ABSTRACT
Nakuru County, a prime agricultural county, contributes 20% to the overall food security in Kenya. However, the county has some arid pockets where food production and agribusiness are hampered by frequent crop failures due to communities’ dependence on maize. Cassava is a good alternative but a lack of knowledge of the crop’s potential continues to undermine adoption. The cassava CARP used a collaboration platform to provide farmer-based research to fill the knowledge gaps on production and consumption. The project evaluated 27 sweet varieties on farmer fields actively engaging the farmers and extension agents. Five varieties for each site were multiplied and distributed to farmers. Farmers selected the varieties based on yield, taste and general preference. These cultivars were then assessed for their cyanogenic content, dry matter content and starch content. The project also addressed good agricultural practices, value addition and marketing. It trained seven postgraduate students, more than 700 farmers and 32 TVET students in production and cottage value addition. Twelve food products have been developed and cassava processing, through support to a farmers’ cooperative society, was scaled up.
