Fufu may look like one of the simplest foods on a Nigerian dinner table, but turning cassava into the familiar staple involves a chain of costs that consumers rarely see.
For Ana, fufu production is more than a business. She was born into it and has been making and selling fufu for as long as she can remember.
Her working days are typically busiest in the mornings and evenings, while cassava remains the foundation of the business. She said producers can grow their own cassava, buy directly from farmers or purchase harvested cassava from sellers.
The cost varies depending on location and how the cassava is purchased. Ana said buying cassava in bags starts from about ₦4,500, while purchasing by plots can cost ₦100,000 and above.
But the cost of the raw material is only part of the calculation.
Ana said producers must also account for firewood, labour, transportation and nylon used for packaging before determining how much money is actually left.
“If you are using firewood there is no need for gas,” she said. “When you calculate the firewood, labour, transportation, nylon, etc. and deduct it from what you sold will determine how much gain you have.”
Her experience comes against a backdrop of elevated food-price pressures across Nigeria. The National Bureau of Statistics currently reports food inflation at 20.31%, compared with headline inflation of 15.43%.
For small food producers, the challenge is therefore not simply how much customers are willing to pay. Every increase in the cost of processing, labour, transportation or packaging can reduce the margin left from each sale.
Yet Ana remains confident that the business is still profitable.
Asked whether she believes fufu production remains profitable today, her answer was brief:
“It is.”
That simple response captures the resilience of a traditional trade that continues to provide livelihoods while putting one of Nigeria’s familiar staples on consumers’ tables.
Behind every portion of fufu is therefore more than cassava. There is farming, processing, labour, transportation and packaging and for producers like Ana, the constant task of making all those costs fit within what customers can afford.
