Farmers’ perceptions of production constraints and preferences in cassava grown in semi-arid areas of Kenya
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Date
2016Author
Kamau, Joseph
Melis, Rob
Laing, Mark
Shanahan, Paul
Derera, Jon
Ngugi, Kahiu
Migwa, Yusuf
Type
ArticleLanguage
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Cassava is an important food security crop in the semi-arid areas of Eastern Kenya.
Despite its importance during the long periods of drought and famine, no breeding
programme has ever been conducted to improve the crop in Eastern Kenya.
Therefore, this study was initiated by engaging farmers to identify researchable
constraints that limit cassava production in the semi-arid areas. Participatory rural
appraisal (PRA) tools, including two focus group discussions and interviews with
72 individual farmers, were conducted in Machakos, Kitui and Makueni counties in
the eastern province of Kenya in 2004. Results from interviews revealed that
farmers were growing 13 varieties, which were all late maturing (15 to 24 mo). The
varieties were usually intercropped with other crops. Many farmers planted cassava
after weeding the first planted grain crop, which exposed the crop to early season
drought. Gender differences were apparent, as male farmers showed high
preferences for varieties that produce long and thick round roots for the markets,
while women preferred short and round roots that are easy to handle for domestic
use, as well as for the local market. Both focus group and individual farmer
interviews identified 11 production constraints that were perceived to be important.
Farmers prioritised these constraints to the four most important ones, which in
order of importance were drought, lack of suitable planting material, insect pests
(green mites and mealy bugs) and disease (cassava mosaic). It was therefore agreed
that breeding for early bulking varieties (6 to 10 mo) that escape late season
drought was a priority. Breeding should also incorporate resistance to the important
disease and pests. In addition, researchers should develop germplasm
multiplication and dissemination methods for semi-arid areas.
Publisher
University of Nairobi
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesUsage Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Collections
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