Assessment of the Effect of Cassava Transformation Initiative on Cassava Tubers Availability to Small-Scale Cassava Processing Enterprises in Southwest Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed the effect of the Cassava Transformation Initiative (CTI) on cassava tubers’ availability in Small-scale Cassava Processing Enterprises (SSCPEs) in Southwest Nigeria. The study took place from April to December 2016.The paper examined the availability of cassava tubers to the SSCPEs before and after the initiative. The paper used survey design, multi-stage sampling technique - purposive sampling and proportionate stratified sampling techniques to select respondents. Data were collected from 251 respondents (beneficiaries of the initiative). The respondents comprised 86% of 292 SSCPEs that questionnaires were retrieved from. The questionnaires were structured. Data were analyzed, using descriptive statistic - percentage, mean score, charts, and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test hypothesis. The study revealed that, 74.1% of the respondents were female, while 25.9% were male, 71.7% fell into the age group, 40 to 59 years, 35% were not educated, and 31.9% had Primary School Certificate. The study also disclosed that, the CTI assisted in improving the availability of cassava tubers to the SSCPEs in the study area. The paper therefore recommend that policy makers, enhance cassava tubers’ availability, but also reduce the distance traveled by the SSCPEs to purchase cassava tubers, which will increase the SSCPEs’ productivity.