Cassava is a major root and tuber crop in Ghana which forms the raw material for a rich diversity of food and industrial applications. It serves as food for many people in Ghana, where in 2019 alone, 22m MT was produced (FAOSTAT, 2020). Traditionally, it is an indispensable source of carbohydrate and is heavily relied on for many local diets. Unfortunately, cassava roots have a very short shelf life and begin to deteriorate a few days after harvest. This can be overcome by processing of the roots into shelf stable forms. Through bio-fortification, elite yellow flesh cassava cultivars containing 1-100 g/g total carotenoids have been developed (Montagnac et al., 2009). Yellow cassava is a potential food base for tackling vitamin A deficiency (VAD) in Ghana and other sub-Saharan African countries where the condition is pervasive. It has marginal levels of key nutrients such as protein, vitamins and minerals thus it is important that this cassava variant is integrated into the Ghanaian food system since it is envisaged to contribute to reducing the incidence of Vitamin A deficiency. Given the importance of β-carotene in human nutrition, it would be useful to promote the adoption and consumption of the biofortified yellow cassava.

The adoption of yellow cassava roots into food processing systems is key to translating its positive impact to consumers. It is therefore imperative to reengineer traditional products or develop and produce value added food products from this cassava variant, as an entry strategy into local food systems. Value addition to yellow cassava will contribute to actualizing its role in the food-based approach to mitigating VAD. Actors along the cassava value chain such as farmers will benefit immensely from the unexploited profit to be accrued by improving the crop's economic potential through value addition. Processors and consumers will also benefit through product diversity, and ultimately adoption of yellow cassava.

Efforts to improve the nutritional status of cassava has led to the development of yellow cassava which is rich in β-carotene. This cassava variant appears to be popular in countries such as Indonesia and Brazil (Anggriaini et al., 2009, Berni et al., 2014). However, a different situation pertains in Ghana and other parts of Africa, where consumer acceptance remains a major challenge for adoption. It is less popular because of restricted widespread consumption and cultivation. Its utilization is poorly diversified and the potential of developing value-added cassava-based food products remain underexplored. Because of its sensitivity to heat and light, it is important that denaturing of β -carotene is minimized during processing. This may be achieved by high-temperature-short-time (HTST) processing techniques such as drum drying. Drum drying has a marginal effect on -carotene (Wu et al., 2008), and it presents a good opportunity to process YF cassava. Understanding the dynamics of carotenoid loss in drum drying is crucial for controlling and predicting -carotene levels during processing.