Cassava production decline threatens food security - Experts

CASSAVA | EXPERTS | HUNGER 

Experts have expressed fear over the imminent increase in food insecurity in Uganda following reports that indicate an 11% reduction in cassava production over the past two decades. 

Cassava has for long served as one of Uganda’s key food security crops, thanks to its ability to survive dry spells unlike most of the other crops like potatoes.

According to the 2003, 2008,  2010 and 2019 Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) reports, cassava is mainly grown in the eastern and northern parts of the country on 342,387 and 269,886 hectares respectively. 

However, these reports indicate that annual cassava production steadily declined from 4,966,000 tonnes in 2000 to 3,017,000 tonnes in 2010. 

Production only increased to 4,390,231 tonnes in 2018, which is still an 11% decline over the two-decade period.

Ironically, the national population has increased by 48%, from 23  million people to over 45 million during the same period, which means more demand for food.

Cassava production only increased to 4,390,231 tonnes in 2018, which is still an 11% decline over the two-decade period.

Steven Angudubo, a socio-economist at the National Crops Resources Research Institute  (NaCRRI), describes cassava as a major staple in most parts of the country and is only second to bananas, whose per capita consumption is about 132kg per person per year.

Angudubo says cassava contributes as much as 300-kilo calories to every consumer daily. 

“The crop can be in the garden all year round and only harvested by piecemeal whenever desirable,” he states. 

This, therefore, seals the contribution of cassava to food security in Uganda, according to Angudubo.  He says the decline in cassava production recorded between 2000 and 2010 translated into reduced quantity and quality of cassava, a major constituent of daily dietary requirements at household level.

Last week, the Government of Uganda and United Nations released a report indicating that  5.4 million (12%) Ugandans suffer from chronic hunger. 

Chronic hunger means persistent lack of food and it can lead to death and this is most prevalent among refugees and Karamoja sub-region.

Other areas with chronic hunger reports include parts of Kasese and the Cattle Corridor districts covering parts of northeastern  Uganda (Karamoja) across central Uganda to southwestern  Uganda (Isingiro and Kyotera). 

Angudubo says cassava contributes as much as 300-kilo calories to every consumer daily.

Chronic hunger is also accompanied by acute poverty. Food security, which is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is linked to the livelihood of the population,  which is SDG1 and well-being or human health, which is  SDG3.

The report outlined the triple burden of the changing climate that undermines productivity, population growth and urbanisation that exert immense pressure on natural resources.

Angudubo warns that  declining cassava production  “could only accelerate the  country into acute food  insecurity.” Similarly, Dr Christopher  Omongo, the root crops programme leader at NaCCRI,  acknowledges the cassava production trends published in the UBOS reports.

He, however,  attributes the decline in production for the first decade to the dramatic explosion of the deadly cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) from 2004  onwards.

He explains that the disease wiped out most of the released improved varieties that had been bred for resistance to cassava mosaic disease (CMD)  that had previously ravaged cassava production.

“Resultantly, most of the  cassava farmers got demoralised and abandoned production,  because this disease caused their cassava roots to rot in the gardens,” he notes.

Resultantly, most of the cassava farmers got demoralised and abandoned production, because this disease caused their cassava roots to rot in the gardens.

Omongo attributes the slight improvement in cassava production for the second decade to the development and deployment of the improved high yielding and CBSD  tolerant cassava varieties across the country.

More so,  he gives the credit to the World  Bank-funded Eastern Africa Agricultural Productivity Project  (EAAPP) which, from 2012- 2016 deliberately promoted cassava production through increased access to clean improved and disease resistant cassava planting materials across the cassava growing regions of Uganda.

Omongo says the sudden boom in the improved cassava stem market, both regionally (South Sudan and Rwanda)  and nationally (Apac and  Kiryandongo) between 2014  and 2016 could also explain the improvement in cassava production in that second decade.

Traditional varieties 

Over the past three decades, the  National Agricultural Research  Organisation (NARO) has released 21 cassava varieties. 

Popular among them is NAROCASS1, released about four years ago, which has high yield, short maturity and high disease resistance.

While experts are advocating for high yielding and disease resistant improved varieties to boost cassava production, the irony is that the market still prefers the traditional varieties. 

“I prefer traditional cassava varieties because they are sweet,  soft, mealy and long stay in the ground,” Abassi Ssejemba, a  cassava farmer and trader in Kalerwe market, says.

Over the past three decades, the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) has released 21 cassava varieties.

“After one year, the improved cassava varieties begin to rot,  and thus undesirable to the farmers and consumers,” he adds. 

Several other traders and consumers interviewed in  Nakawa and Kalerwe markets, confirm that consumers in Kampala prefer traditional cassava varieties.

A study published last year in the International Journal of Food  Science and Technology reveals that farmers rank softness of the boiled cassava roots and long in-ground storability as the key attributes influencing variety preference.

Dr Paula Iragaba, a lead author in this publication, says the traditional varieties were found to be more superior in these key quality attributes compared to the improved officially released ones. 

“The findings of this study are vital for breeders to develop varieties that meet the needs and preferences of the end-users,” she explains.

This study was jointly carried out by cassava breeders, socio-economists, food biochemists from NARO and the College of  Agriculture and Life Sciences,  Mann Library, Ithaca, New  York, US. 

The study aimed to identify cassava quality attributes preferred by users along the food chain, in order to provide breeders with criteria for prioritisation. Survey and consumer-testing studies were carried out on 144 men and  117 women within Apac and  Luwero districts of Uganda.

The findings of this study are in agreement with observations made by the cassava traders and consumers who were interviewed in Kalerwe and Nakawa markets. Several research reports from  NaCRRI indicate that, much as the traditional cassava varieties are preferred for eating because of their sweet taste, softness and mealiness,  they are very susceptible to diseases and have a very low yield.

For example, most local varieties yield between 5-10  tonnes per hectare compared to the improved cassava that fetches as much as 20-25 tonnes per hectare under farmer management conditions.

Dr Paula Iragaba, a lead author in this publication, says the traditional varieties were found to be more superior in these key quality attributes compared to the improved officially released ones.

However, Dr Robert Kawuki,  a cassava breeder from NARO,  says majority (75%) of the land where cassava in Uganda is grown is occupied by improved varieties.

What has been done

Dr Robert Kawuki, a cassava breeder from NARO, says plans are underway to reprioritise end-user attributes, with special attention to the cooking qualities like taste, softness and mealiness.

He says new improved cassava varieties with superior attributes for food or industrial use have been submitted to the variety release committee awaiting approval.

Kawuki says the findings of the market study should not cause alarm, since it is usual practice that the new cassava varieties are often released to replace those that no longer meet the expectations of the end-users. 

“A good cassava variety is as good as its weakest point and thus it is common to find different regions/ markets prioritising different varieties owing to their special attributes.

No wonder, the limitations found in the released varieties will provide a platform to improve on the qualities of a variety and thus justify the importance of breeding,” Kawuki says.

The Government, through NAADS, has also launched the cassava commercialisation project in Northern Uganda through the Archdiocese of  Gulu as one of the initiatives to increase cassava production and arrest the problem.

The project also intends to promote value addition to cassava and ultimately improve the livelihoods of the people in  Northern Uganda, according to Khadija Nakakande, the head of communication at NAADS.

“For the past three years, the Government through NAADS has injected sh8b to increase cassava production through the distribution of improved and high yielding cassava planting materials to farmers. 

To date, the project has expanded to include other dioceses of Lira, Nebbi and Arua,” Nakakande said.

This story was done with support from CAB International (CABI-SciDev.Net) Script science journalism project