Consumption Patterns of Starch Crops in Nigeria, Utilization, Skill Set, and Economic Potential of the Starch Sector

Abstract

Starch crops are cultivated in abundance in all geographical zones in Nigeria. Demographics and data on starch were obtained from 718 volunteers through an online questionnaire between March and August 2022 and analyzed using R 4.2.1 at 95 % confidence interval (CI). A significant association ( P < 0.001) exists between participants and geographical zones. They were mostly 15 - 29 years old (55.43 %), 229 (31.89 %) males, and 169 (23.54 %) females. About 88.02 % were aware of starch crops, while 11.98 % were not. Most of the starch crops are cultivated in the North Central (NC) region (45.09 %; n = 78), Cassava ( Manihot esculenta ) (37.80 %) and potato ( Ipomoea batatas ) (25.00 %) are predominantly cultivated in the Southeast (SE) and South-South (SS); rice ( Oryza sativa ) and maize ( Zea mays ), mainly in the North-East (NE) (28.52 %; 41.35 %), North-West (NW) (20.41 %; 30.77 %), and NC (24.49 %; 13.46 %) respectively; and yam ( Dioscorea spp .) in the NC (60.17 %). Common applications of starch were food thickeners (37.80 %), livestock feeds (12.80 %), and yeast (11.61 %), which are largely consumed as food (67.16 %). Moreover, 36.78 % prefer the establishment of all industries utilizing starch in Nigeria, with 61.83 % suggesting government interventions than the private sector (38.17 %). However, lack of standardization (43.92 %) was identified as the major challenge of the starch industry in Nigeria. Policy formulations and implementation are necessary to strengthen the starch industry in Nigeria, and to reduce the over-reliance on oil. Keywords: starch, crops, consumption patterns, policy implementation, standardization DOI: 10.7176/JESD/15-3-02 Publication date: March 31 st 2024