12-09-2025, 09:11 PM
My first lesson on tuber age in cassava processing came in 2019 when I bought 19 month old TME 419 tubers for garri production. At that time I did not understand how age and variety suitability affected processing outcomes. We sourced from a large farm at Oke-nla, Sunren in Ifo local government of Ogun State, often transporting cassava tubers with boat, crossing the Abule-Asha river to Shonde, just to keep my Oluke garri factory running.
The tubers looked good and no worry about rottenness because they were already harvested and measured in baskets. During grating the tubers were so dry and firm that I assumed the output quantity would be impressive even though it was rainy season. But when frying began after fermentation four days fermentation, the pulp refused to rise and the final quantity was disappointing.
Years later I understood why. At 19 months most of the starch in TME 419 had converted to cellulose, leaving very little to support rise during frying. This also applies to many local varieties. It is the same reason traditional farmers prefer selling off over aged tubers or deploy it for lafun production but not for commercial garri or fufu meant to be sold.
A similar issue came up in 2023 when a major cassava starch processor despite being desperate for supply, rejected a grower’s tubers because they had a history of supplying over aged roots. For starch processors this mistake is costly because the result is more of shaft than extractable starch. Even for cassava chips used in ethanol production the performance drops significantly when tubers are too old.
The key lesson for growers supplying industrial processors is that tuber age directly affects value. At 9-10 months, starch content is at its peak for industrial use although tuber sizes may still be modest. At twelve months both size and starch content favour buyers and growers. Farms targeting industrial supply should not exceed thirteen months for hybrid varieties. Local varieties may stretch to fifteen months but anything beyond that reduces quality and profitability for the processor.
I also learned from the opposite situation when I once accepted under aged tubers of 6 months out of desperation to keep the factory running. Peeling took longer, grating released excessive water and after frying a full pickup load produced only 4 bags of garri instead of 10 expected. The shafts alone filled almost 2 bags. At that age starch may have formed but the solid matter structure is still too weak to support garri formation.
The conclusion is that farmers and processors should consistently target tubers between 10 - 13 months and never go beyond 15 months. With experience over time, it becomes easier to physically identify under aged and over aged roots, but general discipline of farmers in harvesting remains the most reliable safeguard.
Kazeem Lamidi
https://wa.me/2348100975775
The tubers looked good and no worry about rottenness because they were already harvested and measured in baskets. During grating the tubers were so dry and firm that I assumed the output quantity would be impressive even though it was rainy season. But when frying began after fermentation four days fermentation, the pulp refused to rise and the final quantity was disappointing.
Years later I understood why. At 19 months most of the starch in TME 419 had converted to cellulose, leaving very little to support rise during frying. This also applies to many local varieties. It is the same reason traditional farmers prefer selling off over aged tubers or deploy it for lafun production but not for commercial garri or fufu meant to be sold.
A similar issue came up in 2023 when a major cassava starch processor despite being desperate for supply, rejected a grower’s tubers because they had a history of supplying over aged roots. For starch processors this mistake is costly because the result is more of shaft than extractable starch. Even for cassava chips used in ethanol production the performance drops significantly when tubers are too old.
The key lesson for growers supplying industrial processors is that tuber age directly affects value. At 9-10 months, starch content is at its peak for industrial use although tuber sizes may still be modest. At twelve months both size and starch content favour buyers and growers. Farms targeting industrial supply should not exceed thirteen months for hybrid varieties. Local varieties may stretch to fifteen months but anything beyond that reduces quality and profitability for the processor.
I also learned from the opposite situation when I once accepted under aged tubers of 6 months out of desperation to keep the factory running. Peeling took longer, grating released excessive water and after frying a full pickup load produced only 4 bags of garri instead of 10 expected. The shafts alone filled almost 2 bags. At that age starch may have formed but the solid matter structure is still too weak to support garri formation.
The conclusion is that farmers and processors should consistently target tubers between 10 - 13 months and never go beyond 15 months. With experience over time, it becomes easier to physically identify under aged and over aged roots, but general discipline of farmers in harvesting remains the most reliable safeguard.
Kazeem Lamidi
https://wa.me/2348100975775