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Sierra Leone Fights Hunger with Cassava and Science
FrontLines - August 2009
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USAID’s initiative is helping cassava farmers like these women
increase production and generate greater household incomes.
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Freetown, Sierra Leone—Cassava—a staple and versatile crop rich in carbohydrates
and protein which is also known as tapioca and yucca—is getting a production boost in Sierra Leone to help address basic nutritional needs.
USAID is working with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) based in Ibadan, Nigeria, to introduce new agricultural technologies to Sierra Leone that will produce food at stable
and affordable prices.
The project, Unleashing the Power of Cassava in Africa (UPoCA), involves farmers across 12 districts of the country.
UPoCA aims to develop improved cassava varieties that can be stored longer after being
harvested and are more pest and disease resistant than conventional
varieties. The project has the potential to increase cassava production by 50 percent or more. That would significantly enhance the food security of subsistence farmers, especially women.
“The project will equip farmers with the knowledge they need to grow and process enough cassava for their families, to store it in the off season, and to sell it to generate
household income,” said U.S. Ambassador June Carter Perry.
Genetic research has created a new generation of cassava that is resistant to the devastating cassava
mosaic disease, which has blighted crop production in parts of East and Central Africa. The project will also help farmers to expand the crop through processed products such as dried chips and animal feed, and for industrial applications. These new uses are expected to increase cassava value to farmers as a cash crop.
In Sierra Leone, crop failures over the past few years caused in part by poor farming techniques and rising fertilizer costs have heightened the threat of hunger and malnutrition.
In addition to filling empty stomachs, the UPoCA project will boost the income of farmers.
“Our past support to Sierra Leonean farmers has more than doubled agricultural production among beneficiaries,” said Perry. “Our current activities will continue
to assist subsistence farmers,
but we will also help more productive farmers modernize their agricultural practices to enable them to export their products
internationally.”
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