12 results
An economically sustainable integrated cassava seed system! Cassava is a major food and industrial crop in many African countries. However, until recently, there was no formal seed system for cassava. Most farmers relied on replanting old stems that were low-yielding and often infected with diseases. This traditional practice limited productivity and spread pests and diseases. The Building an Economically Sustainable Integrated Cassava Seed System (BASICS) model was developed to address this. It creates a complete and sustainable cassava seed system. It links farmers, seed entrepreneurs, regulators, and processors into one coordinated framework. The goal is to ensure that disease-free, improved varieties reach farmers reliably and consistently. This model has already been tested and applied in Nigeria and Tanzania.
Virus diagnostic tool for cassava seed health certification by seed producers and seed certifiers. Cassava virus indexing uses PCR and LAMP diagnostic methods to detect and eliminate virus-infected cassava planting materials. It ensures virus-free plants for seed production, improving seed quality, crop resilience, and food security. Key costs include lab setup (USD 20,000) and sample testing (USD 3/sample). Training for staff and collaboration with research and seed certification bodies are crucial for successful implementation.
Building stronger cassava seed businesses for African seed entrepreneurs and farmers. The Cassava Seed Association Model (CSAM) was developed as an institutional support system to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of cassava seed entrepreneurs. The model promotes the formation of structured associations of cassava seed producers, which offer collective benefits such as certification, access to finance, capacity building, and policy advocacy. This approach aims to reduce inefficiencies, improve seed quality, and strengthen market linkages, ultimately leading to a more resilient and sustainable seed production system. Its has been successfully validated in countries like Nigeria and Tanzania and is currently being scaled in Rwanda and Kenya. Over 2,700 seed entrepreneurs have benefited from this model, which addresses many of the challenges faced by individual seed producers in the cassava seed industry.
Transforming Cassava Farming Through Entrepreneurial Innovation! Cassava is a staple crop in Sub-Saharan Africa, crucial for food security and income generation. However, traditional cassava seed systems have been informal and unsustainable, relying on farmer-to-farmer sharing and sporadic free distributions by governments and NGOs. This approach has led to the widespread use of low-quality, disease-prone planting materials, resulting in reduced yields and limited adoption of improved varieties. The Cassava Seed Entrepreneur (CSE) Business Model offers a structured, market-driven solution to revitalize the cassava seed system. It empowers rural men, women, and youth to become certified seed entrepreneurs who produce and sell high-quality cassava planting materials. By integrating training, digital tools, and strategic partnerships, the model ensures the availability of clean, certified seeds, enhancing productivity and livelihoods.
Breeder & Foundation Cassava Seeds—Always Within Reach This technology enables seed companies and certified producers to multiply and supply breeder and foundation cassava seeds directly from research centers. It follows national seed certification standards, uses both in-house and outgrower schemes, and ensures that farmers and seed entrepreneurs get access to clean, high-quality planting material. Registration with seed authorities and proper field inspection are required for participation.
Enhancing cassava productivity through healthy planting material Cassava Seed Quality Management is a national system that ensures the production and distribution of high-quality, disease-free cassava planting material. By regulating and certifying seed quality, governments can control the spread of major cassava diseases, boost productivity by over 100%, and support the formalization of the cassava seed sector for long-term food security and economic development.
Greenhouse Solutions for Thriving Sweet Potato Farms The tent-style greenhouse is an innovative, cost-effective solution designed for the multiplication of sweet potato vines and cuttings. It utilizes screen nets and locally available materials to create a pest-free environment optimal for growth. This technology ensures the availability of high-quality, pathogen-free planting material, thereby enhancing the yield and resilience of sweet potato crops. It’s a beneficial tool for both small-scale and commercial farmers.
Transforming Ruminant Farming Together Community-Based Breeding Programs aim to improve small ruminant production by focusing on key heritable traits like birth weight, weight gain, milk yield, and more. This approach addresses challenges such as inbreeding and mixed herd structures, leading to healthier and more productive herds.
Quality cassava cuttings close to the fields African farmers commonly use cassava stem cuttings for planting due to their accessibility and ability to cover large areas. However, distributing these cuttings poses challenges, as they lose viability during storage, leading to increased transportation costs. This limitation affects the supply of disease-resistant cassava planting material, particularly in remote areas with poor road connectivity. Seed-bulking farms, scattered across communities, offer a solution by multiplying planting materials closer to fields, reducing production and transport costs, and reducing reliance on limited-coverage seed companies. These farms accelerate the spread of improved cassava varieties, providing pest and disease-free planting materials and fostering community-based enterprise development, ultimately improving the income and productivity of farmers and processors.
Propagate Success with Clean Suckers The macro-propagation technique of "Propagation of Disease-Cleaned Suckers" addresses the challenge of contaminated planting materials in African banana and plantain farming. It involves using field and bed-based techniques to produce large quantities of disease- and pest-free seedlings at affordable prices. The technology is crucial for enhancing productivity, increasing farmers' income, and sustaining banana and plantain production.
A rapid quality seed delivery technology for cassava Semi Autotrophic Hydroponics (SAH) is a groundbreaking technology transforming cassava planting. It addresses the slow propagation of improved varieties and contamination issues in traditional methods. SAH enables rapid access to high-quality, disease-free cassava planting materials, benefiting all farmers. This system involves trays with modified soil, plant roots, and minimal water, creating an ideal environment for healthy root growth. With low infrastructure costs, SAH is easily implementable in dispersed farming communities. It significantly reduces production costs and increases yields, making it a game-changer for cassava farming in Africa.
Boost Your Yield and Cut Costs with Community-Sourced Sweet Potato Vines. The technology, "Community-based Multiplication of Sweet Potato Vines and Cuttings," aims to enhance the availability, quality, and accessibility of sweet potato planting material in rural communities. It employs a community-based approach to multiply vines and cuttings on a medium to large scale. This not only improves the quality control of planting materials but also reduces their retail prices. The approach is particularly beneficial for smallholder farmers with limited infrastructure and market access. By involving agricultural specialists and leveraging community investments, the technology enables better maintenance of hybrid and resistant crop varieties and offers protection against pests and diseases. Overall, it provides a more reliable and cost-effective supply chain for sweet potato planting materials, leading to increased crop yield and resilience.