Understanding cassava varietal preferences through pairwise ranking of gari‐eba and fufu prepared by local farmer–processors

Abstract

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.

Cassava Orange-Fleshed Sweetpotato Composite Gari: A Potential Source of Dietary Vitamin A

“…The “soaked gari” was prepared as described by Teeken et al ( 37 ). The panelists were presented with 5 g of gari, 2.5 g of sugar, and 10 mL of cold water to use to prepare as they would on their own.…”

Integrating end‐user preferences into breeding programmes for roots, tubers and bananas

“…Following a consultation with RTB experts from different backgrounds and disciplines, 11 food products particularly important for RTB‐based staple diets in SSA were selected for the research reported in this issue. Multidisciplinary teams of breeders, social scientists, food technologists and others used new methods for capturing user quality preferences (Forsythe et al ., 2021; Teeken et al ., 2021), through surveys and product evaluations conducted with farmers, traders, processors and consumers. It is notable that the Forsythe et al .…”

Fifty years of a public cassava breeding program: evolution of breeding objectives, methods, and decision-making processes

“…fr) is an ambitious initiative to elucidate basic information regarding root quality traits. Several research articles regarding root quality traits and post-harvest processing have recently been published (Alamu et al 2021;Bechoff et al 2018;Dufour et al 2021;Escobar et al 2021;Goddard et al 2015;Iragaba et al 2021;Luna et al 2021;Ndjouenkeu et al 2021;Teeken et al 2018Teeken et al , 2021Thiele et al 2021;Tran et al 2021). The availability of this critical knowledge and reliable high-throughput phenotyping protocols will improve the efficiency of breeding for root quality traits.…”