Farmers' Perceptions on Early Storage Root Bulking in Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) in East and Central Uganda and their Implication for Cassava Breeding

Early storage root bulking (ESRB) in cassava has increasingly become important in the national cassava breeding programmes in Africa. To assess farmers' perceptions on ESRB in cassava and identify their cultivar selection criteria, a study was conducted in east and central Uganda. One hundred and twenty cassava farmers were sampled and interviewed following structured questionnaires, and their fields assessed. The results show that both the ESRB and late storage root bulking (LSRB) cassava cultivars were grown by farmers. The most ESRB cultivars grown were Taso, NASE3, NASE2, NASE4, Mercury, Mufumbacayi, Ebwanatereka, Selefu, MH97/2961, Mwezigumu and TME14 while the most LSRB cultivars were Akena and Ofwono. Early storage root bulking cultivars were grown to provide fast food and income while LSRB cultivars were grown for food security. The farmers' cassava cultivar selection largely depended on high storage root yield, ESRB, resistance to pests and diseases, and sweetness. Farmers expressed a strong need for improved ESRB cultivars but, accentuated that they should, in the order of importance, have high dry matter content, be sweet, high yielding, and resistant to pests and diseases. To design a successful breeding programme under smallholder production systems, the farmers' perceptions and preferences should be understood and taken into consideration.