Cassava processing, marketing and utilization in India

Cassava plays a major role in the agricultural economy of India, and the states principally contributing to this are Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh. In India, cassava is used as human food, industrial raw material and animal feed. Almost 70 percent of the product in Kerala goes for human consumption, while in other parts of the country cassava finds its place mainly as an industrial raw material. The most popular modes of utilization as food are as boiled or baked roots and cassava chips. Hand- and pedal-operated chipping machines have been found to increase the efficiency by 3- and 10-fold, resp., compared to hand chipping. Processing of cassava is mainly done for the manufacture of starch, sago, glucose and dextrins, which in turn are raw materials for a no. of value-added products. Lack of an organized marketing system had earlier hampered the marketing prospects of cassava in the country. However, the setting up of a cooperative society, SAGOSERVE, in Salem, Tamil Nadu, vastly expanded the trade potentials and regulated the market for starch and sago, thus leading to a considerable saving of foreign exchange. The utilization pattern of cassava over the years indicated only limited scope in the future as a direct food item. Development of new methods of utilization will be the major avenue to increase cassava cultivation in India. Products like cassava rava, a high fructose syrup, extruded food products and pelletized cassava can be used in the future markets in the country. Cassava utilization as animal feed is at present confined mostly to the southern states of India, due in part to the transportation cost of cassava chips and the associated handling and storage losses. Cassava pellets can partially solve this problem, because of their lower volume to weight ratio and greater stability. Ensiling of cassava is another innovation to promote in situ utilization as animal feed. The future strategies of research and development of cassava for India include development of new food products, animal and fish feeds, modernization of processing factories, development of biodegradable plastics and effective waste treatment systems.