Assessing the effects of climate variability on cassava production in Kolir sub-county-Bukedea district

Abstract

The study examined the effects of climate variability on cassava production in the Kolir sub-county of Bukedea district. Cassava is a staple food to over 800 million people in the whole world; it's the second most grown crop in households in Uganda. Cassava used to be overlooked as a major crop to save people from food insecurity that is being accelerated by variations in climate due to its ability to tolerate different extreme weather events. This has been curtailed by recently observed reduced cassava production per unit area amidst changing climate regimes; however, little research has been done to link these variations in cassava production to climate variability. The study was guided by a general objective of contributing towards understanding climatic variability as a basis for sustainable cassava production in the Kolir sub-county, and specific objectives were to: assess farmers’ knowledge about climate variability that occurs in the Kolir sub-county; document climate variability that occurs in Kolir sub-county; document cassava varieties grown by farmers in the Kolir sub-county; and assess farmers’ preferences between improved and local cassava varieties towards resistance to climate variability in the Kolir sub-county. The study had 65 respondents who were chosen randomly. It depended on both primary and secondary data. The data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results showed that the majority of the respondents (96.9%) had knowledge about climate variability regardless of their gender, level of education, and age (P > 0.005). Additionally, consecutive days with sunshine had increased and comprised the major (68.8%) climate variability in the area. NAROCASS 1 was the major (96.9%) cassava variety grown by farmers and most tolerant to heavy precipitation (36%) and drought (68%). Results showed that most farmers (60%) reported no variety tolerant to flood conditions. Furthermore, results showed that most farmers believed that variations in temperature and precipitation had caused a decline in cassava production (60.9% and 75.4%, respectively). The study concluded that climate variability affected cassava production negatively and caused a decline in production. This study recommends intensive research to breed cassava varieties that are more resistant to Bondar’s nesting whitefly, subsequent diseases (Cassava Mosaic Disease and Cassava Brown Streak Disease), and changing climatic conditions. Keywords: Climate variability, Cassava, Bondar’s nesting whitefly, NAROCASS 1