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.
