Abstract:

African Cassava Mosaic Disease, now referred to as cassava mosaic disease (CMD) is
the main cause of yield loss in cassava in Uganda and many other countries in Sub
Saharan Africa. Cassava is a major crop for subsistence farmers, particularly women,
for both domestic use and as a food reserve in times of drought. In many areas sales of
fresh and dried cassava are an important source of cash income for poorer households.
At the start of the project the disease had already destroyed the cassava crop in
substantial areas of Uganda and was threatening to enter N-W Kenya. Resistant varieties
and phytosanitation are the main means of combating the disease but it was clear that a
better understanding of the processes driving and sustaining the epidemic were needed
whilst their effectiveness was being evaluated.
The project was based at the Namulonge Agricultural and Animal Production Research
Institute through collaboration with Cassava Programme staff and builds on earlier work
(R5240). It aimed to characterise and understand the mechanism underlying the current
epidemic of CMD in Uganda and its spread into N-W Kenya. The effectiveness of
resistant varieties was to be evaluated under the range of inoculum pressures
encountered in Uganda. The socio-economic and other factors influencing the adoption
of resistant varieties were to be assessed to promote sustainability over time.