The effects of drying technology on cassava use in Uganda

Cassava is a staple crop in Uganda, especially in the northern and eastern regions. While it is widely considered to be food for the poor, it is also becoming a lucrative cash crop. There is growing commercial demand for high-quality cassava flour (HQCF) from breweries and bakeries, where it substitutes for expensive barley and wheat imports, as well as from other urban industries. 

The challenge is that cassava needs to be dried immediately after harvesting; delayed or poor drying can lead to cyanogenesis and the development of other toxins that render it unsuitable for these high-value markets. Most farmers in Uganda dry cassava on the floor or a tarpaulin, which fails to achieve the necessary quality standards, leaving them unable to meet industrial demand despite high production. 

Introducing cassava drying technology to farmer groups

Improving the quality of cassava can enable farmers to obtain a massive price premium. For our study on the effects of cassava drying technology, we partnered with a large cassava buyer (based in Soroti, Uganda) to pilot the introduction of cassava chippers and solar dryers to farmer groups contracted with them. Five farmer groups in the Serere and Ngora districts received the machines, and we sampled 50 farmers from these groups and 50 farmers from other groups in these districts.

The goals of the pilot were to verify that farmers were interested in adopting the machines, and that they could meet the quality demands required to access higher prices. We also collected three rounds of data to measure how farmers adapted their harvesting, processing, sales, and consumption in response to this technology. 

Despite challenges to access, farmers had positive perceptions of cassava drying technology 

Farmers were enthusiastic about the technology, and almost universally stated that it produces better quality cassava than ordinary methods. This is true both among farmers who used and did not use the machines. But despite these positive perceptions, only 54% of farmers in treatment villages used either machine. 

The main reasons farmers reported for not using the machines themselves (or why their neighbours did not use the machines) were distance, which led to difficulty transporting large loads to and from the machines, and the machines’ limited capacity. 

However, all but one farmer expressed interest in continuing to use the machines in the following season. Therefore, while the low take-up suggests that farmers faced challenges accessing the machines, the overall experience was positive, and demand for the machines is high. 

Machines and coordination are required to meet quality standards

Farmers who used the technology were able to attract 10-30% higher prices from local markets. Laboratory tests confirmed that a sample of machine-dried cassava met the requirements for observable quality attributes like moisture and ash content, while a control sample failed. 

However, despite performing better than the control sample, the machine-dried cassava still did not meet commercial breweries’ requirements for unobservable attributes such as yeast content.

Based on discussions with agronomists from some of the major HQCF buyers, this is likely due to poor handling after harvesting (before drying) or contamination during the milling process. These downstream buyers have expressed significant interest in the progress of our pilot and are optimistic about the machines' ability to meet the quality standards with additional effort. 

Thus, while farmers can get a significant premium from local markets by using the machines, additional effort is required to earn an even larger premium from industrial buyers. This poses a coordination challenge – even if farmers produce the maximum quality themselves, they cannot be sure that other cassava in the batch meets these higher standards. 

How consumption smoothing limits commercialisation

We did not find any statistically significant effects on consumption or asset purchases, likely due to our limited sample size. However, households in treatment villages were more likely to have reported at the endline that their income was enough to meet basic needs. 

We also found that poorer households were, on average, more likely to consume or store their cassava rather than sell it, with suggestive evidence that these lower sales are driven by treatment villages. Therefore, it remains an open question whether financial constraints and the need to keep cassava for consumption smoothing purposes hinder the commercialisation of the crop. 

Technology adoption impacts hired labour and gendered time use

The machines also serve as important substitutes for labour, along two margins. Peeling, washing and chipping cassava by hand is an arduous and time-consuming task, normally carried out by women. Looking at household time use data, we see that women in treatment villages spend significantly less time working on cassava, and instead engage in productive activities like business, wage labour, and working elsewhere on the farm. 

While we see this gender substitution on the intensive margin, we also see that households use these machines instead of hiring labour on the extensive margin. Almost no households in the treatment villages used hired labour to chip cassava (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Method of processing cassava, by treatment group

Leveraging processing technology for commercial opportunities

The results of our pilot have shown the potential for small-scale processing technology to provide a lucrative commercial opportunity to farmers. 

While the technology already offers farmers a price premium based on observable attributes, it may unlock even greater market potential if agents along the HQCF value chain can coordinate on unobserved quality. This includes working with farmers and our partner company to make the machines more accessible. 

Beyond offering income opportunities, small-scale processing can increase the quality of the cassava that households consume, help them smooth their consumption across the year, and relax some of the burdens on women’s time use. 

Nevertheless, the reliance of poorer households on cassava as a reserve crop may limit their ability to benefit from the commercial opportunities the technology provides.