ACDI/VOCA Helps to Dramatically Increase Ugandan Cassava Production after Devastating Blow from Crop Disease

More cassava is produced in Africa than anywhere else in the world: 80-90 million metric tons (MT) annually. More than 200 million people depend on cassava as their main staple food, making it the most important food security crop in sub-Saharan Africa. Cassava functions as a “food bank” because it is drought-resistant and can be left in the ground for two to three years without harvesting, serving as a “bridge” when more vulnerable annual crops are not available.

In Uganda, between 12 and 15 million people grow cassava on 400,000 hectares of land. Annual production peaked at 3.5 million tons in 1989, until a new and devastating form of cassava mosaic disease (CMD) struck, reducing national production levels by approximately 40 percent. It is estimated that between 1992 and 1997, annual losses to Ugandan farmers as a result of CMD were approximately $60 million; total losses have exceeded $ 400 million in the past 10 years. The decline in cassava production severely reduced household food security. In addition to Uganda, the neighbouring countries of Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan have also been affected by CMD.

To respond to the crisis, the USAID Mission in Uganda supported basic research by the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) which led to the development of disease-resistant cassava varieties. The ACDI/VOCA team in Uganda, under its PL 480 Title II Food Aid program, sponsored the multiplication and dissemination of these improved cassava varieties to farmers that had lost all cassava holdings. Over the past 4 years, ACDI/VOCA has invested more than $1 million of PL 480 funds in this effort, in addition to approximately $5.3 million invested in the past 10 years by the USAID Mission. The return on this investment has been enormous. Cassava production in ACDI/VOCA’s target areas increased from less than 1,000 MT in 1997 to 700,000 MT currently.

Cassava production has recovered in Uganda for several reasons. First, the groundwork for solving problems was laid out several years prior to the crisis. This was in the form of research, development and stockpiling of disease-resistant planting materials by IITA and NARO funded mostly by USAID. Second, once the disease struck, Ugandan farmers, working in partnership with ACDI/VOCA, NARO and IITA, came up with the best plan of action. They determined that distributing the cassava mosaic resistant varieties to farmers, for multiplication and food production, was the only measure that could provide a solution to the destructive impact of the cassava mosaic disease. ACDI/VOCA responded with adequate financial resources to ensure that the problem was quickly and efficiently addressed by multiplying and then distributing cassava seedlings to needy farmers.

Containing the spread of the new cassava mosaic disease will continue to require this level of collaboration and quick response in order to maintain food security for Uganda farmers, their communities, and the region.