Dynamics of the Technology Adoption Process

This book explores the intricacies of the technology adoption process in rural based cassava processing systems in southwest Nigeria. Most processors in southwest Nigeria(57.74%) have adopted the cassava grater and 50.19% have adopted the screw press. Other cassava processing innovations that they are aware of are the improved method of cassava processing to gari, fufu, flour, chips and starch. Across all the agro-ecological zones, 77.36% of the processors claim that there are no cassava processing innovations they know that they did not adopt thus indicating that it is important that they have access to trying and using cassava processing technologies under convenient arrangements. The predominant technology development approach in the cassava processing sector is dictated and dominated by the research subsystem. This finding exemplifies a traditional technology development process to which cassava processors have resigned and where a top-down information flow has been accepted as the norm.The book proposed three complementary approaches for promoting cassava processing innovations: the innovation mapping approach, communication approach and “meeting the expectations” approach.