Cassava farming is among the oldest type of farming practised in Nigeria and other African countries. It is one of the root crops planted by farmers in Nigeria, a good source of carbohydrates, profitable and a good source of livelihood to farmers. It is of note that Nigeria is the highest producer of cassava.
Due to the increase in various use of Cassava products and by-products, the production level has equally increased over the years. The major products of from cassava farming are garri, fufu, cassava flour and starch etc.
List Of Cassava Farming Processes
There are processes to be followed in cultivation and production of Cassava. The cassava farming processes are the same thing everywhere except in places where their weather conditions do not support cassava farming.
- Selection Of A Suitable Land For Your Cassava Farming: Cassava can be cultivated in any type of soil but there is some type of soils that when used will bring higher yield. Determine the best soil for cassava farming and utilize them. A land with well-drained loamy soil, adequate rainfall and land with good climate conditions will be good for cassava farming. The services of soil testers can be employed to determine and ensure that the best soil is selected. While trying to select a suitable land for cassava farming, the vegetation of the soil should be considered, because it serves as covering to the soil, if the soil texture is good and if the land is gently sloped to reduce the possibility of erosion.
- Prepare The Land To Make It More Suitable For Cassava Farming: Having chosen a suitable land for cassava farming, clear all bushes in the land and around the area immediately to allow sunlight into the land. Apply fertilizers, animal manure to increase soil fertility. Ridges or mounds should be built before planting your cassava according to the farmers choice. Ridges and mounds help the farmers arrange their farm in such a way that both planting, weeding and harvesting can be easily done without stress. Consideration should also be given to mixed cropping, that is planting other crops like maize, vegetables, groundnut etc alongside with the cassava. It is also necessary or advisable to apply herbicides on your farmland to control weeds. The herbicides should be applied at least ten days before land preparation.
- Select The Best Cassava Stem To Be Used In Planting: There are different types of cassava stems used in planting. These types of stems thrive or survive on different soil textures. We equally have a variety of cassava stems with different yield capacities. Some cassava stems are resistant to pest and diseases, have high yield capacity within a short period, largely acceptable by farmers, good food quality, good cooking ability, has good ground storability, etc Select the variety of stem that suits your desire and can give you what you want.
- Select Healthy Cassava Stem Cuttings: Another means of achieving high yield in cassava production is to ensure you have good and healthy cassava stems for planting. Once you get the right breed of cassava stem from the beginning, it now produces more cassava stems in your farm for you in such that you don't have to go outside to look for stems. Having control over where you source for your cassava stems will help you to reduce the spread of pests and diseases.
- Planting Your Cassava: After getting your suitable land prepared for the cultivation of cassava, you determine the type of tillage to be used either in mounds or in ridges, the time of the year to plant, how to cut the cassava stems etc. Cassava planting starts around April and runs through October. Ensure you plant your cassava stem during the rainy season when the soil is wet because it needs water to germinate. Cassava can be planted using horizontal, vertical or inclined methods.
- Weeding Of Cassava Farm: In cassava farming, how the land is prepared will determine how often weeds can grow in the farm. If you prepare your land using the right herbicides, it will serve as weed control. having mounds and ridges helps in reducing the growth of weeds unlike when you plant on a tableland. After planting. you need to weed your farm regularly so that the weed will not disturb the growth of your plant. Weed your farm off grasses that grow with your cassava plant as soon as possible.
- Apply Fertilizer To Cassava Farm: Due to continuous use of a particular land in the cultivation of cassava without giving space, you may notice that the soil nutrients has started reducing. The best way to improve soil fertility is to apply fertilizer or animal manure. At the early stage, you can apply NPK 15:15:15 which contains Nitrogen that helps in cassava development. Applying fertilizer that contains Potassium and phosphorus helps the cassava to have a good yield that is fat and large tubers.
- Harvesting: Cassava takes between 6 to 18 months before you can harvest. To know if the cassava is mature for harvest, the leaves will turn yellow and start falling off the stem of the cassava plant. To harvest, you cut off the stems of the cassava, pack it well so that it can be used in farming in the next farming season. The best way to harvest cassava is to do it manually by pulling the remaining lower part of the stem to uproot the cassava, After uprooting, you detach the roots from the stem with care to avoid damaging the cassava roots. The cassava harvested should not be left without processing. this means you only harvest when you are ready to process or when you have a ready market for it.
Conclusion
The processes for cassava farming has been explained above and if followed strictly, will give a good yield. The processes are easy and understandable.
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