CBN-V Video Archives - S1-11
Cassava Growing- The Ugandan Experience

Kulata A.N.

PO BOX 9079, Kampala kulataa@yahoo.com

        Cassava is a widely grown crop throughout the tropical world. In Uganda it is grown all over the country, but most especially the Eastern region. It has traditionally been grown as a food crop. Recent economic advancements have turned it into a cash crop. It is mainly used as a food crop. Others include, a component in the manufacture of drugs, a binding material in construction, cash crop, and a raw material the distillation of alcoholic beverages. Low cassava prices, scarcity of planting materials, limited market, lack of storage and transport facilities, lack of capital, lack of encouragement from the government, poisonous cassava materials, poor farming methods are all problems encountered by Ugandan cassava producers. Adding value to the raw cassava by drying and grinding, penetration of local markets like schools and institutions, creation of an export market, advanced cassava preservation and storage would all contribute to improved production. There is therefore a requirement for government encouragement and intervention to bring cassava to the level of other successful major cash crops.

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