Abstract:

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz), second to maize as most important source of dietary energy in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), continues to gain prominence as a food security crop across the world (Salvador et al. 2014; Tan 2015). This starchy root crop is grown and consumed widely in tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Latin America, where it dependably provides household food security in resource-poor farming systems (Monfreda et al. 2008). Globally, it is estimated that more than 800 million people derive the bulk of their dietary energy from cassava on a daily basis and over 500 million of these people live in SSA (FAOSTAT 2009; Montagnac et al. 2009; Burns et al. 2010). In Uganda, cassava is second to bananas both in terms of production and consumption and the crop also ranks highly in most eastern and central African countries (Chipeta and Bokosi 2013; Salvador et al. 2014). Despite the apparent drop in farm yields and production of cassava over the last decade, which may be partly attributed to the threat of new diseases (Alicai et al. 2007), the harvested area (acreage) of the crop continues to increase in Uganda (Figure 1.1) (FAOSTAT 2014). This trend depicts an increasing importance of cassava in the economic welfare of people in Uganda.