Enhancing cassava productivity through healthy planting material
This technology leverages regulatory oversight, digital innovation, and community empowerment to ensure cassava seed quality. National certification bodies conduct inspections at higher levels, while local producers engage in quality-declared seed production. The system includes phytosanitary practices, roguing, and use of tools like PlantVillage Nuru for pest and disease diagnosis. Seed Tracker supports registration and tracking, and labeling improves transparency.
This technology is pre-validated.
The poor: Positive high
The technology is strongly beneficial for the poor, for whom cassava is a key source of food and income
Women: No impact
The technology is gender neutral
Climate adaptability: Highly adaptable
Cassava is known to be one of the most climate resilient crops
Farmer climate change readiness: Significant improvement
Boosting cassava productivity is an excellent way to adapt to potential climate change impacts and cassava is less likely to be negatively impacted than other crops
Carbon footprint: A bit less carbon released
Greater land productivity can enhance land use efficiency which prevents increases in carbon emissions
Biodiversity: Not verified
Not verified
Environmental health: Not verified
Not verified
Soil quality: Not yet estimated
Not yet estimated
Of course, Béata. Here’s a version of the text tailored for development institutions, with a focus on impact, scalability, inclusion, and alignment with development goals:
The Cassava Seed Quality Management System is a proven, scalable solution that development institutions can integrate into agricultural programs to boost food security, climate resilience, and rural livelihoods. By ensuring access to certified, disease-free planting material, the system enhances productivity and reduces yield losses, particularly for smallholder farmers. It directly contributes to SDGs 1 and 2, while reinforcing national agricultural strategies.
To incorporate this technology into development programs, institutions should:
Adopting this system can help development programs scale their impact efficiently, while building resilient, inclusive, and market-responsive seed systems across Africa.
To set up the system
ROI calculated for a scenario involving 300 seed producers
Annual monitoring cost
Annual certification costs
Yield increased
Open source / open access
Country | Testing ongoing | Tested | Adopted |
---|---|---|---|
Nigeria | –No ongoing testing | –Not tested | Adopted |
Tanzania | –No ongoing testing | –Not tested | Adopted |
This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.
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.
Its contributes to poverty reduction
Its contributes to reducing hunger
1. Baseline Assessment: Evaluate the current cassava seed system to determine:
2. Design/Modification of Certification Guidelines: Develop or adapt certification guidelines using successful models:
3. Update National Seed Policy: If cassava certification is new, collaborate with stakeholders to validate guidelines and incorporate them into national seed regulations.
4. Train Seed Inspection Officers: Provide training on cassava field certification procedures, including disease recognition (CMD and CBSD), and develop strategies to train community-level or QDS producers in self-certification.
5. Certification Labelling: Design electronic labels for each cassava seed category and distribute them to seed producers post successful certification inspections.
6. Digital Monitoring: Implement or adapt digital systems (e.g., Seed Tracker™) for managing cassava seed field registration and certification.
7. Roll Out: Launch the certification system, starting with higher seed classes. Gather user feedback and invest in the system through strategic support, similar to other major staples like maize.
Last updated on 30 April 2025