Cassava growing for food security in Kenya

Murangua Kenya

April 2015

Dear Donors,

The Cassava revolution in our village has not only boosted food security but also income generation.  As you may recall, cassava is a perfect crop for our arid region as it is both highly nutritious (for human and livestock consumption) and drought resistant. 

Entrepreneurial residents have been making various cassava products.

A remarkable case is Lydiah who even has a fabricated machine that she uses to chop raw cassava tubers into small pieces after which she deep fries and sells as cassava chips.

Lydiah, who on the photo, is operating the machine, earns between Kshs.1,000 to Ksh.2,000 ($15-30) daily from the sale of cassava chips.

She says," I have been selling the cassava chips just within the village but I have a vision to expanding my target market to other areas particularly the urban centres. 

Mary, a mother of three, is one of the many farmers who readily embraced the cassava project from its inception.

In 2011, she received 100 cuttings for planting in her own farm. She planted these on a 1/4 acre plot.

Over the years, she has enlarged this to an acre. Mary produces about 20 tons annually. She mills a big amount  of her produce into flour for her family's consumption and animal feeds for her livestock. The rest, she sells to traders.

She says  that cassava has proved not only nutritious but also economical in the wake of soaring food prices. 

Thank you for your continued support to improve food security and the local economy in my village.

With gratitude,

Michael Murigi