EPAR RESEARCH BRIEF #32
05/20/2009
AUTHORS: Sara Curran, C. Leigh Anderson, Mary Kay Gugerty and Joelle Cook with assistance from Georgine Yorgey and Ryan Gockel
ABSTRACT:
Though not indigenous to Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), cassava plays, to varying degrees, five major roles in African development: famine-reserve crop, rural food staple, cash crop for urban consumption, livestock feed, and industrial raw material. Cassava production in SSA was historically a significant staple crop for smallholder farmers and continues to be the second most important food crop in Africa (after maize) in terms of calories consumed. Although cassava in SSA has been grown primarily as a staple crop, it is now expanding to a cash crop as markets expand in urban areas of Africa and around the globe.
Nigeria dominates cassava production in SSA, producing nearly 40% of SSA’s cassava. Other key producers include Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ghana, Tanzania, and Angola. DRC leads consumption both in terms of tons per year (15.9 tons) and per capita yearly consumption (300 kg/person/year). Because of its large population, Nigeria also consumes a large amount of cassava (14.2 million tons/year), but their per capita yearly consumption ranks 15th in SSA. Data show that Angola, Ghana, and Nigeria consumed slightly less than half of the amount of cassava produced in country. Unfortunately, official trade statistics do not often record intra-SSA cassava trade. We do know, however, that trade in fresh cassava is limited due to its bulkiness and high perishability. Therefore, most cassava in SSA is used domestically or traded to bordering countries, limiting its role in foreign exchange and import substitution.
Subsistence crops such as cassava are often considered women’s crops with the standard explanation that women are responsible for feeding the family and thus prefer to grow crops for the household. However, it is difficult to tell whether women grow lower-value crops because they have different preferences and concerns or because they cannot access the land, inputs, credit, information, and markets that would allow them to produce higher value commercial crops. In Ghana, for example, women farmers would like to plant maize for cash income, yet continue cultivating cassava and yams because they lack the capital to purchase the required inputs for corn and to hire someone to plow the fields.
To increase understanding of cassava production practices, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) funded the eight-year Collaborative Study of Cassava in Africa (COSCA). The study systematically reviewed cassava cropping practices in six countries. These data, along with other research in SSA, highlight the role that women play in cassava production, and can illustrate ways to better address gender issues from planting through post-harvest production.
This brief is part of a series of literature reviews exploring gender implications of improved cropping technology in Sub-Saharan Africa. Each crop-specific paper explores the role of women in production, and provides a framework for analyzing technology’s impact on women throughout the cropping cycle. Click the links below to explore the other briefs in this series.
- Gender & Cropping in Sub-Saharan Africa: Executive Summary (EPAR Research Brief #64)
- Gender & Cropping in Sub-Saharan Africa: Overview (EPAR Research Brief #33)
- Gender & Cropping in Sub-Saharan Africa: Cassava (EPAR Research Brief #32)
- Gender & Cropping in Sub-Saharan Africa: Wheat (EPAR Research Brief #36)
- Gender & Cropping in Sub-Saharan Africa: Maize (EPAR Research Brief #38)
- Gender & Cropping in Sub-Saharan Africa: Sorghum (EPAR Research Brief #39)
- Gender & Cropping in Sub-Saharan Africa: Millet (EPAR Research Brief #40)
- Gender & Cropping in Sub-Saharan Africa: Yams (EPAR Research Brief #51)
- Gender & Cropping in Sub-Saharan Africa: Cotton (EPAR Research Brief #55)
TYPE OF RESEARCH: Literature Review
RESEARCH TOPIC CATEGORY: Sustainable Agriculture & Rural Livelihoods; Agricultural Inputs & Farm Management; Market & Value Chain Analysis; Labor & Time Use; Gender; Technology; Technology Adoption
POPULATION(S): Women
GEOGRAPHIC FOCUS: Sub-Saharan Africa
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