AfrII Establishes Cassava Demonstration Sites in Central, East and Northern Uganda
Nancy Nandudu
AfrII staff viewing a demonstration site in Nakasongola district with the host farmer
Five cassava demonstration sites have been established with support from the Africa Innovations Institute (AfrII) in Northern, Eastern and Central Uganda. The sites are being used to train Cassava Seed Entrepreneurs (CSEs) and cassava root producers on good agricultural practices (GAPs) and integrated pest and disease management. The sites were planted with stem cuttings that did not show disease symptoms from multiplication gardens inspected by the National Seed Certification Service (NSCS) inspectors. The activity was conducted under the“Commercializing Quality Cassava Planting Material Delivery System in Uganda (CSS)” project. The Institute worked with selected farmer hosts in Ngetta, Aliro, Amuria, Nakaseke and Nakasongola districts to set up the demonstration sites within the month of October 2014.
Using set criteria, AfrII also worked with officials from the Ugandan Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), NSCS to conduct inspections on cassava fields under existing Cassava multiplications in Ngora and Apac districts. This was aimed at identifying fields with good quality cassava planting materials in order to link them to Cassava: Adding Value for Africa (C:AVA) smallholder beneficiaries who may wish to acquire quality stem cuttings of NASE 14 and NASE 3 varieties.
CSEs throughout the selected regions shall be availed with opportunities, through the project, to share experiences, best practices and lessons learnt in order to build their collective capacity to advocate for the development of a certified national cassava seed system. CSS envisions the establishment of a functional cassava seed certification system in Uganda, which will enhance the uptake and utilization of certified cassava planting materials and related innovations for sustainable productivity of the cassava system in the target project areas. The project therefore aims to present cassava seed multiplication to the private sector as an economically viable way to disseminate improved cassava varieties from research institutions to farmers.
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