How to grow cassava in Ghana

Light, deep, sandy loams or friable loams. Tolerates poor soils well but performs poorly in heavy, waterlogged clay.

Target pH 4.5–8

Clearing and burning, or brushing.

Bankye Hembaa

Excellent for fufu; high starch content.

Ampong

Excellent for fufu; high starch content.

Sika Bankye

Yellow-fleshed; high in Vitamin A.

Afisiafi

Great for gari and industrial starch.

Tek Bankye

Great for gari and industrial starch.

Main planting

April to June (when soil moisture is guaranteed). Can be planted until August in regions with bimodal rainfall.

1 m × 1 m apart, using mature healthy stem cuttings (stakes) ≈20–30 cm long with 4–6 nodes. Insert stakes at a 45° angle or horizontally, ensuring nodes point upwards.

Often grown without fertilizer, but responds exceptionally well to NPK 15-15-15 or potassium-rich formulations like NPK 12-12-17 or 15-10-20.

Basal · 4–8 weeks after planting, when shoots have established roots

≈4 bags (200 kg) of NPK per hectare, applied in a ring or band 10–15 cm away from the plant

Cassava Green Mite

Control culturally with clean planting materials or early planting.

Variegated Grasshopper

Control culturally with clean planting materials or early planting.

Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD)

Transmitted by whiteflies. The ultimate control measure is using CMD-resistant varieties certified by CSIR/CRI.

Cassava Bacterial Blight (CBB)

Use certified resistant planting material and clean farm hygiene.

9 to 14 months after planting depending on the variety. Mature plants show yellowing and dropping of leaves. Gently lift the soil around the base and pull the roots upward to prevent breaking them.

Fresh roots deteriorate rapidly (within 48–72 hours of harvest due to enzymatic browning). Must be processed immediately into stable products like Gari, Agbelima (dough), Kokonte (dried chips), or starch.