Its leaves are high in protein and some essential minerals, and are therefore consumed by humans as a vegetable or can be fed to animals as silage. Its stems are used as a means of propagation. Its roots being carbohydrate or energy-dense can be used in a variety of ways for human food, animal feed or as an industrial raw material (starch, paper, pharmaceuticals, etc.).
Cassava leaves are widely consumed in most Eastern and Southern African countries as a vegetable. The nutritive value of cassava leaves has been found to be comparable to those of soybean, maize and amaranth but with higher amounts of vitamins and minerals. The production of cassava in Africa is faced with serious biotic constraints, such as diseases and pests, poor logistics for the supply of planting materials, poor agronomic practices, small and unorganised production systems, poor postharvest handling and processing. These lead to inefficiency and high costs of production, poor quality and low-priced products and an unorganised marketing system. All these contribute to the unprofitable nature of traditional cassava farming. Despite the high energy content of cassava roots and the superior quantity and quality of proteins in the leaves, the crop has wrongly been tagged an inferior food only on account of the low protein content of the roots. Policymakers in some countries are undecided about commercializing the use of cassava in industries, for example, for ethanol or starch production, because of the possible negative impact on food security. As a result, production systems remain small and unprofitable. This further perpetuates rural poverty. Many years of research that were focused on improving cassava productivity have not effected the much-needed impact on poverty. The research community has recently accepted that productivity-enhancing technologies alone, without access to profitable markets, cannot get poor farmers out of poverty. Cassava-dependent farmers in remote locations have no access to markets for their fresh roots; traditionally processed cassava products – although less perishable than fresh roots – are rebuffed in more rewarding markets because of their characteristic poor quality and safety. In some countries potential industrial users including food manufacturers are unwilling to use such products due to concerns about safety of the manufactured foods and a possible negative consumer reaction.
The cassava project with a vision of achieving a commercialised cassava seed supply chain of superior, disease tolerant variety in the country has been launched in Dar es Salaam recently.
The project known as BEST Cassava is a five-year project. It will be implemented by MEDA Economic Development Associates in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA).It is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The project will create a network of government-certified commercial cassava seed entrepreneurs located throughout the primary cassava growing regions of Tanzania.
Varieties of quality-assured and disease resistant cassava seeds will be made available, accessible and affordable for small holder cassava farmers.
The overall goal of this project is to increase agricultural productivity and farm income of small holder cassava farmers through access to improved cassava seed.
While cassava is a vital crop for millions of smallholder farmers in Tanzania, its role has shifted in status from a survival crop to a staple crop and now to a commercial crop generating an economically sustainable livelihood for the farmers.
On average the estimated profitability of cassava farming with high quality improved varieties is well over 900 USD per hectare. With volatile climate patterns, cassava has proved to be among the most resilient crops, lowering the risks associated with high rain dependency for the farmers.
Cassava production and utilisation in Tanzania however is mainly hampered by the limited access to farmers of high quality planting materials of cassava varieties that are resistant to major diseases of economic importance such as Cassava Brown Streak Diseases (CMD) and Cassava Brown Streak Diseases (CBSD) which cause significant production loss in the country.
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