Cassava to Gari: Nigeria Summary Gari is a popular West African granular, starchy food traditionally made from fer- mented, gelatinized fresh cassava tubers. Fresh cassava must be processed into gari within two to three days of harvesting, oth- exwise, itis no longer suitable for use. Use of dried cassava for gari production is a technical innovation. Peeled fresh cas- sava tubers are chipped into thin flakes that are dried until crispy, either in the sun or in ovens at low temperature. Preservatives cannot be used because they would hinder the subsequent fermentation process. ‘To make gari, the chips are rehydrated and mixed (or “seeded”) with 5 to 15 per- cent fresh, pulped cassava root. The mixture is stirred occasionally for two to three days until it has fermented into a sour mash. ‘The mash is then put into flour sacks, excess water is squeezed out with a screw or hydraulic press and the resulting flat, semi- wet cake is fried on a hot galvanized pan to gelatinize and dry. Gari made in this way has excellent dough-forming characteristics and is similar to that made with 100 percent fresh cassava. Both sour and non-sour gari, with 15 and 5 percent fresh cassava, respec- tively, can be produced this way. Background and Justification Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a perennial, vegetatively propagated shrub grown throughout the lowland tropics. Fresh cassava contains about 62 to 65 per- cent moisture. It is highly perishable and has a storage life of less than 48 hours. Because of quick spoilage, farmers usually leave cassava roots in the ground after they have matured and harvest them for pro- cessing when required. But this often results in the cassava becoming too mature and fibrous. Over-mature cassava loses some of its starch content and is less palat- able when eaten. Cassava cultivation and harvesting are not mechanized. It is difficult and time-con- suming to lift cassava roots from dry soil, so the price of gari tends to go up in the dry season. Traditionally, dried cassava has been fermented and used to produce cassa- va flour (afun) rather than gari. In Nigeria, most rural areas where cas- sava is grown have poor feeder roads. As a result, the cost of transporting bulky, fresh- ly harvested cassava roots to processing centers is very high. Cassava is a staple food crop in Nigeria, some other West African countries and Brazil. It is usually processed into such fer- mented products as gari, lafun, tapioca, kokonte and acheke. Gari is a particularly popular food product because it comes in ready-to-eat form. ‘The aim of the innovative experience was to develop way of producing gari from dried cassava which, unlike the fresh ver- sion, can be stored until needed. Processes for converting dried cassava into gari and other products, usually derived from fresh cassava, have to be simple and affordable 186 SHARING INNOVATIVE EXPERIENCESso that they can be earried out on the farm, ‘The use of dried chips, with minimal addi- tion of fresh roots, for gari will also make more land available for other uses as cassa- va crops can be harvested in good time instead of being left in the ground until needed. The Federal Institute of Industrial Research (EIIRO) developed a simple pro- cess for obtaining dried cassava chips that are suitable for gari production. It also developed a simple process for converting the dried chips into gari. ‘The organoleptic qualities and physical viscoamylograph behavior of the gari pro- duced were assessed and the product was also compared with conventional gari pro- duced from 100 percent freshly pulped cas- sava roots. Description Freshly harvested cassava roots were peeled and flaked into chips 3 to 5 millime- ters thick. The chips were thinly spread on stainless-steel trays and dried in an oven at no more than 60° centigrade until they had a maximum moisture content of 10 percent. ‘They were then milled into grits of 1.6 mil limeters, which were rehydrated and mixed. Between 5 and 15 percent fresh cas- sava pulp was added, mixed thoroughly and covered to allow for fermentation. ‘The fermentation process took between 48 and 72 hours, after which excess mois- ture was removed from the mash by a hydraulic press. The resulting cake was granulated and fried to make gari. While this was being done, fresh cassava roots were also being used to make conventional gari asa standard against which to compare the dried-cassava gari. The fresh chips had to be dried quickly in an oven. or under the sun to avoid unde- sirable enzymatic reactions that would give them an unpleasant color or smell. Chips had to be dried until crispy and then pack- aged in airtight containers to prevent mould from forming. ‘The grits had to be milled to a specific size; grits that are too fine will make gari that is too fine and unacceptable to many consumers. They also had to be rehydrated to enhance the fermentation process and give the final product the desired flavor and aroma as well as to remove cyanogenetic glucoside (Le. linamarin). Fresh cassava has to be added to the rehydrated chips because it contains the Jinamarase enzyme that acts on the lina- marin in the dried cassava and liberates hydrogen cyanide. The thorough mixing of the rehydrated cassava chips and the fresh- ly pulped cassava allows the linamase and Jinamarin to interact. It also improves the action of micro-organisms on the carbohy- drate material of the product. Gari must be fried over a low heat to avoid browning. So far, the project has been carried out at the pilot scale of production only. Future implementation at a larger scale is likely to be successful because the results obtained are good and there has been a very positive reaction. ‘The cassava chips are dried at 55° centi- grade. The milled chips are rehydrated to 66- 67 percent moisture content. Excellent sour gari is obtained when the dried chips are seeded with 15 percent fresh cassava pulp. VOLUME ONE—SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 187CASSAVA TO GAR! iERL ‘The percentage yield of gari from seed- ed cassava chips is between 83 and 85 per- cent; from unseeded chips, it is about 68 percent. Ittakes between 30 and 35 minutes to fry 1 kilogram of seeded, dewatered, ferment- ed cassava mash to make gari. The following is a flowchart of the pro- duction of gari from cassava chips Cassava tubers {res!) Peeling (nana) we Washing Chipping (2 t 5 millimeters thick) v Washing (potable water) Drying v Sun-drying/air oven/tray dry at 55° centigrade Loading rate 700 grams/16 hours Vv gy (cassave grits, 1.6 millimeters ) Rehydrating 7 Addition of fresh cassava Vv Fermenting (72 hows) v Dewatering (ovemight) Garifying (1 klogam masi/30 to 60 ninites) Good-quality gari was produced from cassava chips dried at 55° centigrade and ‘seeded with fresh cassava pulp. The seed- ing is necessary only when using chips made from the “poisonous” cassava that is traditionally used in gari production. Patenting and Commercialization ‘The Federal Institute of Implementing Research (FIIRO) is very interested in com- mercializing the technology of producing gari from dried cassava chips. Group and individual training sessions will be orga- nized for existing and future gari producers to acquaint them with the details of the innovation so that they can produce good- quality products. atenting the technology may be counter- productive because FIIRO would like all gari producers to be able to use the innovation. Partnerships At present, FIIRO is not in any public- or pri- vate-sector partnerships but would give due consideration to any proposals. The same is true of partnerships with other countries or international organizations. Replicability ‘The innovative experience is very relevant to other developing countries where gari is consumed, especially those in the Econom ic Community of West African States (EcowaS). FIIRO would like to be acknowledged by anybody using the innovations documented in this report. Interested countries are encouraged to 188 SHARING INNOVATIVE EXPERIENCESCASSAVA oA NIGERIA send representatives to FIIRO for practical training on the use of the innovation, FIIRO is also willing to send experts to other coun- ties to train there. Lessons Learned Both fresh and dried cassava chips can be processed into gari. ‘The seeding of chips with fresh cassava pulp is necessary only when the poisonous cassava traditionally used in gari production is present. That is because poisonous cassava contains hydro- cyanic acid. Fresh cassava contains enzymes that liberate this acid from the product. Chips made from non-poisonous cassava can be used to make gari without seeding. ‘The new technology of using dried chips to make gari does not require additional processing equipment. Farmland that is presently used for stor- ing mature cassava roots prior to harvest- ing will be free for other types of cultivation. Impact Nigeria is one of the world’s main cassava producers and so is likely to benefit greatly from the innovation. Cassava chips are already dried in Nige- ria and exported to other countries and this, is an important source of foreign exchange for the country. The industry could be expanded by the commerciakscale drying of cassava chips specifically for gari — that is, drying at less than 60° centigrade — without preservatives and fermentation. ‘The technology is appropriate for rural areas where cassava is currently sun-dried for processing into cassava flour. There is already a thriving export trade of gari to Europe and the new technology will make it possibl to produce more gari all year round for domestic and export uses. Future Plans The project organizers intend to interest cassava farmers and exporters of dried cas- sava chips in the production of chips that would be suitable for gari production. They are also looking at ways of making the innovation available to existing and future gari producers. ‘This report is one of the ways in which the results of this innovative experience can be shared with other organizations and countries. FIIRO also plans to organize train- ing sessions in Nigeria and elsewhere on how to use the innovation successfully and would be delighted to receive inquiries from interested countries and organizations. O Implementing Institution: Federal Institute of Implementing Address: Oshodi, PMB 21023, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria Tel.: 522760, 528205, Fax: 01-4525880 Telegrams: APPLIED IKEJA E-mail: firo@rcLnig.com Implementation Period: two years(1997 to 1998) VOLUME ONE—SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 188