An agriculturist, with a specialty in the cultivation of tubers, has advised farmers that intend to plant cassava and get maximum yield, not to plant the stems on stony or rocky lands. He said such farmers should rather look for a land that is not hard, but soft enough to plant cassava stems. The agriculturist, Mr. Afeez Lasisi, a Chief Agricultural Officer, Directorate of University Farms (DUFARMS), Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State gave this advice while featuring on Our Farmer, on FUNAAB Radio 89.5FM. He said, “Cassava is a tolerant plant. It can survive anywhere, however, not in marshy, stony or rocky land. The land should be soft enough to plant the cassava stems. That is why cassava can survive in every part of the country”.
Talking about the varieties available, Mr. Lasisi said there are those with stems from South Africa; there are local varieties as well an improved version with high-yielding status known as TME 419. He explained that the TME variety is “The choice of many cassava farmers because it is an improved version of the local varieties, with high-yielding capacities and capabilities”. He stated that the improved variety, TME 419, matures within a year and is ready to be harvested for consumption as Garri, Fufu or Eba after being processed for other uses by industries. The agriculturist hinted that the hectares of land to be devoted to cassava farm would be determined whether the farmer is “Cultivating for commercial purposes, or as a subsistence farmer.”