ANALYSIS OF VALUE ADDED CASSAVA-BASED PRODUCTS AND PROFITABILITY OF HIGH QUALITY CASSAVA FLOUR BAKERY PRODUCTS IN ATEBUBU

ABSTRACT

The aim o f this study among others, was to analyse the value additions o f three cassavabased

products namely, High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF), gari and kokonte and to

determine the profitability o f HQCF bakery products in Atebubu.

A value added analysis was used to determine the profitablity o f the three cassava-based

products. Three profitability measures were used to determine the profitability o f HQCF

bakery products. These were, operating profit, profit per unit product and return on

investment. A bar chart o f output levels was used to represent the trend in production of

HQCF. Finally, the Kendal’s Coefficient o f Concordance (W) was used to analyse the

ranking o f the constraints affecting the production o f HQCF.

Only HQCF had positive values for the two prices seasons that were considered, that is, the

lean price season and high price season. Production o f dough nut (“bo/rot"), and “sweet

bad”, chips and meat pie with 50% HQCF composite flour yielded better financial returns

than that o f 100% wheat flour. Similar results were obtained from the production o f bread

and cake with 12% HQCF, and 100% HQCF respectively. However the use o f 22% HQCF

composite flour for bread yielded lower profit than the use o f 100% wheat flour.

The rankings o f the identified constraints affecting HQCF production were subjected to the

Coefficient o f Concordance analysis. The results were that farmers did not collectively agree

to the rankings o f the identified constraints, which included, drying space, distance from the

mill, frequent breakdown of the screw presser storage room, harvesting o f cassava, distance

from the farm, the absence of a micro finance scheme among others.

HQCF bakery products competed favourably with wheat flour bakery products in all the

profitability measures used. The promotion and use o f HQCF bakery products must be

pursued by serving HQCF bakery products at state functions and institutions like the

secondary schools that receive subvention for feeding This will go a long way to popularize

HQCF bakery products and reduce the foreign exchange used for the importation o f wheat

and wheat flour into the country.