Mechanized Cassava Planting and Harvesting

Empowering Cassava Farmers: More Yield, Less Labor, Better Quality

Mechanized cassava planting and harvesting technology is a specialized machinery of two-row planters and harvesters, typically operated by tractors. This technology significantly improves the efficiency of cassava farming by reducing labor requirements, increasing productivity, and minimizing root damage during harvesting. It not only addresses the labor bottleneck associated with manual planting and harvesting but also plays a vital role in increasing cassava yields, making cassava farming more competitive, and reducing production costs.

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 project.

Project	Countries	Beneficiaries	Budget (USD) & duration	Key figures
ENSURE Enabling Environments for Sustainable Regional Agriculture Extension	Kenya Rwanda Burundi The Democratic Republic of the Congo South Sudan Uganda Tanzania, United Republic	Direct: 3,000,000	13.14 million 2024–2027	149,940 farmers trained 9,996 Training 2→3.5 tons/ha cereals production expected 350 agent trained

Project

Countries

Beneficiaries

Budget (USD) & duration

Key figures

ENSURE
Enabling Environments for Sustainable Regional Agriculture Extension

Kenya
Rwanda
Burundi
The Democratic Republic of the Congo
South Sudan
Uganda
Tanzania, United Republic

Direct: 3,000,000

13.14 million

2024–2027

149,940 farmers trained
9,996 Training
2→3.5 tons/ha cereals production expected
350 agent trained

Figures in italic are from project plans and may change during implementation.

See project details ›

Adults 18 and over: Positive high

The poor: Positive low

Under 18: Positive low

Women: Positive low

Climate adaptability: Moderately adaptable

Farmer climate change readiness: Significant improvement

Biodiversity: No impact on biodiversity

Carbon footprint: Same amount of carbon released

Environmental health: Greatly improves environmental health

Soil quality: Does not affect soil health and fertility

Water use: Same amount of water used

Problem

Low cassava yields: Low productivity limits the economic potential of cassava farming and the benefits farmers can obtain from the crop.
Labor intensive operations: Manual planting and harvesting place heavy labor demands on farmers.
Slow production operations: Manual activities can delay planting and harvesting and restrict the scale of production.
High production costs: Heavy reliance on manual labor increases the cost of cassava production.
Root damage: Manual harvesting can cause significant root damage, particularly during dry periods.
Limited mechanization capacity: Lack of appropriate mechanized equipment can constrain farmers’ ability to increase productivity and operate larger production areas.

Solution

Increased cassava productivity: Mechanization can contribute to higher yields when combined with improved varieties, fertilizer use, and effective weed management.
Reduced labor burden: Mechanical planting and harvesting reduce the physical and labor demands placed on farmers.
Faster production operations: Mechanical equipment enables planting and harvesting to be completed more rapidly.
Lower production costs: Mechanized operations can reduce the costs associated with intensive manual labor.
Reduced root damage: Mechanical harvesting minimizes damage to cassava roots and helps maintain harvest quality.
Scalable production capacity: Two row and four row equipment can increase the area that farmers are able to plant and harvest efficiently. The technology can achieve a harvesting rate of approximately 0.3 to 0.5 ha/hour.

Key points to design your program

Mechanized Cassava Planting and Harvesting replaces labor-intensive manual planting and harvesting with specialized tractor-operated machinery that improves planting precision, harvesting efficiency, and operational performance. By reducing labor bottlenecks and expanding access to mechanization services, the technology supports increased cassava productivity, greater operational efficiency, and the commercialization of cassava value chains. It is well suited for agricultural modernization, rural mechanization, and agro-industrialization programmes, contributing to SDGs 2 (Zero Hunger) and 13 (Climate Action). The technology also creates employment and business opportunities for machinery operators, mechanization service providers, women, and youth through the development of sustainable mechanization service enterprises. To successfully integrate this technology, consider the following key actions:

Identify priority cassava-producing areas where labor shortages and limited access to mechanization constrain productivity and commercial production.
Establish partnerships with IITA, national agricultural research institutes, mechanization service providers, extension services, private equipment suppliers, and farmer organizations to coordinate technology deployment, technical supervision, and equipment maintenance.
Support the establishment of regional mechanization hubs and service delivery models that enable farmers to access planting and harvesting services without purchasing machinery.
Invest in appropriate mechanization equipment, including 90 hp tractors for planting and 120 hp tractors for harvesting, while strengthening local maintenance services and spare parts supply chains.
Train machinery operators, technicians, extension agents, and service providers on equipment calibration, operation, preventive maintenance, and safe mechanized field operations.
Facilitate access to mechanization services through sustainable business models such as custom hiring centres, contractor networks, pay-per-use arrangements, leasing options, and other financing mechanisms adapted to smallholder farmers and rural entrepreneurs.
Promote integrated production systems by combining mechanized planting and harvesting with improved cassava varieties, good agronomic practices, and complementary production technologies.
Promote the participation of women and youth by supporting employment and entrepreneurship opportunities in mechanization services, equipment operation, maintenance, and agribusiness development.
Monitor programme performance through indicators such as mechanized area, service utilization, productivity improvements, operational efficiency, and the participation of women and youth.

13 USD/ha

Cost of mechanized planting

25 USD/ha

Cost of mechanized harvesting

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 7 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	Countries	Beneficiaries	Budget (USD) & duration	Key figures
ENSURE Enabling Environments for Sustainable Regional Agriculture Extension	Kenya Rwanda Burundi The Democratic Republic of the Congo South Sudan Uganda Tanzania, United Republic	Direct: 3,000,000	13.14 million 2024–2027	149,940 farmers trained 9,996 Training 2→3.5 tons/ha cereals production expected 350 agent trained

Project

Countries

Beneficiaries

Budget (USD) & duration

Key figures

ENSURE
Enabling Environments for Sustainable Regional Agriculture Extension

Kenya
Rwanda
Burundi
The Democratic Republic of the Congo
South Sudan
Uganda
Tanzania, United Republic

Direct: 3,000,000

13.14 million

2024–2027

149,940 farmers trained
9,996 Training
2→3.5 tons/ha cereals production expected
350 agent trained

Figures in italic are from project plans and may change during implementation.

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
Ghana	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Nigeria	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Tanzania, United Republic	–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 2: zero hunger

Goal 5: gender equality

Goal 13: climate action

The steps involved in mechanized cassava planting and harvesting are:

Mechanical Planting:

Farm Preparation: Prior to mechanical planting, prepare the farm for cassava cultivation.
Choose the Planter: Select a two-row or four-row mechanical planter designed for flat ground.
Tractor Selection: Ensure you have a tractor with a minimum power of 90 hp (67.14 kW) to operate the planter.
Stake Cutting: Install a power take-off (PTO) driven circular saw to cut cassava stakes into cuttings, typically ranging from 14 ± 3 cm to 149 ± 3 cm in length.
Planting Depth: Maintain a planting depth between 60 and 100 mm below the soil surface.
Spacing: Plant cassava with a row spacing of 700 mm, and no ridges are needed for this model of planter.

Mechanical Harvesting:

Select the Harvester: Choose a two-row or four-row harvester, similar to the planter, for mechanical harvesting.
Tractor Requirements: Ensure you have a tractor with a minimum power of 120 hp (89.52 kW) to operate the harvester.
Digging Depth: Maintain a digging depth between 300 to 400 mm.
Harvesting Rate: Mechanical harvesting can achieve a rate between 0.3 and 0.5 hectares per hour (ha/h).