Busia County’s Treasure Hidden in Cassava Farming

Busia County might not be popular among many people as it is a small county in the Western part of Kenya, between Uganda and Kenya. Situated within the vicinity of Lake Victoria the county experiences a homogeneous climate. Each of these elements has an impact on the investment opportunities in the county and its long-term development plans.

This is also a county that has been reported to be among areas with high incidences of poverty. Residents of Busia County rely on agriculture but the biggest problem facing them is shortage of land for farming cash crops that can sustain their needs. The ever changing weather patterns too adds up to the challenges that these farmers face since this limits them on the type of crops that they can cultivate in. but again with such shortcomings, cassava farming has been discovered to be one of the lucrative areas to be invested in in Busia County.

Read: Investing in Rice Milling and Processing Plant in Busia County

Cassava being a drought resistant crop, used to be cultivated in this area for consumption purposes, whereby the farmers were not that serious with the crop thus they could just plant a few tubers that will be enough for their family’s consumption. But that trend changed when they were enlightened on the profitable side of investing in cassava farming.

Investors should take keen interest in investing in this area. From cassava, products such as cakes crisps, scones and porridge can be made. Cassava flour can also be used in making of chapatti, pancakes, maandazi and many more other products. Cassava too has been proven to have high nutritious value thus most people are advised to include it in their daily meals instead of dwelling on consumption of too much junk meals.

A cassava milling factory needs to be set up in Busia county. This is where all the processing of the raw material will be taking place before the final products are taken to the market. Most of cassava farmers in this region lack the direct market for their produce thus leading to low profits after spending too much in the production of the crop.

They need to be motivated more so as to go ahead and embrace modern methods of cassava farming. They also need to be enlightened on the best farming practices and the best seedlings to use. The storage system of these crop also need to be considered so that after harvesting, it is stored well to avoid pests that might end up destroying the crop before it is dried.

It about time that investors should explore Busia County and invest their resources on this crop that will bring back great returns both to the farmers and the investors.