Uganda: Oversupply and lack of market for cassava is creating miseries for farmers in Teso

Published Jun 7, 2024

Tridge summary

Ugandan farmers in Kumi and Bukedea are facing challenges as they have a surplus of cassava due to a lack of agro-processing, limiting the produce's market and value. Cassava is a crucial ingredient in many global manufactured goods and has additional uses in pharmaceuticals, paper, and animal feed. China is the world's leading importer of Manioc (cassava) starch. To address this issue, leaders are encouraged to invest in cassava processing plants, which could also create employment opportunities. The article suggests the potential of cottage agro-processing machines to process cassava flour, which is more easily stored and transported. The author, a former Member of Parliament, emphasizes the importance of strategic thinking, investing in agro-processing, and leveraging China's market to export processed cassava products, aiming for a more balanced trade relationship.

Disclaimer: The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

It is reported that the farmers in Kumi and Bukedea are stuck with cassava. We even see an overflow of dried cassava at the weekly flea Bukedea market. This shows the growing predicaments that our village farmers face on account of lack of agro-processing to add value to their produce which would assure them of a wider market and better prices. Cassava is known to be a key industrial ingredient in many manufactured goods the world over. What is needed is for the raw cassava to be processed into finer raw materials for the industries and that would be a real salvation for the farmers in Kumi, Bukedea and other parts of the country where cassava thrives well. This brings in the need for the leaders of those areas to have strategic thinking in the form of providing these communities with Agro-processing abilities. It would be commendable if the leaders of this area could invest in establishing a cassava processing plant which can not only consume the cassava that the farmers are ...

Source: All Africa