Thank God! Cassava stems has changed my life.

In February 2008, BRAC started to implement a three year project on multiplication and distribution of resistant cassava mosaic disease varieties. In the Mara region of Tanzania the food produced was insufficient households due to low production of cassava as a result of cassava Mosaic disease. Survey findings revealed that in order to increase production of cassava more effort was needed in the growth of varieties of cassava which are resistant to CMD and CBSD. Thus BRAC and ORAF through Cassava multiplication project embarked on three years contract. Mrs Moshi Erinest mother of seven children explain how cassava multiplication has helped community as well as increased her household income.

Moshi Erinest is a resident of Musoma district in Tarani village and has been working as volunteer community worker (locally known as a farmer motivator) since the project started in 2008. She is one of 28 farmer motivators who received cassava multiplication training and equipment including bicycle from the project. Since then she has been seriously working on multiply cassava resistant varieties including Mkombozi “the serviour” and Kyaka. She received from the project cassava cuttings enough for half an acre plot and slowly expanded her multiplication field so that now she has two acres. She passed on 200 cassava cuttings for free to another farmer to ensure continuation of the project activity as per contract. In this rain season March 2010 she harvested 300 bundles of CMD resistant varieties equivalent to 30,000 cuttings where she received TZS 600,000 (approximately A$475). She said hard work and commitment pay; I have cash TZS 600,000 (approximately A$475) from sales of stems and still enjoying my cassava tubers! She continued to explain that the money she got will be used to buy bedding materials; repair of house and some will be used to cover the cost of sending her children to school.