Why Starting Small-scale Cassava Farming Business is Lucrative in Nigeria

Cassava farming is one of the most popular farming ventures in Nigeria, growing in almost all the states across the country, which makes Nigeria world’s largest producer of cassava.

Cassava also known as Manihot Esculenta is a starchy tuber crop widely grown in tropical areas around the world. It is grown widely in Africa, Asia and Southern America. Serve as a primary staple food to over 800 million people worldwide.

It can be used to produce food like fufu, garri, flour, tapioka, chip’s, etc.

 It is rich in vitamins, carbs, calcium, and others. It can also be used for the production of ethanol, cassava flour and starch.

You can start cassava farming from the comfort of your home with little space in your backyard to save your family from hunger and also make money.

The plant, leaves and roots are all useful and important. For instance, fresh cassava roots can be processed into different food products fit for human consumption and local/export markets.

The leaf is a nutritious vegetable rich in protein. The unpeeled roots can be grated and dried for use as animal feed and the stems can be sold for planting.

In addition, dried roots can be milled into flour. And, the flour can be used for bread baking in place of wheat flour. The fresh roots can also be sliced thinly or into larger spears to make chips or french fries.

Also, the roots can be peeled, grated, and washed with water to extract the starch which can be used for fufu, pasta, crackers, tapioca etc. Additionally, cassava can be processed industrially and used for paper-making, textile adhesives, high fructose syrup, alcohol, etc.

Now, we are going to explore the basic steps you need to follow to venture into cassava farming.

 Cassava is usually planted on lands with deep well-drained loamy soil, adequate rainfall, and warm/moist climatic conditions. This is because loamy soil is rich in nutrients, low in gravel, and easy to till.

The good thing about cassava is that it can be plated with other food crops like maize, rice, vegetables, legumes, etc. These crops will make and release nutrients into the soil and help the cassava plant.

Cassava typically matures for harvesting 8 – 18 months after planting. The exact time is determined by environmental and practical factors.

Cassava is usually best harvested manually. The stems of the cassava plant are first cut by hand, machete, or machine leaving a small portion at the base to enable the farmer to uproot the cassava. Farmers are trained to use a hoe to dig out the part stuck in the soil if the soil is too hard so that the tubers will not break in the soil during uprooting.

The next step is to cut off the tubers from the stem without bruising the roots. The implication of bruising the root is that the cassava will deteriorate very rapidly. Cassava tubers must be processed at most 24 hours after harvesting as they could begin to deteriorate after 48 hours.

In the initial stage, cassava stem cuttings can be obtained from farmers or the markets. Subsequently, you can begin to get from your farm. First, you will need to cut each stem to a length of at least 20 – 25 cm with about 5-8 nodes.

Cassava stem cuttings taken from the top green portion of stems or extreme bottom of stored stems might not be suitable. This is because they might dehydrate quickly and produce unhealthy sprouts. Also, they might easily be infested by pests and diseases.

Planting of the cassava stem cutting can either be vertical, horizontal or at an angle into the soil.

Weed, Disease and Pest Control

Weeds, pests and diseases can affect the growth of cassava.

Therefore, it is important to weed when the cassava plants are 20 – 25 centimetres high. i.e. 3-4 weeks after planting. Then, 1-2 months after the first weeding.

Also, when the soil of the mounds gets too hard, break it up with a hoe, so that water and air can get in to nourish the roots.

Harvesting

Cassava can be harvested as soon as the roots have gotten a sufficient amount of starch which is always about 7 to 12 months after planting. It can be harvested as soon as the storage roots are large enough.

First, the upper parts of the stems with the leaves are removed before the harvest. Then, the roots are harvested by hand lifting the lower part of the stem, pulling the roots out of the ground, and removing them from the base of the plant which can be done manually or mechanically. Care must be taken to minimize the damage to the roots.

During the harvest, cassava stem cutting is done for the next planting season. They are propagated and kept in a protected location to prevent desiccation and then used for the next season.