Post by Ismail AbdulAzeez on Sept 28, 2019 13:28:29 GMT 1
The significant roles cassava play in reducing hunger and promoting food security and its emerging value chain development in the country has brought the crop to the limelight as one of the most industrialised and widely consumed tropical crops.
In this article, we bring you steps to yielding maximum profits from cassava cultivation.
Cassava is described as the ‘golden crop of Africa'. The root crop is used in industrial production of high quality flour, starch, glucose, ethanol and animal feeds. It is also processed into various types of food such as garri, lafun and fufu as staples directly consumed at homes and restaurants.
Although, the cassava plant has high potential yield per hectare, the average yield of the crop per hectare of land in Nigeria is however, very low compared with other countries. Nigeria’s yield per hectare ranges between 10 and 15 metric tonnes per hectare.
Whereas, with adequate water and minerals, the plant has the potential to reach 200 metric tonnes per hectare.
How then can Nigeria intensify productivity with the same space and higher yield per hectare?
Below are good farming practices that would dramatically shift the paradigm from low to high yield of the crop.
Quality planting materials
Farmers should select planting materials that are neither too young nor too old, and that are not dry. Improved varieties of cassava should be planted for optimum yield.
The variety should depend on what the farmer wants. If it is for garri, starch, ethanol or cassava flour, there are varieties. Vitamin-A fortified varieties are better used by farmers who want to cultivate for personal processing into various forms of food, these are high yielding and short period varieties.
Mechanisation of farming
Lands should be prepared very well through plowing, ridging and harrowing. These would break the soil and would make a great difference. Cassava roots become bigger in loose and fertile soil. Mechanisation of cassava farming is inevitable if a farmer wants to get optimum yield at a reduced cost. Mechanisation includes the use of standard tractors, plough, harrow, cassava planter (it may be two rolls or four rolls), boom sprayer, cassava cultivator and harvester. Basically, farmers would need to plough and harrow, ridging is not important because complete mechanisation requires harrowed farmland so that cassava planter and harvester could be used.
Mechanically, it takes 45 minutes to plant one hectare, this reduces labour and farmers’ production cost will reduce too. Selecting good and well drained soil, good variety stems and the right planting formation promotes good yield. 0.8m x 1m spacing is recommended, that is, 80cm along the roll and inter-roll spacing should be one metre.
Plant population
Farmers should use a minimum of 70 bundles of cassava stems per hectare using cassava planter. This way, you are sure of getting a minimum of 28 tonnes per hectare if you plant by 0.8m x 1m spacing, with good management.
Optimum plant population is also necessary with 12,500 plants per hectare, and spacing of 1mx80cm. After this, the focus of farmers should be to maintain 10,000 plants by the time of harvest. Everything should be done to protect the plant population.
Crop protection methods
Although, crops could be planted any time of the year, but for commercial farmers, they should plant four times in a year, starting from April to October. Good cassava farming for maximum yield is a knowledge driven activity and it requires attention, farmers should not make the mistake of planting cassava only to come back for harvest at the end of one year. Also, weeding and pest control are very essential. Once insects are detected, spray them with insecticides.
Weed management
Weed management means preventing weeds from overrunning the farm. It means not only weeding but also using plant population to form a canopy to prevent weed infestation, as well as applying correct and adequate herbicides. Prompt and efficient use of pre-emergence herbicides is the best. Before planting, the seed must first be sprayed with glyphosate. The right concentration must be used though, mixing ratio also must be done properly, and at the time of spraying, there must be low sunshine.
Therefore, farmers are advised not to spray when there is high sunshine so as to reduce evaporation.
Use of fertiliser
The choice of soil matters in growing crops. Though cassava grows anywhere, when the soil is rich, it will help in getting better yield, with minimal fertiliser or manure.
Fertiliser is not the main factor in yield. The biggest determinant of yield is the number of plants standing at the time of harvest; it should not be fewer than 10,000 stands. So, where the soil is good, apply fertiliser lightly.
On the alternative to fertiliser, it is suggested to use manure, it is good and cheaper, but cassava will always do well in any type of soil with average fertility. If fertiliser is used or not, it will do well. Eight bags of fertiliser should be used after about six weeks of planting or latest by three months after planting, before the rain season stops.
Marketing and market value
SELLING cassava roots is easier now that the value chain is being developed. Food, flour, starch and ethanol producers are on the lookout for quality cassava roots. For now, there is shortage of cassava production in Nigeria. An industry in the country requires 300 tonnes per day and the company buys one tonne at N22,000.
The price of raw cassava root however, would always depend on the area, processing companies buy in tonnes while local markets buy in baskets. Harvesting at the proper time is very important. The period between planting and harvesting depends on varieties, but nine months after planting, some varieties will be ready for harvest and sale. Farmers must harvest earlier to prevent rodent and pest attack in order not to run at lost.
In this article, we bring you steps to yielding maximum profits from cassava cultivation.
Cassava is described as the ‘golden crop of Africa'. The root crop is used in industrial production of high quality flour, starch, glucose, ethanol and animal feeds. It is also processed into various types of food such as garri, lafun and fufu as staples directly consumed at homes and restaurants.
Although, the cassava plant has high potential yield per hectare, the average yield of the crop per hectare of land in Nigeria is however, very low compared with other countries. Nigeria’s yield per hectare ranges between 10 and 15 metric tonnes per hectare.
Whereas, with adequate water and minerals, the plant has the potential to reach 200 metric tonnes per hectare.
How then can Nigeria intensify productivity with the same space and higher yield per hectare?
Below are good farming practices that would dramatically shift the paradigm from low to high yield of the crop.
Quality planting materials
Farmers should select planting materials that are neither too young nor too old, and that are not dry. Improved varieties of cassava should be planted for optimum yield.
The variety should depend on what the farmer wants. If it is for garri, starch, ethanol or cassava flour, there are varieties. Vitamin-A fortified varieties are better used by farmers who want to cultivate for personal processing into various forms of food, these are high yielding and short period varieties.
Mechanisation of farming
Lands should be prepared very well through plowing, ridging and harrowing. These would break the soil and would make a great difference. Cassava roots become bigger in loose and fertile soil. Mechanisation of cassava farming is inevitable if a farmer wants to get optimum yield at a reduced cost. Mechanisation includes the use of standard tractors, plough, harrow, cassava planter (it may be two rolls or four rolls), boom sprayer, cassava cultivator and harvester. Basically, farmers would need to plough and harrow, ridging is not important because complete mechanisation requires harrowed farmland so that cassava planter and harvester could be used.
Mechanically, it takes 45 minutes to plant one hectare, this reduces labour and farmers’ production cost will reduce too. Selecting good and well drained soil, good variety stems and the right planting formation promotes good yield. 0.8m x 1m spacing is recommended, that is, 80cm along the roll and inter-roll spacing should be one metre.
Plant population
Farmers should use a minimum of 70 bundles of cassava stems per hectare using cassava planter. This way, you are sure of getting a minimum of 28 tonnes per hectare if you plant by 0.8m x 1m spacing, with good management.
Optimum plant population is also necessary with 12,500 plants per hectare, and spacing of 1mx80cm. After this, the focus of farmers should be to maintain 10,000 plants by the time of harvest. Everything should be done to protect the plant population.
Crop protection methods
Although, crops could be planted any time of the year, but for commercial farmers, they should plant four times in a year, starting from April to October. Good cassava farming for maximum yield is a knowledge driven activity and it requires attention, farmers should not make the mistake of planting cassava only to come back for harvest at the end of one year. Also, weeding and pest control are very essential. Once insects are detected, spray them with insecticides.
Weed management
Weed management means preventing weeds from overrunning the farm. It means not only weeding but also using plant population to form a canopy to prevent weed infestation, as well as applying correct and adequate herbicides. Prompt and efficient use of pre-emergence herbicides is the best. Before planting, the seed must first be sprayed with glyphosate. The right concentration must be used though, mixing ratio also must be done properly, and at the time of spraying, there must be low sunshine.
Therefore, farmers are advised not to spray when there is high sunshine so as to reduce evaporation.
Use of fertiliser
The choice of soil matters in growing crops. Though cassava grows anywhere, when the soil is rich, it will help in getting better yield, with minimal fertiliser or manure.
Fertiliser is not the main factor in yield. The biggest determinant of yield is the number of plants standing at the time of harvest; it should not be fewer than 10,000 stands. So, where the soil is good, apply fertiliser lightly.
On the alternative to fertiliser, it is suggested to use manure, it is good and cheaper, but cassava will always do well in any type of soil with average fertility. If fertiliser is used or not, it will do well. Eight bags of fertiliser should be used after about six weeks of planting or latest by three months after planting, before the rain season stops.
Marketing and market value
SELLING cassava roots is easier now that the value chain is being developed. Food, flour, starch and ethanol producers are on the lookout for quality cassava roots. For now, there is shortage of cassava production in Nigeria. An industry in the country requires 300 tonnes per day and the company buys one tonne at N22,000.
The price of raw cassava root however, would always depend on the area, processing companies buy in tonnes while local markets buy in baskets. Harvesting at the proper time is very important. The period between planting and harvesting depends on varieties, but nine months after planting, some varieties will be ready for harvest and sale. Farmers must harvest earlier to prevent rodent and pest attack in order not to run at lost.