Cassava seed-bulking farms

Quality cassava cuttings close to the fields

Seed-bulking farms for cassava provide quality planting material to smallholder farmers directly close to their field. Seed-bulking farms are decentralized systems of production of large amounts of cutting from improved cassava varieties that are free of pest and diseases. In addition to facilitating access to improved varieties, these farms reduce the cost of transporting cuttings to the farmers’ field, thus increasing the profitability.

This technology is TAAT1 validated.

8•7

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 8/9; level of use 7/9

Project adoption1

Technology integrated in the ENSURE- East Africa project.

Project	Beneficiaries	Budget	Duration	Key figures
ENSURE- East Africa Enabling Environments for Sustainable Regional Agriculture Extension	3,000,000 farmers.	13.14 million	2024–2027	149,940 farmer leaders & trained farmers. 9,996 trained. 2 → 3.5 t/ha.

See project details ›

Adults 18 and over: Positive high

Adults, particularly farmers, benefit from increased yields and improved cassava varieties, enhancing food security and generating higher incomes.

The poor: Positive high

Seed-bulking farms bring these materials closer to their communities, reducing the costs of procurement and transportation.

Under 18: Positive low

Establishing seed-bulking farms provides new opportunities for young people to engage in agriculture, especially in managing the farms, handling logistics, and marketing improved cassava stem cuttings.

Women: Positive high

The technology simplifies the process of obtaining and planting cassava cuttings, reducing the time and effort women typically invest in agricultural activities.

Climate adaptability: Highly adaptable

By providing access to disease-resistant and drought-tolerant cassava varieties, seed-bulking farms can enhance the climate adaptability of cassava crops. These improved varieties are more resilient to extreme weather conditions such as droughts and floods, making them suitable for cultivation in regions facing climate challenges.

Farmer climate change readiness: Significant improvement

Farmers have access to high-quality planting materials that are more resistant to pests, diseases, and climate variability, making them better equipped to deal with changing environmental conditions.

Biodiversity: Positive impact on biodiversity

The introduction of multiple improved varieties reduces dependence on a single type of cassava, thus supporting agro-biodiversity and enhancing ecosystem resilience.

Carbon footprint: Much less carbon released

Seed-bulking farms are localized, which minimizes the need for transporting planting materials over long distances, thus lowering greenhouse gas emissions related to logistics.

Environmental health: Greatly improves environmental health

Disease-resistant cassava varieties require fewer pesticides and herbicides, reducing environmental pollution and safeguarding local ecosystems from harmful chemical runoff.

Soil quality: Improves soil health and fertility

Seed-bulking farms promote good soil management practices, including the use of pest-resistant varieties that require fewer chemical inputs, thereby maintaining soil fertility and structure.

Water use: Same amount of water used

The ability to cultivate resilient varieties reduces the need for intensive irrigation practices, thus conserving water resources and contributing to the sustainable use of water in agriculture.

Problem

Cassava growing in Africa faces a number of challenges in terms of the distribution and availability of disease-resistant planting material:

The distribution of cassava stem cuttings is problematic as they rapidly lose their sprouting vigor when stored. Moreover, their bulk and weight drive up transport costs, limiting the supply of improved cassava planting material.
Rural communities with poor road connectivity in remote parts of African countries face severe limitations in accessing disease-resistant cassava planting material, affecting their agricultural productivity and food security.
Smallholder farmers often rely on seed companies and institutions with limited geographical coverage, restricting their access to improved cassava varieties and pest- and disease-free planting materials.

Solution

The establishment of cassava seed-bulking farms offers promising solutions to these challenges :

These decentralized farms offer a cost-effective way to produce cassava planting materials, allowing multiplication of stem cuttings closer to cultivation fields.
Seed-bulking farms provide high-quality, disease-free cassava stem cuttings, improving access to superior cassava varieties.
This approach supports community-based businesses, boosting incomes for farmers and processors.
Cassava seed-bulking farms achieve high multiplication rates, enabling efficient distribution of planting materials.
Reduced transport times and decentralized production enhance planting material survival, leading to increased cassava yields and food crop resilience.

Key points to design your program

Cassava Seed Bulking Farms are decentralized seed multiplication systems that produce high-quality, disease-free cassava planting materials close to farmers' fields, improving access to improved varieties, reducing transport costs, and strengthening local seed systems. The technology can be integrated into cassava seed system development, food security, rural livelihood, and value chain development programs to increase cassava productivity and farmers' incomes. Its adoption contributes to SDGs 1 (No Poverty), 2 (Zero Hunger), and 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

To integrate this technology into your project, plan and budget for the following activities and prerequisites:

Assess the demand for quality cassava planting materials, seed system capacity, agroecological conditions, and suitable locations for decentralized seed-bulking farms.
Establish partnerships with International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), seed companies, farmer organizations, national agricultural research and extension services, and other cassava value chain stakeholders to support technology dissemination and scaling.
Facilitate access to disease-free foundation planting materials, land, irrigation where needed, and essential inputs for cassava seed multiplication.
Implement community-based seed-bulking farms, demonstration sites, and training for seed producers, farmer organizations, cooperatives, women's groups, youth enterprises, and extension agents on seed multiplication, quality management, phytosanitary standards, and business development.
Support extension and dissemination activities to promote decentralized cassava seed multiplication and the adoption of improved varieties.
Promote the participation of women, youth, and smallholder farmers in cassava seed production, nursery management, and technology adoption activities.
Implement monitoring, learning, and inclusion activities throughout the project lifecycle.
Track key indicators such as the number of seed-bulking farms established, availability of quality planting materials, farmer adoption rates, cassava productivity, and household income.

20 ha of cutting harvested

per ha planted every 16 months

IP

Open source / open access

Scaling Readiness describes how complete a technology\’s development is and its ability to be scaled. It produces a score that measures a technology\’s readiness along two axes: the level of maturity of the idea itself, and the level to which the technology has been used so far.

Each axis goes from 0 to 9 where 9 is the “ready-to-scale” status. For each technology profile in the e-catalogs we have documented the scaling readiness status from evidence given by the technology providers. The e-catalogs only showcase technologies for which the scaling readiness score is at least 8 for maturity of the idea and 7 for the level of use.

The graph below represents visually the scaling readiness status for this technology, you can see the label of each level by hovering your mouse cursor on the number.

Scaling readiness score of this technology

Maturity of the idea 8 out of 9

Uncontrolled environment: tested

Level of use 8 out of 9

Common use by projects NOT connected to technology provider

Maturity of the idea										Level of use
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Project	Beneficiaries	Budget	Duration	Key figures
ENSURE- East Africa Enabling Environments for Sustainable Regional Agriculture Extension	3,000,000 farmers.	13.14 million	2024–2027	149,940 farmer leaders & trained farmers. 9,996 trained. 2 → 3.5 t/ha.

Countries with a green colour: Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour: Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour: Tested
Countries with a blue colour: Testing ongoing

Countries where the technology is being tested or has been tested and adopted
Country	Testing ongoing	Tested	Adopted
Democratic Republic of the Congo	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Kenya	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Nigeria	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Tanzania	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Zambia	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
AEZ	Subtropic - warm	Subtropic - cool	Tropic - warm	Tropic - cool
Arid
Semiarid
Subhumid
Humid

Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.

Goal 1: no poverty

By improving access to high-quality cassava planting materials, seed-bulking farms boost productivity, allowing smallholder farmers to produce more and earn higher incomes. This helps lift communities, particularly in rural areas, out of poverty.

Goal 2: zero hunger

The technology enables farmers to access disease-resistant and high-yielding cassava varieties, which increases agricultural productivity. This results in greater food availability, reducing hunger and improving nutrition in regions where cassava is a staple crop.

Goal 8: decent work and economic growth

The technology improves agricultural efficiency, enabling farmers to produce more with fewer inputs, which drives economic growth and development in rural communities.

To establish a Cassava Seed-Bulking Farm, the following steps are required: