SAH cassava: Semi Autotrophic Hydroponics for Cassava Multiplication

A rapid quality seed delivery technology for cassava

Semi Autotrophic Hydroponics (SAH) for Cassava Multiplication is an innovative technology tailored for cassava propagation. Unlike traditional methods, SAH utilizes controlled environments with modified soil, plant roots, and limited water in trays. This fosters robust root growth while mitigating moisture-related diseases. The technique is cost-effective and adaptable, particularly for dispersed farming communities. SAH yields high-quality, disease-resistant cassava plantlets at a fraction of the production costs of tissue culture. This advancement not only expedites access to new cassava varieties but also bolsters overall productivity and resilience in cassava farming practices.

This technology is TAAT1 validated.

9•9

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

Project adoption7

Technology integrated in the 2PAU- Côte d’Ivoire, EFPP- Guinea, ENSURE- East Africa, ESFSP- Guinea-Bissau, PADCV-PTA- Democratic Republic of the Congo, SAPZ-II- Nigeria, and ERAVCDP- Angola projects.

Project	Beneficiaries	Budget	Duration	Key figures
2PAU- Côte d’Ivoire Emergency Food Production Programme	1.8 million small farms.	161.96 million	2022–2023	2,279 tons of corn seeds. 3,539 tons of rice seeds. 134 million cassava cuttings.
EFPP- Guinea Guinea Emergency Food Production Programme	35,750 farmers (at least 30% of whom are women). 1,650 livestock farms.	25.23 million	2022–2024	2,000 tons of rice seeds and 750 metric tons of corn. 4,845 tons of NPK fertilizer.
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.
ESFSP- Guinea-Bissau Emergency Support to Food Security Project	46,635 vulnerable farming households (at least 50% of which are headed by women).	6.5 million	2022–2024	1,253 tons of certified cereal seeds. 1,350 tons of fertilizer. 37,335 tons of agricultural products.
PADCV-PTA- Democratic Republic of the Congo Projet d’Appui au Developpement des Chaines de Valeurs en soutien au Programme de Transformation de l’Agriculture	900,000 smallholder farmers (including 450,000 women).	321 million	2024–2029	62,000 tons of certified seeds. 30,000 people trained. 5,200 hectares of irrigated rice cultivation.
SAPZ-II- Nigeria Multinational- Promotion of Sustainable Agricultural Value Chains in Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones	Information coming soon	Information coming soon	Information coming soon	Information coming soon
ERAVCDP- Angola Eastern Region Agricultural Value Chain Development Project	240,000 households, 55% of which are headed by women. 1,200 young people (ages 15–34) involved in agricultural entrepreneurship.	211.4 million	2026–2031	2,500 ha of irrigation networks. 9 markets and warehouses. 360,000 tons of fertilizer.

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Adults 18 and over: Positive high

The poor: Positive medium

Under 18: Positive medium

Women: Positive medium

Climate adaptability: Highly adaptable

Farmer climate change readiness: Significant improvement

Biodiversity: No impact on biodiversity

Carbon footprint: Same amount of carbon released

Environmental health: Moderately improves environmental health

Soil quality: Does not affect soil health and fertility

Water use: Same amount of water used

Problem

Slow Propagation of Improved Varieties: Traditional methods are time-consuming and limit the distribution of new cassava varieties.
Contamination Risks: Conventional propagation methods are prone to pests and diseases, hindering the quality of cassava planting material. SAH provides a controlled environment to mitigate these risks.
Limited Multiplication Ratios: Methods like seed and tissue culture have low multiplication ratios, resulting in few new planting materials from one seed.
Pathogen Susceptibility: Planting materials obtained from stem cuttings may be more susceptible to pests and diseases when planted in open fields.
Inefficiency in Scaling Production: Traditional methods may not be conducive to efficiently producing large quantities of cassava planting materials for wide-scale distribution.

Solution

Fast Propagation of Improved Varieties: SAH enables rapid access to new and improved cassava varieties by providing a controlled environment that accelerates the multiplication process.
Contamination Prevention: SAH minimizes the risk of contamination with pests and diseases by creating a controlled environment that promotes healthy root growth and discourages disease-causing factors.
Increased Multiplication Ratios: SAH significantly improves multiplication ratios compared to methods like seed and tissue culture, resulting in a higher number of new planting materials from one source.
Enhanced Disease Resistance: Planting materials produced through SAH are more resilient and less susceptible to pests and diseases when planted in open fields, compared to those obtained from stem cuttings.
Efficient Scaling of Production: SAH provides a cost-effective and adaptable solution for dispersed farming communities, making it feasible to efficiently produce large quantities of cassava planting materials for widespread distribution. This addresses the inefficiency in traditional production methods.

Key points to design your program

SAH Cassava (Semi-Autotrophic Hydroponics) is a rapid seed multiplication technology that produces high-quality, disease-free cassava planting materials at low cost, enabling the rapid dissemination of improved cassava varieties and strengthening seed systems. The technology can be integrated into cassava seed system development, food security, agricultural resilience, and rural livelihood programs to improve access to quality planting materials and increase cassava productivity. Its adoption contributes to SDGs 1 (No Poverty), 2 (Zero Hunger), and 3 (Good Health and Well-being).

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

Assess cassava seed systems, demand for improved planting materials, propagation capacity, and infrastructure requirements in target areas.
Establish partnerships with IITA, national agricultural research and extension services, biotechnology companies, community-based seed multipliers, and other cassava value chain stakeholders to support technology dissemination and scaling.
Facilitate access to SAH propagation facilities, including growth chambers or screen houses, disease-free mother plants, and propagation materials.
Implement demonstration facilities and training for seed multipliers, nursery operators, extension agents, cooperatives, women's groups, and youth enterprises on SAH production techniques, quality assurance, and nursery management.
Support extension and dissemination activities to promote the production and distribution of certified cassava planting materials.
Promote the participation of women, youth, and smallholder farmers in cassava seed production, nursery enterprises, and technology adoption activities.
Implement monitoring, learning, and inclusion activities throughout the project lifecycle.
Track key indicators such as the number of plantlets produced, multiplication rates, adoption of improved varieties, seed quality, farmer adoption, and cassava productivity.

0.05 USD

operating cost per plant

0.05 - 1 USD

Production cost

116 %

ROI over 3 year

IP

Unknown

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 9 out of 9

Uncontrolled environment: validated

Level of use 9 out of 9

Common use by intended users, in the real world

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
2PAU- Côte d’Ivoire Emergency Food Production Programme	1.8 million small farms.	161.96 million	2022–2023	2,279 tons of corn seeds. 3,539 tons of rice seeds. 134 million cassava cuttings.
EFPP- Guinea Guinea Emergency Food Production Programme	35,750 farmers (at least 30% of whom are women). 1,650 livestock farms.	25.23 million	2022–2024	2,000 tons of rice seeds and 750 metric tons of corn. 4,845 tons of NPK fertilizer.
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.
ESFSP- Guinea-Bissau Emergency Support to Food Security Project	46,635 vulnerable farming households (at least 50% of which are headed by women).	6.5 million	2022–2024	1,253 tons of certified cereal seeds. 1,350 tons of fertilizer. 37,335 tons of agricultural products.
PADCV-PTA- Democratic Republic of the Congo Projet d’Appui au Developpement des Chaines de Valeurs en soutien au Programme de Transformation de l’Agriculture	900,000 smallholder farmers (including 450,000 women).	321 million	2024–2029	62,000 tons of certified seeds. 30,000 people trained. 5,200 hectares of irrigated rice cultivation.
SAPZ-II- Nigeria Multinational- Promotion of Sustainable Agricultural Value Chains in Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones	Information coming soon	Information coming soon	Information coming soon	Information coming soon
ERAVCDP- Angola Eastern Region Agricultural Value Chain Development Project	240,000 households, 55% of which are headed by women. 1,200 young people (ages 15–34) involved in agricultural entrepreneurship.	211.4 million	2026–2031	2,500 ha of irrigation networks. 9 markets and warehouses. 360,000 tons of fertilizer.

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	–Not tested	Adopted
Nigeria	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Sierra Leone	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Tanzania	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Togo	–No ongoing testing	–Not tested	Adopted
Zambia	–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.

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

Goal 2: zero hunger

Goal 3: good health and well-being

Tissue Culture Production: Begin by producing tissue-cultured (in vitro) cassava plantlets under semi-hydroponic and semi-controlled environmental conditions.

Mother Plant Preparation: Cut the tissue-cultured plantlets into mother plants. These mother plants will serve as the source for further propagation.

Tray Setup: Place the mother plants into trays with modified soil. Ensure that the trays are adequately spaced to allow for proper growth.

Growth Chamber Placement: Transfer the trays with the mother plants into a growth chamber. This chamber provides a controlled environment that is conducive for root development.

Recutting: After 2-3 weeks, recut the mother plants to obtain two plantlets from one. This step effectively multiplies the number of available plantlets.

Root Development: Return the recut plantlets to the growth chamber for an additional 6-8 weeks. During this period, the plantlets will develop well-formed roots.

Transportation: Trays can be transported in perforated cardboard boxes for up to 48 hours. This allows for convenient transportation to the planting site.

Planting: Plant the developed cassava plantlets directly in open fields or in screen houses for further breeding or production.

Last updated on Jul 2, 2026