. International Journal of Food Science & Technology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2020
on behalf of Institute of Food, Science and Technology (IFSTTF)
6 End-user preferences of cassava roots and gari R. Ndjouenkeu et al.
inclined to take risks likely to hamper the family care
Cassava varieties and their preferred characteristics
and food supply. Studies have shown that men start to
grow or even take over production of crops previously Different cassava varieties, with names varying from
dominated by women when they become more produc- one farmer to another, or by village, are farmed in all
tive or profitable (Doss, 2001; Whiteheadet al., 2000; areas, depending on food habit, derived cassava food
World Bank et al., 2009; Fischer & Qaim, 2012; product, market environment and other. The differen-
David, 2015). Regardless of the location, cassava is tiation of these varieties is based both on agronomical
either the most farmed or among the most farmed and post-harvest (processing and consumption) quality
crops, and the majority of harvested roots are pro- characteristics of the roots. Major characteristics of
cessed. The proportion of cassava used for household the top three varieties farmed in each area are shown
consumption is higher in Nigeria (generally around in Fig. 2. The preferences of specific root quality char-
40%) compared to Cameroon (generally around 20%), acteristics are similar in the study areas, which con-
confirming the importance of cassava in the diet of firms information currently reported from other
Nigerians. In the South-West of Nigeria, processing of surveys carried out in SSA countries (Agbor-Egbe &
cassava into fermented products is mainly carried out Lape Mbome, 2006; Zundel et al., 2010; Njukwe et al.,
by women using the service of processing centres that 2013; Ukenye et al., 2013; Mouafor et al., 2016; Wos-
offer grating, pressing and toasting facilities, while in sen et al., 2017; Teeken et al., 2018). At farming stage,
Imo and Benue state as well as the littoral zone in yield and suitability for multiple end uses are the
Cameroon, processing takes more often place within major characteristics cited by respondents, followed by
the household, using own equipment (or using a other agronomical and post-harvest characteristics
mobile grater service that goes from compound to such as size of roots, storage ability in soil after matu-
compound), in which relatively more men participate. rity, adaptation to poor soils and early maturity. At
However, one major and important finding which con- processing and consumption stages, the root should
firms earlier findings (Curran et al., 2009; Walker also give shining/attractive products, including gari; be
et al., 2014; Njukwe et al., 2014; Taiwo & Fasoyiro, edible (sweet taste and good cooking quality, which
2015; Fon & Djoudji, 2017; Teeken et al., 2018) is the facilitate fresh consumption); have high processing
overall dominance of women within the processing of yield (low water content, and ease of peeling); and low
cassava into food products as well as the marketing of fibre content – in a decreasing order of importance
these products in all the regions. Given the disadvan- based on number of citations. In Nigeria, the prefer-
taged position of women found in our study, more ence of cassava varieties with a good number of
attention for processing and food quality related branches and leaves, or providing good canopy, is,
cassava traits within the development of new varieties according to respondents (II & FGD), related to the
will therefore benefit many women in Cameroon and aptitude of these varieties to suppress weeds and to
Nigeria. provide sufficient stems for the next farming season.
Straight tuber Eat leavesOsun (7) Osun (7)
Availability of cu ngs Give heavy Gari
Heavy roots Benue (8) Benue (8)Low quan ty of red palm oil needed
Big & long roots Imo (9) Low fibres content Imo (9)
Big roots
Number of branches and leaves Li oral (9) Easy to peel (3) Li oral (9)
Early maturing Low water content
Don’t select soil High processing yield
Long underground storability
Edible
Many roots
Shining products
Mul ple uses
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20
Frequencies of cita ons of good quality Frequencies of cita ons of good quality characteris cs
characteris cs of cassava varie es of cassava varie es ranked among the top 3
ranked among the top 3
Figure 2 High-quality characteristics of top 3 cultivated cassava varieties cited by farmers during FGD and II (For each locality, the number
in the parenthesis represent the number of top 3 liked varieties, all the villages being considered).
International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2020 © 2020 The Authors. International Journal of Food Science & Technology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
on behalf of Institute of Food, Science and Technology (IFSTTF)
Agronomical and post-harvest 
characteris cs
Technological and physicochemical 
characteris cs
End-user preferences of cassava roots and gari R. Ndjouenkeu et al. 7
There is also the overall common belief that cassava another, based on the difference in weighting attribu-
plants with a good canopy always have a good yield. ted to a specific characteristic, depending either on
When grouping and ranking the importance of local specific farming conditions or on end-use orienta-
specific cassava root characteristics in general, regard- tion of the root. This is the case in Imo State and Lit-
less of the varieties (Fig. 3), the characteristics oriented toral Region, for which the major high-quality
towards processing and end-use issues – for example characteristics, with far higher weight, are, respec-
size, density, water content, safety (not rotten) and col- tively, big root size and white colour of the roots
our – indicate farmer perceptions of high quality. (Fig. 3b1). In the same vein, the high rejection of high
Though the type of quality characteristics, both high fibre content of roots in Littoral Region distinguishes
and low, is common to all producing areas, their this area from the others in terms of varieties that will
importance can vary from one region to the other be grown (Fig. 3b2). The importance of big roots in
(Fig. 3b1 & b2). On the other hand, there are some- Imo State can be understood for three reasons: (i) big-
times high similarities between areas, such as Benue ger roots reduce the total surface that has to be peeled
and Osun States for high-quality characteristics, and off, which is convenient for women, the main actors
in Benue, Osun and Imo States for low-quality charac- involved in peeling; (ii) there is land scarcity in Imo
teristics. Areas can show strong differences from one and the average size of cassava plots is lower than in
0.50
(a1) Biplot HQ Roots (axes F1 et F2 : 79,81 %) (b1)
0.40 4 Imo
Big roots
0.30 3
0.20 2
Low water content
0.10 1 Mature roots Not roen Heavy roots
High yield
0 Benue
0.00 Not fiber Osun
Smooth roots
Easy to peel Big & long –1 Low fibers roots
–2 Long vegetaon cycleDifficult to peel White colour
Lioral
–3
–4
–5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
F1 (54,81 %)
High Quality characteriscs
0.50 Biplot LQ Roots (axes F1 et F2 : 91,62 %) (b2)
(a2)
0.40 7 Lioral
6
0.30 5
4
0.20 High fibres3
2 Over-mature
0.10 Non-white pulp
1 Roots heated in soil BenueEasy to peel 
0 High water content0.00 Low resistance to diseases
–1 Rough outer skin Non-mature Small roots Osun
Non-straight rooots Low density
–2 Unfresh roots
Roen roots
Imo
3 Low processing yield–
–4
–5
–7 –6 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
F1 (65,53 %)
Low Quality characteriscs
Figure 3 Weight distribution of high (a1)- and low (a2)-quality characteristics of cassava roots and their representation in producing areas (b1,
b2).
© 2020 The Authors. International Journal of Food Science & Technology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2020
on behalf of Institute of Food, Science and Technology (IFSTTF)
Ranking weight
Ranking weight
F2 (26,10 %)
F2 (24,99 %)
8 End-user preferences of cassava roots and gari R. Ndjouenkeu et al.
most other places (Korieh, 2010) because of lineage preferred characteristics of the end-product (gari in
dividing up communal land with growing population, our case) should be known. Bechoff et al. (2018) indi-
making optimising production yield relatively more cated that diversity in cassava food products can pro-
important as increasing yields per area are the only vide a challenge to identifying acceptance criteria, and
way to obtain more roots; iii) soils in Imo are rela- socio-economic factors such as gender may also be
tively acid in comparison with the other regions mak- critical. This is the case, for instance, for the colour of
ing less nutrients available to the plant resulting in cassava pulp for gari. In Littoral Region of Cameroon,
relatively smaller roots. the end use of the root orients the preference of cas-
Considering the distribution of quality characteris- sava varieties with white pulp since cassava varieties
tics of roots in the producing areas (Fig. 3.b1 & b2), it with yellow pulp are used exclusively for home con-
appears that all characteristics displaying a ranking sumption, and rarely for market; in addition, yellow
weight ≤ 0.1 are localised around the central point of varieties are still found in very limited areas. In Nige-
the PCA graph. This may indicate the relative low ria, yellow varieties are more common and sometimes
impact of these characteristics. Thus, all root quality used for gari processing, since no additional oil is
characteristics (high and low) with ranking required to obtain a yellow gari. In the same vein, the
weight ≥ 0.1 can be considered as more representative higher ranking of high fibre content of roots among
of farmers’ perceptions. With regard to this assertion, low characteristics of cassava roots in Littoral Region
the PCA representation of major quality characteristics may be related to farming practice in this area where
of roots in all areas (Fig. 4) indicates that high-quality root varieties with long vegetative cycle are used,
cassava roots are mainly determined by the following which results in an increase in lignification. Ease of
characteristics: size (‘big roots’, ‘big and long roots’); peel also appears among the high and low preference
density (‘heavy roots’); ‘low water content’, which characteristics. This might be attributed to the fact
could be coupled to ‘density’ and its ‘safe character’ that such roots have a relatively high-water content
(‘not rotten’); maturity (‘mature roots’); and colour and thus a rather low yield in processing. Processors
(‘white colour’). On the other hand, low-quality root is could therefore notice that a root that is easy to peel
mainly characterised by its unsafe character (‘Rotten would indicate low dry matter content, which will
root’); its fibre and water contents (‘high fibre content’ result in lower food product yield.
and ‘high-water content’); its maturity stage (‘over-ma- The determinants associated by farmers to the qual-
ture root’); its size and density (‘small size’ and ‘low ity characteristics of roots raise scientific issues that
density’); and the colour of its pulp (‘non-white pulp’). need further exploration. The above high- and low-
Farmers consider these characteristics in choosing quality characteristics of cassava roots are often dis-
which varieties to cultivate. The decision is also related played in sub-optimal combinations in currently culti-
to end use of the roots, in particular which type of vated varieties, that is no varieties show only high-
products are to be processed. In this respect, the quality characteristics, without one or more low-
Biplot major HQ roots (axes F1 et F2 : 86,14 %) Biplot major LQ roots (axes F1 et F2 : 91,70 %)
4 4 Lioral
3 Lioral 3 High fibres …
White Benue
2 colour 2
Osun
1 Mature 1
roots Over-mature… 
Low water content Roen roots
0 0 Non-white pulp High water… 
Big roots Benue –1 Small roots
–1 Imo Not roen Osun ImoLow density
–2 Heavy roots
–2
–3
–3 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
–4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 F1 (65,07 %)
F1 (58,11 %)
Figure 4 Distribution of major quality characteristics (high and low) of cassava roots in producing areas (the size of a characteristic’s marker
is representative of its relative weight).
International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2020 © 2020 The Authors. International Journal of Food Science & Technology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
on behalf of Institute of Food, Science and Technology (IFSTTF)
F2 (28,03 %)
F2 (26,63 %)
End-user preferences of cassava roots and gari R. Ndjouenkeu et al. 9
quality ones. For example, early maturing varieties facilitating continuous processing and thus income
are, in general, negatively characterised by high-water generation. Sanginga (2015) noted that yam and cas-
content of roots, resulting in low storability in the soil sava, though longer in their cropping cycle, are vital in
beyond maturity. But on the positive side, early matur- the annual cycle of food availability due to their
ing varieties tend to display good yield in low fertility broader agroecological adaptation, diverse maturity
soils, easy removal of peels and low fibre content (Tee- period and in-ground storage capability, permitting
ken et al., 2018). On the contrary, late maturing vari- flexibility in harvesting period for sustained food avail-
eties display positively, low water content, high ability.
processing yield and storability in soil beyond matu- All the quality characteristics of cassava were men-
rity, but negatively display high yielding only on fertile tioned as preferences by both men and women, regard-
soils, difficulty of peeling and high fibre content. less of the area, except that women attribute higher
Growers are faced with the difficult decision of choos- weight than men to ease of peeling. This is likely
ing a balance between positive and negative character- because peeling is generally the responsibility of
istics that best meet their needs. This constraint leads women, with help of children.
the farmers to adapt their choice to their technical and
environmental possibilities. Thus, when an early
Quality characteristics of gari
maturing cassava variety is planted, it must not be
harvested too early or late, provided that the farmer Cassava processing into gari
has the technical means to harvest the entire produc- Cassava processing into gari involves successive unit
tion at once. On the contrary, farming of late matur- operations including: peeling, washing, grating, dewa-
ing cassava varieties allows piecemeal harvesting, in tering to obtain a mash, fermenting, crumbling, sieving
line with processing capacity and market demand. and finally toasting to obtain the pregelatinised granu-
Farmers often plant both types of varieties using the lated gari. Different variants are used by processors in
short cycle varieties as hunger breakers, allowing cas- setting up the unit operations, in terms of ordering
sava to be available for a longer stretch of time, and processing time (Fig. 5). To produce yellow gari,
Cassava Peeling Cleaning 
Grang Grang Oil 
Cassava mash Oily cassava mash 
Oil 
Dewatering (≤7 hrs) Fermentaon (6-48 h) Dewatering & fermentaon (1-3 days) 
Fermentaon (6-48 h) Dewatering (≤ 5 hrs) 
Fermented cassava mash Oily fermented 
cassava mash 
Crumbling 
Cassava fibers Sieving 
+/– oil Roasng 
Drying 
Cooling 
Grinding 
Sieving Sun-drying 
Fibrous fermented flour 
Gari 
Figure 5 Variants of cassava processing into
gari.
© 2020 The Authors. International Journal of Food Science & Technology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2020
on behalf of Institute of Food, Science and Technology (IFSTTF)
10 End-user preferences of cassava roots and gari R. Ndjouenkeu et al.
palm oil is added at different steps of processing, for grinding to obtain a fibrous fermented flour used to
example after grating and before mash fermentation, prepare a dough called Kumkum in Cameroon. Most
or during toasting of the sieved fermented mash. The of the variants of cassava processing into gari in differ-
specific step depends on processors’ practice, objective ent African countries were reported in the literature
and area. For instance, gari processors in the Littoral (Afoakwa et al., 2010; Adebayo et al., 2012; Ukpabi
Region of Cameroon assert that adding palm oil et al., 2012; Onasoga et al., 2014; De Moura et al.,
before fermentation facilitates the toasting and pro- 2015; Ikpe & Essienubong, 2016; Fon & Djoudji,
duces gari with homogeneous colour and no lumps. 2017; Olanrewaju & Idowu, 2017; FAO, 2018b; Adinsi
The yellow gari is highly predominant in Cameroonian et al., 2019), showing spatial variability of processing
markets, while in Nigeria, yellow gari, processed either and quality of gari.
using palm oil or using yellow cassava varieties only,
is predominant in markets of South-East and North- Quality characteristics of gari
Central States (including Imo and Benue States, Important high- and low-quality characteristics of gari
respectively); on the contrary, white gari is more abun- in the different survey areas, presented in Fig. 6, show
dant in markets of South-West States (including Osun that good gari is mainly characterised by its appear-
State) (Udofia et al., 2011; Adebayo et al., 2012; ance (shiny, smooth, uniform and non-powdery gran-
Funke et al., 2012). In some gari-producing areas, resi- ules, low level of fibre, no lumps and white or yellow
dues, such as fibres resulting from sieving (Fig. 5), can colour), its texture in hand and mouth (high density,
be value-added by drying (sun or firewood) and dry, a bit resistant to chewing, good swelling), its taste
0.40 Biplot major HQ gari (axes F1 et F2 L:i 89o,5ra2 l%)6 (b1)(a1)
5
0.30 4
3
0.20 Sweet2 Osun
Low quanty of oil Shining
1 DryUniform granules 
0.10 Non-powdery granules0 Good taste/flavour Sour
–1 Yellow Heavy/high density
0.00 Smooth
–2 White Benue
–3 Imo
–4
–7 –6 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
High-Quality characteriscs F1 (65,82 %)
0.30 Biplot major LQ gari (axes F1 et F2 : 84,40 %)5 (b2)
(a2)
4 Osun
0.20 3 Benue
2 Low density
1 SweetPresence of lumps
0.10 Low shininess
0 High fibres
Not sweet
–1 Bad odour/flavour Not well-dried
0.00 –2 Powdery granules
–3 Lioral
–4 Imo
–5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Low-Quality characteriscs F1 (70,95 %)
Figure 6 Weight distribution of major high (a1)- and low (a2)-quality characteristics of gari cited by processors and their representation in the
different areas in Nigeria and Cameroon (b1, b2) (size of characteristics’ markers in PCA are related to their weight).
International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2020 © 2020 The Authors. International Journal of Food Science & Technology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
on behalf of Institute of Food, Science and Technology (IFSTTF)
Ranking weight Ranking weight
F2 (13,45 %) F2 (23,71 %)
End-user preferences of cassava roots and gari R. Ndjouenkeu et al. 11
Table 2 Gari consumption forms Nigeria (Benue State, North-Central Nigeria). On the
contrary, English-speaking consumers in Cameroon
Consumption form Preparation Country (North-West and South-West Regions) prefer white
Soaked Gari Soaking in cold water, addition of Nigeria/ and strongly sour gari, similar to the Yoruba popula-
sugar and eating with different Cameroon tion of South-West Nigeria, including Osun State and
ingredients (groundnuts, Igbo population of South-East Nigeria, including Imo
coconuts, beans, milk, etc.) State. However, the Yoruba gari is sourer than that
Eba/Gari fufu/ Pouring gari into boiled water and from other regions, and the Igbo population produces
Couscous gari cooking under stirring for 2–5 min yellow as well as white gari. Preferences for sweet gari
Mixing of boiled water and Gari and less sour one are generally observed for ethnic
and turned to paste without
groups which do not have gari as a cultural main course
cooking
meal (French speaking ethnic groups of Cameroon and
Fried gari/Gari Frying of gari with oil and spices, Cameroon
saute
/ and sometimes with eggs, then Idoma ethnic groups of Nigeria). Moreover, the territo-
eating as such rial proximity and continuity of English-speaking
Omelette Tapioca Frying of a mixture of crude eggs, Cameroonians, Ibo and Yoruba (Fig. 1) may constitute
Gari and flavors in oil another explanation.
Pure
e de Tapioca Puree obtained from a mixture of The quality characteristics of gari depend both on
gari and avocado the cassava variety and on the process used, the latter
having the major influence (Fig. 6). However, since
poor cassava quality may lead to acceptable gari, sub-
(sweet, sour) and its aroma and flavour. Depending on ject to suitable production process, the relationship
individual preferences and locality, opposite quality between cassava quality characteristics and processing
characteristics can be displayed in the description of a practice is important in determining gari quality. The
good quality gari. For example, sweet taste and sour end use of gari is another factor to be taken into
taste both appear among the high-quality characteris- account.
tics cited by respondents, though with different weights.
The weights of the different gari quality characteristics Quality characteristics of eba, a traditional paste made
vary between localities and can be supported by cul- from gari
tural determinants, according to Agbor-Egbe and Lape Gari is consumed in different forms (Table 2). The
Mbome (2006) and Levai et al. (2016). French speaking most popular ones, regardless of the area, are gari
consumers in Cameroon generally prefer yellow and lit- added with water and eaten after soaking (soaked gari)
tle bit sweet gari, similar to the Idoma population in and gari cooked into a paste (eba). These two
(a) (b)
0.40
Biplot Major HQ gari on cooking (axes F1 et F2: 74,38 %)
5
0.30 Lioral
4
Imo
0.20 3
elasc/drawy
2
non-scky
Scky Smooth
Osun
0.10 1
Less smooth Good swelling
0 firm
Shining Resistance to srring
0.00 Low fibres Mouldable–1 Good aroma Benue
Easy dissolving
–2 Not elasc
–3
–6 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
High-Quality characteriscs F1 (49,24 %)
Figure 7 Weight distribution of major high-quality characteristics of gari on cooking (a) and their representation in the different areas in Nige-
ria and Cameroon (b) (size of characteristics’ markers in PCA are relative to their weight).
© 2020 The Authors. International Journal of Food Science & Technology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2020
on behalf of Institute of Food, Science and Technology (IFSTTF)
Ranking weight
F2 (25,14 %)
12 End-user preferences of cassava roots and gari R. Ndjouenkeu et al.
consumption forms take advantage of the swelling sour, cooked taste) and aroma. On the opposite side
properties of gari. Gari added with cold water, sugar of the quality spectrum, a bad quality eba is charac-
and/or other ingredients is consumed as a snack, terised by its appearance (presence of lumps, of dirt
mainly by young people or students between meals, and dark colour), its sour taste, its flavour (unpleasant
while gari cooked into a paste, popularly called eba in odour/flavour, incomplete cooking) and its texture
Nigeria and gari fufu/couscous tapioca/couscous gari in (not smooth, sticky, not elastic and not mouldable).
Cameroon, is generally eaten with a soup as part of a Based on the terms used by respondents, the texture
family meal. In this paper, we will use the term eba. characteristics of eba may be related to quality charac-
The high-quality characteristics of eba are related to teristics of gari such as granule uniformity, ease of dis-
its behaviour during cooking (good swelling) (Fig. 7), solving, colour, level of powderiness and resistance to
and its texture from cooking to eating stage such as stirring. These quality characteristics of the gari may
easy to swallow, smooth, sticky, not sticky, elastic/ impact on the swelling, smoothness, stickiness, elastic-
drawy, soft, firm and mouldable (Fig. 8). High-quality ity and mouldability properties of eba. As in the case
characteristics of eba are also related to its appearance for gari taste, respondents cited opposite quality char-
(shiny, no lumps, no dirt), its taste (little bit sweet, acteristics (mainly the texture) as the preferred ones
0.40 Biplot major HQ Eba on eang (axes F1 et F2 : 66,28 %)
(a1) (b1)
4
0.30
Lioral
3
0.20
2 Less smooth 
Not-scky
0.10 firm
1 Imo
Lile bit sweet 
0.00 0
Easy to swallow
Good aroma Elasc/drawyScky
–1 Mouldable Smooth
Benue
So Osun
High-Quality charateriscs –2
–3
–4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5
F1 (42,19 %)
0.50 Biplot major LQ Eba on eang (axes F1 et F2 : 82,73 %)
(a2) (b2)
0.40 4 Lioral
3
0.30 Very sour taste
2
Presence of 
0.20 1 Not elasc dirt Benue
Too so Unpleasant odour/flavour Dark colour
0.10 0 Incomplete cooking
Not scky Not mouldablePresence of lumps
–1 Not smooth Osun
0.00 Very hard
–2
Scky
–3 Imo
–4
–6 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Low-Quality characteriscs F1 (58,78 %)
Figure 8 Weight distribution of high (a1)- and low (a2)-quality characteristics of eba ready to eat and their representation in the different areas
in Nigeria and Cameroon (b1, b2) (size of characteristics’ markers in PCA are relative to their weight).
International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2020 © 2020 The Authors. International Journal of Food Science & Technology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
on behalf of Institute of Food, Science and Technology (IFSTTF)
Ranking weight Ranking weight
F2 (23,96 %) F2 (24,10 %)
End-user preferences of cassava roots and gari R. Ndjouenkeu et al. 13
for eba. Therefore, eba is liked either soft, a little bit raising a logical issue on the importance of the rela-
sticky, smooth and elastic, or firm, not sticky, less tionship between cassava roots characteristics, process-
smooth and less elastic. This differentiation seems to ing techniques, and gari and eba quality, in line with
be specific to locality/ethnicity and cooking process, the preferences of end users. It should then be useful
since eba is appreciated either for the strong or weak to work with processors through a participatory
behaviour of its texture (Fig. 8). Especially in Osun approach, to identify with them the key steps in the
and Benue States, dark colour of eba is a major indi- processing that influence the gari quality and the eba
cator of low quality, while this is less so for Imo and quality (using very different cassava varieties, adapted
Littoral, while low shininess (low brightness) is an or non-adapted for making a high-quality product).
important low-quality gari characteristic for all the Consumers’ overall liking of these products will be
regions. This non-preference might be related to the related to their different sensory properties and other
colouring of the gari with palm oil which is more fre- quality characteristics.
quent in Imo and Littoral than it is in Osun and It is often at the moment of the introduction of
Benue, probably making a darker colour less attrac- newly bred varieties that farmers first encounter roots
tive. It might also be related to the longer fermenta- that do not provide an optimal product. Looking at
tion time practiced in Osun and Benue relative to the results of this study for high-quality characteristics
Littoral and Imo which might create higher coinci- for fresh roots, it is easy for breeders to see their cur-
dences of darkening when gari is turned to eba. Also, rent selection criteria confirmed. However, the diffi-
sun drying of gari is known to be practiced in Osun cultly with characteristics such as yield, early maturity
state and this might result into discolouring through and high dry matter is that they are so called quantita-
contamination with dust and or reaction with fungi/ tive ‘empty traits’ not considering quality trade-offs.
bacteria, a discoloration that can be amplified when The results of this study raise an issue on a dynamic
turning the dry gari product into a wet eba product. cooperation process between breeders and food scien-
The prominence of ‘not mouldable’ as a low-quality tists to investigate proof of concepts on the relation
eba characteristic in Benue and Osun States is related to between physicochemical traits in fresh roots and food
the mode of preparation: in both Benue and Osun, eba product quality, in order to connect physicochemical
is prepared by mixing of boiled water and gari and turn- properties to genetic markers. It also involves testing
ing into a paste with a spoon. This allows for less homo- of clones and cooperation with most often women pro-
geneous rehydration to take place and providing the eba cessors who are the custodians of detailed processing
with a relatively crumblier and more airy structure. This expertise and knowledge of cassava food product qual-
method naturally creates more coincidences of mould- ity. Women will also be important beneficiaries of
ability problems (depending on the structure of starch these proposed strategies given their disadvantaged
in gari) as the eba can fall apart (crumble) more easily if position within many communities and their promi-
starch gets less time to rehydrate and gelatinise com- nent role in cassava processing and marketing of gari.
pared to eba that is prepared by cooking, which results
in a more homogenous rehydration where the gari parti-
Acknowledgments
cles are better merged because of the longer contact
between hot water and gari. This research was undertaken as part of, and funded
by, the CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers
and Bananas (RTB) and supported by CGIAR Fund
Conclusions
Donors. Funding support for this work was provided
Maturity, size and density of cassava roots constitute through the RTBfoods project https://rtbfoods.cirad.fr
the main high-quality characteristics of raw cassava through a grant OPP1178942: Breeding RTB products
cited by farmers in the study areas in Nigeria and for end-user preferences (RTBfoods), to the French
Cameroon. For gari, a toasted fermented granular Agricultural Research Centre for International Devel-
product, the main high-quality characteristics identified opment (CIRAD), Montpellier, France, by the Bill &
by respondents, concern mainly the appearance, the Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).
taste, the dryness and density of the product, while for
eba, (a cooked paste made from gari), users identified
Author Contribution
textural characteristics as most important. Processors
use almost all cassava varieties available in their area Robert Ndjouenkeu: Conceptualization (lead); Data
for making gari through different process variants, curation (equal); Formal analysis (equal); Investigation
implying that cassava root of low quality may be pro- (equal); Writing-original draft (lead); Writing-review &
cessed into acceptable gari. This might indicate the sig- editing (equal). Franklin Ngoualem Kegah: Data cura-
nificant role of processing techniques in determining tion (equal); Formal analysis (equal); Investigation
the quality of gari and of its derivative products, (lead); Writing-original draft (equal). B
ela Teeken:
© 2020 The Authors. International Journal of Food Science & Technology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd International Journal of Food Science and Technology 2020
on behalf of Institute of Food, Science and Technology (IFSTTF)
14 End-user preferences of cassava roots and gari R. Ndjouenkeu et al.
Conceptualization (equal); Data curation (equal); For- http://hqcf.iita.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/7_quality-manang
mal analysis (equal); Writing-review & editing (equal). meny-for-gari-production.pdf.
Adenle, A.A., Aworh, O.C., Akromah, R. & Parayil, G. (2012).
Benjamin Okoye: Writing-review & editing (equal). Developing GM super cassava for improved health and food secu-
Tessy Madu: Data curation (equal); Formal analysis rity: future challenges in Africa. Agriculture & Food Security, 1, 11.
(equal); Writing-review & editing (equal). Olamide Adinsi, L., Akisso
e, N., Escobar, A. et al. (2019). Sensory and
Deborah Olaosebikan Olamide Olaosebikan: Data cura- physicochemical profiling of traditional and enriched gari in Benin.
tion (equal); Formal analysis (equal); Writing-review & Food Science & Nutrition, 7, 3338–3348.
Afoakwa, E.O., Kongor, E.J., Annor, G.A. & Adjonu, R. (2010).
editing (equal). Ugo Chijioke: Writing-review & editing Acidification and starch behaviour during co-fermentation of cas-
(equal). Bello Abolore: Writing-review & editing sava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) and soybean (Glycine max Merr)
(equal). Adebowale Oluwaseun Osunbade: Writing-re- into gari, an African fermented food. International Journal of Food
view & editing (equal). Durodola Owoade: Writing-re- Sciences and Nutrition, 61, 449–462.
Agbor-Egbe, T. & Lape Mbome, I. (2006). The effects of processing
view & editing (equal). Noel Hubert Takam-Tchuente: techniques in reducing cyanogen levels during the production of
Data curation (equal); Investigation (equal). Esther some Cameroonian cassava foods. Journal of Food Composition
Biaton Njeufa: Data curation (equal); Investigation and Analysis, 19, 354–363.
(equal). Isabelle Linda Nguiadem Chomdom: Data Awoyale, W., Asiedu, R., Kawalawu, W.K. et al. (2020). Assessment
curation (equal); Investigation (equal). Lora Forsythe: of the suitability of different cassava varieties for gari and
fufu flour production in Liberia. Asian Food Science Journal, 14,
Methodology (lead); Writing-review & editing (equal). 36–52.
Busie Maziya-Dixon: Writing-review & editing (sup- Bechoff, A., Tomlins, K., Fliedel, G. et al. (2018). Cassava traits and
porting). Genevieve Fliedel: Methodology (equal); end-user preference: Relating traits to consumer liking, sensory
Writing-review & editing (equal). perception, and genetics. Critical Reviews in Food Science and
Nutrition, 58, 547–567.
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