Resource information
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.
