Abstract:

As part of the DFID funded AgriTT project a study was commissioned to look at the potential
for large-scale cassava industrialisation in Uganda. A team of experts was convened from
the Natural Resources Institute (NRI) of the United Kingdom, African Innovations Institute
(AfrII) in Uganda and Acro Bio-Tech Company of China. The study has been conducted
between September and November 2016, involving a desk study, fieldwork, and preparation
of the report.
Cassava is one of the major crops produced in Uganda, together with plantain, maize, sweet
potatoes, and sugar cane. According to statistics by the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO), annual production of cassava roots was of the order of about 5
million MT until 2011, when it dropped to approximately 3 million MT per annum due to
factors such as plant diseases (e.g. Cassava Brown Streak Disease). Northern and Eastern
Uganda account for the bulk of cassava production in the country. Although it is recognised
that cassava is a food crop in Uganda, it is also evident that demand for a range of
industrially manufactured products is increasing, and cassava can be used in different forms as raw material for the production of these products.