ACAI Overview by Dr Abdulai Jalloh during the ACAI-CABI Cluster meeting

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African cassava Agronomy Initiative:
An overview
12th - 14th October 2016, Denis Hotel, Abuja, Nigeria

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Presentation outline
Introduction - The need for an increase in cassava production
Constraints to increased cassava production
ACAI implementation strategy
Key targeted outputs and current achievements

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The need to increase cassava
production
• In sub Saharan Africa, increasing populations relying on cassava as
its most important source of carbohydrates or protein (through leaf
consumption) and increasing demand for industrial raw material will
certainly require a continued increase in cassava production.

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Cassava - Opportunities
Diverse
end-uses
Huge &
untapped
market
opportunities

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Productivity of cassava and yield gap in SSA
Yield gaps depending
on regions and their
climate are estimated
to range from small
gaps of only
1 – 5 t/ha to very high
gaps of 31 - 35 t/ha
Farmers are challenged
with increasing cassava
production in a situation
where yield gaps are still
high while agronomic
packages are not yet
satisfactorily assembled.

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Causes for yield gap in cassava in SSA
• African farmers recognize pest and diseases as some of
the most important production constraints.
• Other constraints mentioned by farmers are a lack of
improved varieties and a shortage of marketable inputs
(Nweke, 1994).
• There is virtually no mineral fertilizer use and soil
nutrients removed with the root harvest are seldom
replenished by resource limited farmers.
• Production is also characterized by inadequate cultural
practices - use of poor-quality planting materials, sub-
optimal plant densities, and inadequate weed, pest, and
disease management.
There is growing evidence that cassava
productivity can be relatively easily enhanced
by improved agronomy and nutrient
management practices

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A case for contextualized research
• Contextualized agronomic research has
been neglected in cassava, partly because
the notion that cassava does not need
fertilizer.
• In particular investments in agronomy and
nutrient management are lagging behind.
• A complete package of agronomic
interventions increases average farmers’
yields by about 20t/ha to almost attainable
yields
However, at each stage of increased
management intensity, there is a high variability
in response of yield implying a need for site
specific targeting of agronomic interventions.

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Key Challenges in taking cassava
agronomy to scale
• lack of basic information on cassava growth and nutrient
requirements to develop best agronomic practices,
• lack of site-specific recommendations to reduce the cassava
yield gap based on smallholder farmer resources and
production objectives,
• lack of a decision support framework to interact with partners
and farmers and bring such recommendations to scale
• limited scientific capacity in the NARS
• Ineffective linkage between research and end users of relevant
research products
• Inadequate political will for agricultural development including
cassava

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African Cassava Agronomy Initiative
(Taking Agronomy to Scale in
Cassava-based Systems in Sub-
Saharan
Africa) (ACAI)

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ACAI
ACAI is a 5 year Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funded project in 5 countries in
Africa (Nigeria, Tanzania, DRC, Ghana and Uganda)
ACAI aims at increasing the availability of appropriate and affordable technologies
to sustainably improve short and long-term agricultural productivity in cassava in
the target countries.
ACAI will improve cassava root quality and yields, cassava supply to the processing
sector as well as fertilizer sales.
ACAI will engage over 150,000
households including at least 30%
women farmers in the target countries
and lead to the creation of a value of at
least US$ 40 million.

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ACAI objectives
• Generating basic information on cassava growth
and nutrient requirements to enable the
development of improved agronomic
recommendations;
• Developing site specific recommendations based
on smallholder farmer resources and production
objectives enabling farmers to reduce cassava
yield gaps;
• Developing a decision support framework for
development partners interacting with smallholder
cassava farmers that allows bringing
recommendations to scale; and
• Developing scientific capacity within the national
research systems by engaging them in
transformative cassava R4D
Reducing
the yield
gap
Reducing
the
extension
support gap

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The various Work Streams around which
ACAI is conceptualized

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Implementation framework: Need
based
Address the cassava agronomy
needs expressed by development
partners as priority needs,
Project activities embedded in
existing smallholder
dissemination networks,
The project will facilitate
extension agents to deploy
decision support tools/tools with
direct beneficiaries (mainly
smallholder farmers), and
An effective ME&L framework will
underpin all the above

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Priority use cases for cassava
• Fertilizer recommendations
• Fertilizer blending
• Cassava intercropping
• High starch content
• Staggered planting

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Key outputs
• Nutrient constraints for cassava assessed and nutrient norms
established
• Cassava growth models developed for monocrops and intercropping
systems
• QUEFTS modelling framework developed and used as a basis for
fertilizer recommendation tool
• Geospatial layers to support the use cases (e.g., weather, soils)
available
• Cassava clusters established with engagement of all major stakeholders
operating within cassava value chains in the target countries (led by the
Africa Soil Health Consortium)

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Tools developed
• A cassava fertilizer blending decision support tool for the fertilizer blending industry
developed and validated
• A cassava fertilizer site-specific recommendation decision support tool for extension agents
developed and validated
• A best planting practice decision support tool for extension agents/farmers developed and
validated
• A cassava intercropping decision support tool for extension agents/farmers developed and
validated
• A staggered planting decision support tool for farmers supplying the processing sector
developed and validated
• A decision support tool advising on best agronomic practices for high root starch content at
harvest for farmers supplying the processing sector developed and validated
• Specific decision support tools and tools developed within the context of cassava value chain
initiatives, managed by partners

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Capacity development of national institutions to
engage in transformative cassava agronomy R4D
• Enhanced capacity of national research institutions to conduct
effective cassava agronomy research
• Enhanced capacity of national research institutions to develop
and manage standardized databases
• Enhanced skills of national research institutions in geospatial
data analysis (in coordination with AfSIS)
• Strengthened capacity of national research institutions and
primary development partner organizations in project
management
• Standardized soil and plant analytical laboratories network
including Standard Operating Procedures to support cassava
agronomy

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The project was officially
launched in Nigeria and
Tanzania in January and
February 2016, respectively
A total of 563 trials (84% of total
targeted number of trials) has
been established at the end of the
first cropping season in both
Nigeria and Tanzania.
• 2 PhD students already enrolled
• Over 50 people at various stages benefitted from
short term training

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Work stream 6: Project governance,
management, coordination, and ME&L

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Research and development Partners
Nigeria
• FUNAAB
• NRCRI
• CAVA II
• NOTORE
• OYSCGA
• Psaltry
• SG2000
Tanzania
• ARI
• CAVA II
• MEDA
• Minjingu
• FCI

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Thank You for your attention