Earn sh1m from an acre of cassava

Cassava is one of the low-cost food crops in the country, compared to maize or bananas. On average, you need sh50,000 to prepare an acre, sh90,000 to till the land and sh75,000 for stems. On the other hand, the gross earnings from an acre range from sh1,000,000-sh2m.

However, the more value you add to the product, the more money you earn. Cassava is used for making confectioneries, such as bagiya, daddies, cassava chips (omusiike) and at a high level, alcohol, ethanol and starch for, among other things, making medicinal tablets.

To plant cassava, all you need are stem cuttings from good varieties. The best varieties at the moment include the NASE series and TME. Both mature within 10-12 months. After planting at the beginning of the rainy season, you will need at least a weeding every two months for the first six months and, thereafter, weeding can be done as and when necessary.

Cassava takes eight-36 months to mature, depending on the variety.

Propagation

Cassava is propagated vegetatively using stem cuttings. A sack costs sh15,000 and an acre needs at least five sacks.

Agronomic practices

• Land preparation The cassava seedbed requires deep cultivation to a depth of 25cm. Ridges or mounds are used in other areas and it encourages tuber development.

• Planting materials

Planting is done by use of cuttings. These are parts of the stem which should be from a mature plant, especially the middle part. They should be 30cm-45cm long and 21/2mm-4mm thick with buds above the leaf scar.

• Planting method and spacing

Cuttings may be buried in a horizontal position 71/2cm-10cm deep or half way into the soil. In pure stands (without intercropping), a spacing of 1.5mx0.9m is recommended.

When inter-cropped, inter-plant with a cover crop of beans or groundnuts at a spacing of 50cm x 20cm. This combination gives maximum yields of both cassava and beans or groundnuts.

Pests and diseases and their management

Most times insect pests are not a threat to cassava production but still need attention. The most notable ones include the cassava mealy bug that attacks mainly the growing points of the plant, causing stunting, leaf and shoot deformation. Use clean and resistant varieties to avoid the bug.

• Diseases

The cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD) is the most feared virus disease at the moment. It causes reduced leaf size, malformed and twisted leaves with yellow areas separated by parts of normal green colour. Severely affected plants are stunted.

Yield loss due to CMD depends on the stage at which the plant is infected and severity of symptoms. The disease is transmitted by the white fly. Control through the following:

• Roughing infected plants

• Use of resistant varieties

• Use of clean planting materials

• Cassava Brown Streak

This is another virus disease, but is less damaging than mosaic, causing brown streaks on green stems. The marks remain and appear as sunken areas on mature stems. The disease is controlled in the same way as CMD.

Compiled by Joshua Kato (editor, Harvest Money) and Naome Mwidu from Tororo who processes confectioneries from cassava.