Why not try cassava?

Albert Tsindi
I LOOKED at the fields that have been abandoned back home in the village and saw that the number is increasing with each successive season.
I realised that the number of youths living in rural areas has drastically decreased. Most have migrated to urban areas in search of jobs but are there any jobs in town? The elderly are the ones left with no power to cultivate the same hectarege hence the reduction of area under cultivation.

Another factor is that the people are tired of growing maize and other crops on large areas, but harvesting very little. The soils are exhausted and the situation has been compounded by the climatic change that has seen some areas receiving rainfall below optimum.  What could be the solution to such a situation where the population including those who have gone to urban areas have to be fed against declining production levels?

Seeing the fields, I thought of a crop that has not been fully exploited yet has a great potential to improve food security, creating employment and income to the rural populace. Cassava has been cultivated as a minor crop yet has been considered a crop with great potential by many countries. Some organisations have gone a step further by introducing programmes that promote its production in developing countries.

Organisations like IITA and Next Generation Cassava has spearheaded cassava production initiatives in countries like Ghana, Uganda, Sudan, Columbia, Vietnam and many other countries having realised its potential as a food crop. Even in Zimbabwe IITA has evaluated some cassava varieties in the lowveld but its uptake still remains low.

Given the situation, I asked myself “Why not Try Cassava?” in these fields.

The reason I asked myself this question is that I have seen cassava under cultivation and have also seen how it is used. I have seen fields under cultivation and was surprised on the level of production by some countries.

Having tasted different products from cassava like Gari from Nigeria, Kalo from Uganda and Tapioca from Benin, I was convinced that we are not being fair to ourselves by not growing it. I also had an opportunity to taste the leaves of cassava as a vegetable.

Having attended a workshop on Modern Breeding Techniques of cassava, I got to know how other countries are investing on cassava.

Because of economic challenges, declining soil fertility and worsening drought situations, cassava should now be treated as important in the food basket and as a buffer against drought-shocks.

It has many attributes that can make it attractive as a crop to promote under any climate change adaptation strategy for Zimbabwe. Some areas have experienced famines and most smallholder farmers lack resources hence cassava provides an excellent assurance against famine.