AUTHOR=Ojide Makuachukwu Gabriel , Adegbite Suraju , Tran Thierry , Taborda Luis Alejandro , Chapuis Arnaud , Lukombo Simon , Totin Edmond , Sartas Murat , Schut Marc , Becerra Lopez-Lavalle Luis Augusto , Dufour Dominique , Abass Adebayo 

TITLE=Processors' Experience in the Use of Flash Dryer for Cassava-derived Products in Nigeria

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems

VOLUME=Volume 5 - 2021

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-food-systems/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.771639

DOI=10.3389/fsufs.2021.771639

ISSN=2571-581X

ABSTRACT=This study was designed and carried out to ascertain the situation and perceptions of end-users of cassava flash drying equipment in Nigeria with aim to give suggestions to policies and approaches for improved technology. Forty-one processing firms were selected and interviewed. Descriptive analyses were used and logistic regression model was estimated. The results revealed that forty-nine percent of the firms stopped using their flash dryers due to low demand for High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF) resulting from high cost of processing occasioned by inefficient heat generating component. The estimated model provides evidence that cost effectiveness (p<0.05) and energy cost (p<0.10) are two major determinants of continuous usage of flash dryers in the study area. Forty-one percent of the firms indicated willingness to pay for any technical adjustment of their flash dryers supposing such adjustment would improve on drying and energy efficiency of the equipment up to 40 percent. The study recommends that machine fabricators in Nigeria and other African countries should be trained on the production of energy- and cost-efficient small-scale flash dryers. Again, designing and commercialization of flash dryer that can be mounted on mobile trucks for farm-gate processing should be encouraged to facilitate farm-gate processing thereby reducing postharvest losses resulting from transporting perishable and bulky roots over a long distance.