Busie Maziya-Dixon

• Ph.D. Food Science
• Food Security Nutrition and Health Program Lead at International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

The ability of cassava root to be softened within a short period, being easy to chew, and dissolving easily upon biting, otherwise known as cassava root mealiness, is one of the major attributes of boiled cassava roots. This study aimed to identify the attributes of cassava root mealiness from consumers' end and evaluate consumer acceptability of b...

Cassava is a major staple food in many tropical regions, but certain varieties remain hard and difficult to chew even after boiling, making them less appealing to consumers. Preferences generally lean toward cassava roots that cook quickly and possess a sweet taste. This study explored the relationship between cassava’s dry matter content and optim...

The study investigated the use of the near-infrared hyperspectral imaging (NIR-HSI) technique (932 – 1721 nm) to rapidly evaluate the starch, sugar, and amylose content of fresh, intact yam tubers and the textural qualities of boiled yam. These quality characteristics often influence consumers’ and farmers’ acceptance of new yam varieties. Traditio...

Standard Operating Protocol for Characterization of Textural Attributes of Boiled yam using TA.XT Texturometer and Ottawa Cell Probe.

Yams (Dioscorea spp.) are important food and commercial crops in West African countries. They contribute significantly to global food production and provide dietary energy. The quality of yam food products depends on specific internal and external parameters, such as the DMC and other biochemical traits. However, measuring these traits can be chall...

Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI) combined with Machine Learning provides a rapid and accurate method for evaluating the Dry Matter Content of intact yam tubers. This non-destructive technique is valuable for yam breeders and food scientists, contributing to improved quality assessment in crop breeding programs.

Yams (Dioscorea spp.) are important food and commercial crops in West African countries. They contribute significantly to global food production and provide dietary energy. The quality of yam food products depends on specific internal and external parameters, such as the DMC and other biochemical traits. However, measuring these traits can be chall...

One of the major attributes of boiled cassava roots is its ability to soften within a short period, otherwise known as mealiness. This study aimed to establish and validate standard operating procedures for assessing the mealiness of boiled cassava roots. Twenty cassava genotypes, including landrace and improved varieties, were selected for the pro...

The breeding of improved varieties of root, tuber, and banana (RTB) crops has led to the release of several varieties with excellent agronomic performances, such as high yield and disease resistance. However, farmers and end users have hampered the adoption of these improved varieties of RTB crops over the years due to their processing capacity and...

Ogi, a traditional staple food made from submerged fermented cereal grains, is high in carbohydrates and low in protein. It is essential to conduct this research because termite flour (TF) addition may affect other quality aspects in addition to increasing protein content. Using 100 g of Ogi powder as a control sample, the chemical and phytochemica...

Report of the Nigeria National Food Consumption and Micronutrient Survey 2021 led and implemented by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in support of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Introduction The biofortification of staple foods such as cassava is one of the technological breakthroughs in the nutritional improvement of foods. Fufu is one of the fermented cassava products produced and consumed in major West African countries, including Sierra Leone, and the majority of the processes involved in its production have direct and...

Water yam (Dioscorea alata), also known as winged yam, is one of the most economically significant yam species, serving as a staple food crop in tropical and subtropical regions. Its widespread cultivation is due to its favorable agronomic characteristics, including high yield, improved tuber storability, and significant nutritional and health bene...

The backslopped fermentation method was used to produce gari to reduce the variability in the sensory attributes and their composition. The relationship between the quality attributes of backslopped fermented gari (BFG) and the sensory and instrumental texture profile of the cooked dough (eba) has been reported. There is presently no information on...

In Nigeria, varying levels of malnutrition across states present a critical challenge to public health, demanding tailored policy responses. This paper delves into the specific issues and dynamics influencing nutrition programs in the country. Advocating for nutrition-sensitive actions requires analyzing context-specific political commitment. This...

Report on the key findings of the Nigeria National Food Consumption and Micronutrient 2021 Survey.

Roots, tubers and bananas (RTBs) contribute immensely to food security and livelihoods in sub‐Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America. The adoption of RTB genotypes in these regions relies on the interplay among agronomic traits, ease of processing and consumer preference. In breeding RTBs, until recently little attention was accorded key textural t...

The use of the biophysical and textural qualities of fufu to choose the possible substitution of an adopted cassava variety (TMEB419-V1) with better genotypes from the breeding program was assessed in this study. Standard methods were used for the biophysical and textural attributes of the fufu produced from different cassava roots. The outcomes po...

Improving nutrition is a key component of efforts to promote sustainable development and improve health and well-being. However, it is impossible to effectively improve nutrition in a population without monitoring the nutrition status of vulnerable groups. Monitoring approaches such as micronutrient surveys are critical to allow stakeholders determ...

Attiéké, made from biofortified (yellow) cassava genotypes, requires a new cooking method to minimize carotenoid degradation during processing. Thus, this research is aimed at designing and building a more efficient steamer to produce high-quality attiéké from biofortified cassava roots. Using three improved biofortified cassava genotypes (IBA14109...

Understanding the interactions between chemical and pasting properties and conventional cooking methods will help utilise yellow‐fleshed cassava roots. Thus, the study examined how conventional processing affected Nigerian yellow‐fleshed cassava's chemical and pasting properties. Three improved, yellow‐fleshed genotypes were harvested 12 months aft...

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is an essential stable food crop in Sub-Saharan Africa commonly consumed amongst the low-income communities in Africa. Though cassava roots and leaf have vast economic and commercial benefits, it produces cyanogenic glycosides, which are toxic and most often responsible for the bitter taste of some cassava cultiva...

BACKGROUND Gari (especially in Nigeria) is an important West African food product made from cassava. It is an affordable, precooked, dry, easy to prepare and store food product. Eba is a stiff dough produced by reconstituting gari in hot water. Gari and eba quality is an important driver of varietal acceptance by farmers, processors, and consumers....

BACKGROUND Assessment of the key preferred quality traits in pounded yam, a popularly consumed yam food product in West Africa, is often done through sensory evaluation. Such assessment is time‐consuming and results may be biased. Therefore, there is a need to develop objective, high‐throughput methods to predict the quality of consumer‐preferred t...

BACKGROUND Food quality traits related to the genetics of yam influence the acceptability for its consumption. This study aimed at identifying genetic factors underlying sensory and textural quality attributes of boiled and pounded yam, the two dominant food products from white Guinea yam. RESULTS A genome‐wide association study (GWAS) of a panel...

Gari is a creamy, granular flour obtained from roasting fermented cassava mash. Its preparation involves several unit operations, including fermentation, which is essential in gari production. Fermentation brings about specific biochemical changes in cassava starch due to the actions of lactic acid bacteria. Consequently, it gives rise to organic a...

The review attempted to evaluate the quality attributes and the preferred selected roots, tubers, and bananas (RTB) items (gari/eba, lafun, yam flour, pounded yam, boiled yam, and plantain flour) among the end-users in Nigeria’s rural, peri-urban, and urban segments. The results showed that depending on location, consumers’ preferred quality attrib...

Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) is one of the most often used techniques for rapid quality evaluation for various applications. It is a non-destructive technique that effectively evaluates the quality attributes of root and tuber crops, including yam and cassava, and their food products. Hyperspectral imaging technology, which combines spectroscopy and...

Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Walp is a well-known agroforestry leguminous tree that provides multiple benefits in different agroecological zones. Its apparent versatility is seen in improving animal feed, cleaning environmental wastes, and healing inflammations. It was also found to have significant benefits in agroforestry due to its ability to enhan...

BACKGROUND: Gari and eba, forms of cassava semolina, are mainly consumed in Nigeria and other West African countries. This study aimed to define the critical quality traits of gari and eba, to measure their heritability, to define medium and high throughput instrumental methods for use by breeders, and to link the traits with consumer preferences....

BACKGROUND Gari and eba, forms of cassava semolina, are mainly consumed in Nigeria and other West African countries. This study aimed to define the critical quality traits of gari and eba, to measure their heritability, to define medium and high throughput instrumental methods for use by breeders, and to link the traits with consumer preferences. T...

Biofortification of cassava roots has improved its health benefits by raising the quantity and bioavailability of bioactive compounds, particularly carotenoids. This study analyzed the bioactive constituents (carotenoids, tannins, total phenolics, and flavonoids), antioxidant, starch-digesting enzymes (a-amylase and a-glucosidase) inhibitory and pa...

Recently breeders have developed high-yielding and disease-resistant hybrid plantain varieties that need evaluation for end-use. This study evaluated the effect of ripening and processing methods on the color, nutritional, and mineral properties of hybrid plantain cultivars. Plantain pulps were subjected to frying (170°C for 2 min), boiling (100°C...

Gender-disaggregated sensory evaluation has become an essential element that could enhance breeding activities by increasing the adoption of new varieties. The effect of age, sex and geographical location on descriptor preferences for boiled and pounded yam were studied using descriptive and consumer testing. Attributes with definitions and measure...

This study investigated the proximate, cyanide, and glycemic indices of roots and eba (gari dough) made from improved cassava cultivars. Twenty cassava cultivars were obtained from the IITA research farms and analyzed for proximate and carbohydrate compositions and cyanogenic potential using standard procedures. Afterward, four cassava varieties we...

The textural attributes of cooked gari (eba) and fufu dough may be affected by the pectin content of the cassava roots; thus, exploring the interaction between pectin and the texture attributes of processed products such as gari and fufu may assist the processors and consumers of the product. The pectin and starch contents, and the composition...

Specific biochemical properties and textural attributes determine the final quality and acceptability of yam food products. This study assessed the flour and cooking qualities (boiled yam) of sixteen elite white yam genotypes (D. rotundata) grown in three locations. Fresh yam samples were cut into regular-shaped pieces and boiled using the standard...

The suitability of diverse cassava genotypes to produce fufu compared to a control variety (TMBE419) was investigated using the principal component analysis (PCA). Standard methods were used for the production, and characterization of the biophysical and textural attributes of the fufu samples. Results depicts that the mean value of the functional...

Challenges and constraints deter the effective gathering of adequate information specific to the characteristics of yam (Dioscorea rotundata) landraces capable of producing a promising instant pounded fufu product. This current work, therefore, investigated the effects of yam varieties on flour physicochemical characteristics and resultant instant...

The cassava starch market is promising in sub-Saharan Africa and increasing rapidly due to the numerous uses of starch in food industries. More accurate, high-throughput, and cost-effective phenotyping approaches could hasten the development of cassava varieties with high starch content to meet the growing market demand. This study investigated the...

Diversity in the mineral composition of cassava leaves bred in sub-Saharan Africa has not been fully investigated. This study characterized macro and micro-minerals in 400 genotypes of Cassava leaves planted in three different agroecological environments in Nigeria. Laboratory analysis of the leaves was done using an Inductively Coupled Optical Emi...

Yellow-fleshed cassava root (YFCR) is processed into traditional products that may influence its bioactivities. In this study, the antioxidant and anti-hyperglycaemic activities of three traditional products (lafun, fufu and gari) from five genotypes (IITA-TMS-IBA070337, 182961, 182962, 182986, 183044) of YFCR were evaluated. The YFCR genotypes wer...

The cooking quality, especially the pasting properties, is essential in cassava starch applications or successfully utilizing cassava in food industries and at the household level. This study evaluated the cassava roots from the Genetic Gain Assessment trial grown in three locations for dry matter (DM) and the pasting characteristics. Four hundred...

Consumption of high Glycemic Index (GI) foods is a risk factor for increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM). The extent of variation in starch digestibility and GI of Yam varieties and products is not yet fully understood. This study was therefore designed to evaluate in vitro and in vivo Glycemic Index properties of commonly consumed produc...

The accurate quantification of amino acids in maize breeding programs is challenging due to the high cost of analysis using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and other conventional methods. Using the Near-Infrared Spectroscopic (NIRS) method in breeding to screen many genotypes has proven to be a fast, cost-effective, and non-destructiv...

This study investigated the effects of genotype, location, and planting season on the proximate composition and metabolizable energy of advanced maize hybrids. Twenty-five hybrid maize and a local variety as control were harvested from five locations 100 days after planting for two seasons. The maize samples were sorted, cleaned, and pulverized usi...

The accurate quantification of amino acids in maize breeding programs is challenging due to the high cost of analysis using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and other conventional methods. Using the Near-Infrared Spectroscopic (NIRS) method in breeding to screen many genotypes has proven to be a fast, cost-effective, and non-destructiv...

Mature unripe plantain is usually processed into chips using the traditional sun-drying method without considering consumer safety. Thus, there is a need to assess the influence of solar tent and open sun drying on the heavy metal composition and microbial load of plantain chips. Thirty samples of dried plantain chips were collected randomly from 1...

The use of the biophysical and textural attributes of gari/eba to determine the possible substitution of an adopted cassava variety (TMBE419) with the improved genotypes from the breeding program was evaluated in this study. Standard methods were used for the characterization of the biophysical and textural attributes of the gari/eba from di􀀀erent...

Improving the effectiveness of breeding programs could be achieved by breeding for consumers' preferences. The relationship between gender and consumer preferences for yam was studied using purposeful sampling for key informants, focus group discussions (FGDs), and individual interviews. Data from qualitative interviews were transcribed and quantit...

The potential uses of starches and flours depend on their physicochemical and functional properties. The chemical composition, functional and pasting properties of starch and flours obtained from some newly developed yam varieties from the Crops Research Institute (CRI), Ghana were evaluated, and compared with the existing local varieties. The resu...

The texture of yams is a key determinant in the selection of yams for boiled and pounded yams. This study was conducted to quantify pectin from local and newly developed yam varieties and to correlate pectin and its degree of esterification (DE) with instrumental textural profile parameters of boiled and pounded yam. Isolation of pectin from yam ce...

African yam bean has immense food and nutrition potential and is resilient to adverse environmental conditions. Despite its potential, the crop is underutilized, which could be attributed to seed hardness (requiring about 6-24 hours of cooking time); and the abundance of antinutrient factors (tannin, phytate, and oxalate). is study evaluated the ph...

Background: The accurate measurements of the mineral content of cassava roots are vital from a nutritional perspective. The research datasets were from the study assessing the influence of storage root portion, maturity, and environment on the variations of minerals in biofortified cassava roots. Methods: Twenty-five biofortified clones with three...

There is little or no information on the relationship between the quality of fufu flour and the textural attributes of cooked dough. Quality attributes of flour were therefore correlated with the sensory texture profile analysis (STPA) and instrumental texture profile analysis (ITPA) of the dough produced from six varieties of cassava. Results show...

The study evaluates the effects of genotype, maturity, and growing location on the functional and pasting properties of freshly harvested orange maize hybrids and open-pollinated varieties (OPVs). Eight fresh orange maize hybrid and eight fresh maize OPV, including the control, were harvested at three stages: 20, 27, and 34 days after planting (DAP...

Most of the health benefits derived from cereals are attributed to their bioactive compounds. This study evaluated the levels of the bioactive compounds, and the antioxidant and starch-hydrolyzing enzymes inhibitory properties of six pipeline Striga-resistant yellow-orange maize hybrids (coded AS1828-1, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11) in vitro. The maize hybrids w...

The study evaluates the effects of genotype, maturity, and growing location on the functional and pasting properties of freshly harvested orange maize hybrids and open-pollinated varieties (OPVs). Eight fresh orange maize hybrid and eight fresh maize OPV, including the control, were harvested at three stages: 20, 27, and 34 days after planting (DAP...

This study evaluated the effect of socio-economic characteristics of small-scale yam farmers on the productivity and income levels of yam farmers beyond COVID-19 in some part of yam producing areas of South East and North Central zones (Benue, Ebonyi, Enugu and Kogi States) of Nigeria. Respondents (200) were selected by random sampling using a stru...

Knowledge is scarce on the drivers of textural characteristics of cooked dough prepared from gari (eba). To address this need, quality attributes of backslopped fermented gari (BFG) were correlated with the sensory texture profile analysis (STPA) and instrumental texture profile analysis (ITPA) of the eba produced from six cassava varieties. The re...

Maize is consumed in different traditional diets as a source of macro- and micro-nutrients across Africa. Significant investment has thus been made to develop maize with high provitamin A content to complement other interventions for alleviating vitamin A deficiencies. The current breeding focus on increasing β-carotene levels to develop biofortifi...

The backslopped cassava mash (BCM) produced by pre-fermenting grated cassava for 96 h was mixed with fresh cassava mash from the same variety using different blend ratios and processed to backslopped fermented gari (BFG). Another batch of the same variety was fermented for 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, and 96 h to get spontaneous fermented gari (SFG). Standard...

Provitamin-A maize (PVA) with increased carotenoid content obtained through conventional breeding techniques has been largely successful in sub-Saharan Africa. This resulted in a need to evaluate their susceptibility, retention, and nutritional content during processing into local foods. This study evaluated the chemical, carotenoid composition, an...

A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-021-02855-3

The study evaluated the effect of genotype and growing locations on biofortified cassava root genotypes’ chemical properties. Twentyeight genotypes of biofortified yellow and white-fleshed cassava were planted across four geographical areas in Nigeria and harvested for two seasons. This research analyzed the chemical properties (DM, VC, TC, and CNP...

In this paper, we identify and discuss the types of research that can support the operationalization of food systems approaches to improving the quality of diets in Nigeria. Specifically, we structured a consultative workshop with key stakeholders, reviewed the literature, and applied food systems framework to the Nigerian context. The process enab...

In this IFPRI discussion paper, we identify and discuss the types of research that can support the operationalization of food systems approaches to improving the quality of diets in Nigeria. Specifically, we structured a consultative workshop with key stakeholders, reviewed the literature, and applied food systems framework to the Nigerian context....

Gari (roasted fermented cassava grits) is the most popular product consumed in West Africa and an important food product in the diet of millions of people in developing countries. The study investigated the effect of packaging materials (PM) and storage periods on the functional and pasting properties of Gari produced from white-fleshed cassava roo...

In the smallholder value chains of maize, diversification of utilisation is an essential strategy towards enhancing the benefits drivable from the increase in maize production. This article identifies the contribution of maize-based products on poverty level among smallholder processors. The study, which was conducted in 30 rural communities in nor...

This study aimed at determining shoot and root characteristics of cassava as affected by root yield and the influence of soil moisture on vegetative growth and yield. Thirty cassava genotypes were evaluated for morphological and physiological characterization in three locations in Nigeria: Ibadan, Mokwa and Zaria. Randomized complete block design w...

This study evaluated the nutritional, antinutritional properties, and consumer preferences of five maize-based snacks at the household level. The physical, nutritional, and antinutritional properties were analyzed with standard laboratory methods, while a structured questionnaire was used for the data collection on consumer preferences of the maize...

In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) is rapidly increasing even in populations with significant undernutrition. The role of energy dense staple crops such as cassava is under query and not yet well understood. In this study, varieties of cassava, made into popular SSA products (fufu and gari dough) were studied for...

Bioactive compounds in foods are responsible for their biological activities, but biotic and abiotic factors may influence their levels. This study evaluated the impact of three genotypes (designated 4, 5, and 7), maturity stages (20, 27, and 34 days after pollination) and processing methods (hydrothermal and dry-heating) on the bioactive constitue...

Cassava leaves have the potential to improve dietary diversity, the intake of protein and micronutrient of members of low-income households. The study aimed at evaluating nutritional properties, and consumer preferences of legume-fortified cassava leaves (soybean and groundnut fortified products) using plain leaves as control. The nutritional and a...

The possibilities of backslopped fermentation replacing spontaneous fermentation in gari production were evaluated by comparing the functional and pasting properties of gari and the sensory attributes of the eba. Backslopped cassava mash (BCM) was produced from 75 kg of TMS13F1343 cassava roots by pre-fermenting for 96 h. The BCM was mixed with fre...

Various quality grades of high-quality cassava flour (HQCF) are found in markets due to the rapid increase in its utilization for product development. Therefore, this study assessed the chemical, functional and pasting properties and the microbial and aflatoxin content of HQCF being sold in Lusaka markets. Nine samples of HQCF (coded CM 01 to 09) w...