Gari processing machines in Ghana: what a small plant needs
The machines for each step of making gari, from peeling and grating to pressing and roasting, what to check before you buy, and importing them from China.
By the Landed team · · 5 min read
A small gari plant needs equipment for six jobs: peeling the cassava, grating it, pressing the water out of the mash, sieving it, roasting it, and bagging the gari. The grater and the press are the main machines. The grater drum and the roasting tray should be stainless steel, because mild steel rusts into the food. And buy enough press capacity: in one processing centre studied by researchers, grating a load of cassava took under an hour, but pressing the same load took about half a day.
Here is what each step needs, and what to check before you buy.
What machines do you need to make gari?
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) publishes an illustrated guide for small cassava processors. It describes these steps and the equipment for each:
| Step | Equipment | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Peeling | Sharp knives, or a motorised peeling machine | Removes the skin and any rotten or woody parts |
| Washing | Clean containers, scourers and clean water | Removes dirt and leftover peel |
| Grating | Motorised grater with a stainless steel drum | Turns the roots into a wet mash, collected in clean sacks |
| Pressing | Hydraulic press or screw press | Squeezes water out of the bagged mash |
| Fermenting | Racks to hold the bags | Lets the mash sour to the taste buyers want |
| Sieving | Stainless steel sieve | Breaks up the pressed cake and removes fibre |
| Roasting | Roasting bay with a stainless steel tray and a chimney | Dries the grits into gari |
| Bagging | Sieves, scale, lined woven sacks and a sealer | Grades, weighs and seals the gari for sale |
You do not need a machine for every step on day one. Knives, racks and sieves are simple equipment. The grater, the press and the roasting set-up are the main purchases.
Why the grater and tray must be stainless steel
IITA's guide is direct about this: do not use grater drums made from mild steel, because they rust and contaminate the product, and do not use a mild steel tray for roasting gari. When a supplier offers a cheaper grater, ask what the drum is made of, and ask for it in writing.
The press is usually the bottleneck
A study by the CGIAR research programme on roots, tubers and bananas looked at a small gari centre in Nigeria. There, a motorised grater took about 45 to 60 minutes to grate 1.2 tonnes of roots. Pressing the same load took about 12 to 14 hours, at about two hours per press load. The mash was also left to ferment in its bags for three days.
The lesson for anyone planning a plant: size the press, and the number of presses, to the amount of cassava you will grate in a day. A fast grater does not help if the mash then waits all day for the press.
Fermenting and roasting
IITA says pressing and fermenting finish the job of removing cyanide from the cassava mash. Bagged mash can stay on the fermentation rack for one or more days, but IITA notes that fermenting for longer than one or two days makes a very sour product. How long you ferment depends on what your buyers like.
Roasting is hot work. IITA warns that traditional roasting bays expose workers to direct heat, smoke and fumes, which is why its improved design adds a chimney. If you buy a mechanised roaster or fryer, ask how it is heated, how much it holds per batch, and how the smoke is carried away.
Safety, hygiene and waste water
- Keep hands away from the grater drum. IITA says not to push roots against the drum with bare hands, because it can cause injury.
- Wash hands with soap before work, after breaks and after using the toilet.
- Plan for the waste water. The CGIAR study warns that the run-off from fermenting and pressing is an environmental hazard, because it contains starch and cyanide, and reports that run-off from another centre once made well water undrinkable. IITA suggests collecting the milky water from the fermentation bags in a bowl, and making sure floor washings flow into a soakaway, not onto the ground outside.
Put the drainage and the soakaway into your plan before you build, not after.
How to choose machines for your plant
- Start from your cassava. How many tonnes of roots will you process in a day, and on how many days a week? Every machine should be sized from that figure.
- Match the press to the grater. As the study above shows, pressing takes far longer than grating. Ask each supplier how much mash their press handles per load and how long a load takes.
- Check the power. Ask whether each machine runs on an electric motor or an engine, the motor's power, and whether it needs single-phase or three-phase electricity. Make sure it matches the power at your site, or plan for a generator.
- Check the materials. Stainless steel for anything that touches the food: the grater drum, the sieve and the roasting tray.
- Ask about spare parts. Find out which parts wear out, such as the grating surface and belts, and buy spares with the machine.
- Ask for a video of the machine working, with cassava, before you pay.
Importing gari machines from China
Gari machines can be bought directly from factories in China. Three things to know:
- Duty. On 2 November 2026, the Ghana Revenue Authority's HS code lookup showed food-processing machinery (HS heading 8438) at 5% import duty. Levies and VAT are added on top. Our guide on how to calculate import duty in Ghana shows how.
- EasyPASS. Since 1 July 2026, machinery from China needs the Ghana Standards Authority's EasyPASS check before it ships. The check happens in the exporting country and ends in a certificate of conformity. Ask the supplier about it before you pay.
- Shipping time. Heavy machines usually travel by sea. The sailing from Shanghai to Tema takes about 30 to 45 days, plus the time to build the machine, reach the port and clear customs.
Our guides to importing from China to Ghana and block making machines cover buying a machine from a Chinese factory in more detail.
Get gari machines delivered to Accra
Landed buys processing machines from factories in China, ships them, clears them through Ghana customs and holds them at our Accra showroom. You pay one all-in price in cedis, agreed before you pay, covering the machines, the shipping, the duty and clearing, and our service. The price is locked once your deposit is in.
- Tell us how much cassava you plan to process in a day and what power you have, and get a price.
- Browse farm and food-processing machines and machines and heavy equipment.
