There are several cassava varieties, over 99 local (farmer selection) and elite or released cultivars in Uganda. The smallholder farmers in Uganda grow various cultivars on the same piece of land. Surveys carried out indicated that certain cultivars dominate particular agro-ecologies, districts or preferred by specific ethnic groups. Therefore cassava farmers select cassava cultivars for cultivation by certain criteria that are common across agro-ecologies. On overage cultivar selection largely depend on high storage root yield, early storage root bulking, resistance to pests and diseases, mealiness and sweetness (as opposed to bitter varieties). These selection criteria reflect the degree of importance attached to different varieties associated to farmers’ multiple needs and priorities in the context of the production environments and local farming systems.
Some popular and released cassava varieties and their reaction to the CMD and CBSD in Uganda| Variety | Maturity | Disease Resistance | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CMD | CBSD | ||
| Aladu aladu | S | S | |
| Bao | L | S | S |
| Bukalasa (B11) | E | S | S |
| Ebwanatereka | E | S | |
| Ichilicili | S | ||
| Mercury | E | S | S |
| MH96/0686 | T | T | |
| Mufumbachai | S | S | |
| NAROCASS1 (NAM130) | M | R | M |
| NASE 01 (TMS60142) | M | S | T |
| NASE 03 (TMS30752) | E | T | M |
| NASE 13 (MH97/2961) | E | R | S |
| NASE 14 (MM96/4271) | R | L | T |
| NASE 19 (72-TME 14) | R | T | |
| Nyaraboke (Bamunanika) | M | S | |
| TME 14 | E | T | S |
| TME 204 | M | T | S |
Locally known as waragi, bioethanol, is colourless liquid produced through fermentation and distillation of plant biomass such as cassava, millet, maize, sugarcane. Traditional processing of bioethanol from cassava has been deeply rooted and widespread in many cultures in Africa. In Uganda, production has mainly been concentrated in the northern, eastern and west Nile regions of the country mainly because these regions are major producers of cassava the feedstock used in production. Bioethanol production has played pivotal role in providing source of income for meeting the immediate indispensable needs of many rural households such as school fees, health needs, and food. It has also been used in social gatherings where people meet and drink as they discuss societal issues. For decades, traditional production has mainly been produced for local consumption. With cassava as major feedstock in for traditional processing in Uganda, It has been reported that processing to make bioethanol offers an opportunity of absorbing excess cassava thereby reducing losses and stabilizing prices. With annual demand for bioethanol in Uganda is estimated at over 25 million litres, and increasing at an annual rate of 10-15 percent being catalysed by the need for clean and sustainable renewable source of energy due to environmental, economic, and social benefits and uses in industries, schools, laboratories, hospitals and pharmaceutical industries and its potential use as an engine fuel. Traditional bioethanol production is still faced with a number of bottlenecks hindering the commercialization and ability to meet demand notably the inefficiency in the production process with low output. In addition the quality of the bioethanol has been compromised because of the nature of the equipment used for production. Generally the current production process is highly labour intensive and most importantly the economics of production process remain ambiguous. If farmers are to inclusively benefit and commercialization of the traditional bioethanol is to be achieved, then these strategic bottlenecks ought to be addressed. The community action research project (CARP) funded by RUFORUM intends to promote sustainable and inclusive commercialization of the traditional bioethanol production from cassava by addressing these challenges. This project aims at innovatively developing a protocol of efficient and faster conversion of fermentable sugars into alcohol by identifying the best protocol and yeast enzymes to perform this function. In addition through the project an economic analysis traditional bioethanol production is being carried out to determine the profitability and cost effectiveness of the traditional processing technology. This will not only unlock the potential of bioethanol production but will also provide value addition technology to cassava farmers who have perennially been faced with challenges of losses and low market prices of cassava.
Description and, damage and management
Adults are green and have bold yellow, black, white and orange markings on their bodies. The nymphs are black with yellow markings on the body, legs, antennae and wing pads. The nymphs gather in large numbers on weeds and low-growing crops. The grasshopper chews cassava leaves, petioles, and green stems. It defoliates the plants and de-barks the stems. The pest damage is more common on older cassava plants than on younger ones, and is more severe in the dry season than in the wet season. Under severe infestation, spraying can be done using Chlorpyrifos.
Description and, damage and management
Commonly found at cassava shoot tips, on the under surfaces of leaves, and on stems. The insects are covered with large amounts of white waxy materials. They are wingless, pink in color, oval in shape, and have very short body filaments. The cassava mealy bugs suck sap from the leaves and shoot tips. The pest reduces the lengths of the internodes and causes the leaves to clump together into “bunchy tops”. The pest also distorts the stems dries up the leaves and eventually, if the attack is particularly severe, it defoliates the plants. The damage is more severe in the dry than in the wet season. Under severe infestation, spraying can be done using Chlorpyrifos.
Description and, damage and management
Cassava green mite lives on the under surface of young cassava leaves. Mites are wingless, very tiny, and appear as specks to the naked eye. In the farm, you can see them more clearly if you look at them under a hand lens. The nymphs (immature mites) are green in color and turn yellowish as they get older. Red mites also occur on cassava, mostly on the older leaves, but they are not common and do not cause serious damage. Cassava greenmite sucks sap from cassava leaves and shoot tips. The pest causes tiny yellow chlorotic spots the size of pin pricks, on the upper leaf surfaces. You should not confuse chlorotic spots caused by the pest with the chlorotic patches of cassava mosaic disease. Young leaves attacked by cassava green mite become small and narrow. The pest kills the terminal leaves and as these drop the shoot tip looks like a “candlestick”. Cassava crop damage by the pest is more severe in the dry than in the wet season. Under severe infestation, spraying can be done using Chlorpyrifos.
Description and, damage and management
Adults have bright white wings, like the spiraling whitefly. The insects are, however, smaller than the spiraling whitefly and are not covered with white material. The adults and nymphs occur on the undersurfaces of young leaves. The nymphs appear as pale yellow oval specks to the naked eye. Bemisia whiteflies suck sap from the leaves, while feeding; it secretes large amounts of honeydew which supports the growth of black mold on the plant. The blackened leaves dry up and drop. As they feed, the insects inject the plant with viruses which cause cassava mosaic disease and cassava brown streak disease. This is the main reason why the insect is an important cassava pest. Spraying with contact or systemic pesticides will control the pest, but not the CBSD it was already introduced.
Description and, damage and management
In general there are several species and types of termites They are in different kinds and damage cassava stems and storage roots. Worker termites cause damage to crops In newly planted cassava farms termites chew and eat stem cuttings. These grow poorly, die and rot. In older cassava farms, termites chew and enter the stems. This weakens the stems and causes them to break easily. Termite damage occurs mostly in the dry season. They can be controlled by use of chlorpyrifos on the mounds or their feeding areas.
Symptoms and management
Cassava mosaic virus disease manifests as Light green, yellow or white patches on the leaves, wrinkling of leaves, shrinking of leaves, stunted plants. CMD can be managed by: Use disease‐free cuttings. Early planting to avoid peak of whitefly vectors Regular field inspection (2‐3 times) to rogue out infected plant in low disease incidence Use resistant/tolerant varieties. Control vector transmission by keeping good isolation between cassava fields.
Symptoms and management
Cassava Bacterial Blight Symptoms on stem include brown/black lesions on a cassava stem, formation of gummy exudates and sudden wilt of the leaves Under severe disease attack heavy defoliation occurs, leaving bare stems, referred to as "candlesticks". Infected stems and roots show brownish discolouration. During periods of high humidity, bacterial exudates (appears as gum) can be seen on the lower leaf surfaces, petioles and stems. CBB can be managed via: Use clean planting material Disinfect tools regularly Intercrop cassava with maize or melon. Practice crop rotation and fallowing. Remove weeds and burn all infected plant debris and weeds or plough them into the soil. Timely weeding Foliar spray with Agromycin, Copper sulphate or Bordeaux mixture Use of resistant cultivars
Symptoms and management
Cassava brown streak virus disease (CBSD) is serious in East Africa and is a threat to the whole of sub‐Saharan Africa. The virus is vectored by whiteflies (Bemisia spp.) and also transmitted through infected cuttings. Symptoms include yellowing (leaf chlorosis) and streaks in the stem bark (cortex). Infected tubers have brown streaks (root necrosis). It's a stealth virus, which destroys everything in the field. The leaves may appear healthy even when the roots have rotted away. CBSD can be managed by: Use diseased‐free cuttings. Use tolerant/resistant varieties Remove diseased plants from the field and control vector transmission by keeping good isolation between cassava fields
High quality cassava flour (HQCF) is fine flour produced from wholesome freshly harvested cassava and rapidly processed roots. HQCF is unfermented, smooth, odourless, white or creamy flour, bran with no gluten. Commercial production of HQCF is relatively new in Africa. Currently high quality cassava flour (HQCF) is gradually gaining popularity in the Uganda and the region at large. Research has shown that processing of cassava roots into HQCF as a primary industrial raw material has the potential to jump-start rural industrialization, increase market value of cassava and improved famers’ earnings and their livelihoods. HQCF is either used as a whole or in the composite forms in the preparation of bakery products such as cakes, cookies doughnuts and breads. Recent Studies have revealed that the market potential for HQCF is huge and remains largely unexploited. A market of about 6,600 tons per year has been identified by the Africa Innovations Institute and is currently available with the biscuit and paperboard manufacturers. The demand includes 2,400 tons for Biscuits, 2,400 tons for paperboard, 1,200 tons for bakeries and 600 tons composite flour. This represents less than 20% of the potential market if the food and bakeries, beverages, pulp, paper and card box industries; starch, pharmaceutical and ethanol industries are developed.
In Uganda, the first trading activity of cassava is between local traders (popularly known as middlemen and/or assemblers) and farmers. The local traders purchase from individual farmers and farmer groups. Then the cassava is sold at open markets and also to medium and large scale traders and/or processors. However, most of the traders procure directly from either fellow traders or individual farmers. Most of the travelling traders sell to fellow traders or schools. Price is mainly determined through negotiations for most of the transactions. Supply and demand forces, determination by buyers or by sellers are each used to determine prices for 13% of the transactions Cassava traders do not get the amount of cassava they demand. More often than not, there is a supply gap caused by low harvested volumes, poor road network which hinders access to production areas by traders. Even though the supply gap for cassava is low, the cassava supply deficit is still reflected at the traders.. Much of this demand is from the northern and eastern parts of the country and is in partly attributed to the crop being regarded as a food security crop due to its drought resistance attributes and minimal processing requirements for preservation. It is estimated that, about 200,000 MT of cassava flour are consumed per annum in Uganda, an equivalent of between 600,000 MT to 800,000 MT of fresh cassava (22% of all consumed cassava). In its dry form, cassava is sold either as chips or flour. However, dried cassava is sold almost entirely by farmers as chips. It is in the subsequent stages of the value chain that chips are milled into flour. Cassava flour may be sold as composite flour mixed with finger millet or sorghum. It is assumed that most of the flour in Uganda is sold in traditional markets as very small amounts are stocked in supermarkets and shops. Flow of fresh cassava is particularly dynamic and involves heavy concentration of marketing services. Rural to rural flows are, by comparison, much more diffuse urban consumers prefer sweet flavored, medium sized cassava roots. From the traders’ point of view, roots that have relatively long shelf life are more preferred. Fresh cassava marketing in Uganda is also driven by the high perishability of the roots and the price premium that consumers are willing to pay for freshness, Consumers tend to prefer sweet flavored varieties, medium-sized cassava roots and they particularly like the red-skinned variety. Supply of fresh cassava varies with season. Harvesting during the dry season is particularly labour intensive and often results in broken roots. No such problems exist in the wet season and consequently supply tends to be higher. Supplies are now sourced from far thereby adding to transport costs and hence the high and increasing retail price of fresh cassava.