The Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) to support cassava seed system across Africa.
The MoU, which is in the framework of the project named Building and Economically Sustainable Cassava Seed System, Phase II (BASICS-II), will allow SAA to establish cassava seed entrepreneurs in Benue and Nasarawa states.
The Country Director for SAA, Dr. Godwin Atser, said the partnership would create at least 100 cassava seed entrepreneurs, who are expected to make a decent living from the sale of cassava stems, and as well, form the foundation of a cassava revolution in Nigeria.
Although Nigeria is the largest producer of cassava, the country is yet to maximally exploit the benefits of the ‘rambo crop’ owing to low productivity caused primarily by poor planting materials (seeds) that are often diseased.
According to official data, average cassava yield in Nigeria are below 10 tons per hectare, as opposed to Thailand with more than 20 tons per hectare, where cassava seed system is much advanced. This trend has limited the competitiveness of Nigerian farmers and their ability to tap into the export market.
The Project Leader of BASICS-II, Prof. Lateef Sanni, however, said using the BASICS-II approach, which emphasises the use of improved-certified cassava seeds, farmers could more than double their yield.
“We are excited to partner with SAA in this project as they will bring to the table their expertise in agricultural extension delivery and help us to scale the BASICS Model to new geographies,” Sanni revealed.
Limited access to quality seeds and propagation materials for well-adapted varieties hinders efforts to transform cassava systems. As a result, African farmers plant old, often diseased stems. On the flip side, breeders had developed a suite of improved varieties but have struggled to deliver to farmers stems that serve as seeds. Governments and NGOs have occasionally launched campaigns to multiply and distribute cassava stems, but these efforts have been sporadic, unreliable, and unsustainable.
In the last four years, the BASICS-II project demonstrated that the use of improved cassava stems can change the narrative of low yield per hectare and provide multiple streams of incomes for farmers as they trade stems and roots all together. Besides, the seed system creates jobs (commercial seed entrepreneurs), and wealth across the value chain.
