6.5 Commercialization
Commercial transformation of subsistence agriculture is an indispensable pathway towards economic growth and development for many agriculture dependent developing countries (World Bank, 2008). It entails production decisions based on market signals (market orientation) and significant participation in input and output markets (market participation) (Gebremedhin and Jaleta, 2010). Commercialization of staple crop production is a process that could offer pertinent options to small scale producers, hence the need for stakeholders to understand market behaviour, channels and the determinants of market participation by smallholders. This will in turn help in designing the appropriate technological, policy, organizational and institutional strategies that will ensure that small producers benefit from the process of commercialization (Gebremedhin and Hoekstra, 2008).
Research has shown that the demand for certain foods increases while that of others declines with increasing income, largely because the former are more readily available as convenient ready-to-eat foods that require minimum processing (Onyango et al., 2013). The convenience of these foods is derived from increased mechanization of food processing, therefore even home- or village-level processing has the potential to add value to the farmers’ crop and increase family income considerably (Woolfe, 1992). Processed root and tuber crop products have been developed in response to an expanding demand from urban-based populations, but while they present great potential for value addition to root and tuber crops and provision of increased earnings to farmers, these products have very limited markets (UNIFEM, 1993). Since sustainable food security and welfare cannot be achieved through subsistence agriculture (Pin-gali, 1997), it is imperative that root and tuber crops farmers are supported in order to produce and supply raw materials and products that meets the demands of specific end-uses (Onyango et al., 2013).
6.6 Factors affecting Commercialization
Expansion of pilot activities to commercial operations has important implications for the product, the process, the farmers and the potential consumers. According to Wheatley (1992), they include social objectives, market and technical requirements, promotional and logistical factors, as well as funding and technical assistance. Once commercial processing begins, monitoring and evaluation of these operations become imperative. If the majority of developing countries are to successfully launch into and expand processing of roots and tubers at the commercial level, efforts must be made in capacity building of farmers, extension providers and researchers along the commodity value chain.
Despite being major carbohydrate sources, commercialization of some tropical root and tuber crops is generally poor (Ezeh, 1992) and they have been marginalized for a long time (Skogland et al. 1994; IFAD and FAO, 2000). They are commonly burdened with the stigma of being inferior, low-protein food crops which cannot compete with cereal crops such as maize, wheat and rice (Woolfe, 1992) and whose per capita consumption declines with increasing per capita income (Nweke, 2004).
Consequently, they are generally ranked behind cereal crops in their importance as food and industrial crops, and far less research and development has been devoted to them (IFAD and FAO, 2000), the result being lesser product development and utilization and limited commercial and village level processing (Makokha, 2001; Owori and Hagenimana, 2001). It is hoped that the importance of roots and tubers in developing countries will grow due to the increasing need to grow more drought tolerant crops arising from climate change (IPCC, 1990).
Although cassava is a major source of dietary energy in the tropics, it has been associated with health problems due to its cyanogenic character (Mlingi et al, 1992). Roots of some cassava varieties contain hydrogen cyanide (Knoth, 1993) that adversely affects humans and livestock consuming inadequately processed products. Since cassava varieties are classified as low-cyanide or high-cyanide according to their cyanogenic glucoside content (IITA, 1990), it is possible for producers to know the cyanide level in their fresh roots and take the necessary precautions. In addition, cassava-consuming populations have developed ways of reducing the cyanide levels and detoxify cassava roots, including simply removing the peel which can contain as much as ten times more cyanide than the flesh (Ravindran, 1995). Soaking roots in water overnight, boiling or roasting, drying, cutting or grating and fermenting are also simple but effective methods of detoxifying cassava roots (IITA, 1990). Cassava usage in commercial feed production in Africa is usually in the form of dried chips, which are milled into flour before incorporation into compound feeds. However, the quality of the sun-dried chips is highly variable and may contain significant levels of contaminants such as sand and microorganisms (Tewe, 2004). In addition, though widely used in industrial applications, the unstable viscosity and the long cohesive nature of cassava starch and its derivatives are rated as inferior to corn starch by textile industries (Balagopalan et al., 1992). Poor acceptability of cassava-based fried products, because of their low shelf-life compared to similar wheat-based products, has also been reported (Kambewa, 2010).
Sweet potato has also been affected by low acceptability in some communities, because some individuals experience flatulence after consuming the roots (Snowdon, 1990). The discomfort of flatulence results from the presence of a proteinase inhibitor in sweet potato storage roots which interferes with the function of trypsin, an important digestive enzyme in humans and animals (Ravindran, 1995). Fortunately, normal cooking methods like boiling and baking effectively destroys all or most of the activity of the inhibitors (Snowdon, 1990). The main constraint faced in industrial utilization of sweet potato is poor extractability of starch and phenolic oxidation that results in undesirable colours. Therefore novel methods are needed for maximum extraction of starch and removal of unwanted colours to enable utilization in various food industries (Balagopalan et al., 1992).
Many factors contribute to the high cost of production and processing of tropical roots and tubers, especially in Africa (Tewe, 2004). Harvesting is labour-intensive and their bulkiness and high perishable nature requires that they should be processed into storable form soon after harvesting (Tomlins et al., 2000). In addition, tropical roots and tubers are propagated vegetatively, therefore the planting materials are bulky, store poorly, further increasing handling, transportation and storage costs (IFAD and FAO, 2000; Tomlins et al, 2010). For tropical roots and tubers crops to survive as industrial crops, their processed products must favourably compete in the markets with other carbohydrate sources (grains), hence the need to lower production costs (FAO, 2001).