Child labour mitigation programme was funded by International Labour Organization - (ILO) and was is implemented in two regions in Kenya; Busia and Kitui counties from October 2012 to September 2013. Total sales worth USD 72,535 / KES 7,207,320 was recorded in Busia and Kitui (Busia USD.53,712  (KES 5,335,560) and Kitui USD.18,823 (KES 1,869,810).

The programme was designed to promote commercialization and reduce child labour in 12 Commercial Villages - (CVs) in Busia and Kitui sites. There are eight CVs in Busia which include; Amoni, Abangusi, Bulanda, Kamusogon, Mayenje, Musokoto B, Siteko and Tangakona while the four  in Kitui include; Katyethoka, Kyalilini, Utooni and Kihara.

The CVs targeted a capacity of 2,527 smallholder farmers in order to enhance them as competitive value chain actors in trade. In ensuring that commercialization agenda succeeded in the target areas, various implementation instruments were used which included; Commercial Village Model - (CVM), learning institutions (schools), child welfare society, development agencies, government line ministries, financial institutions and market players. 

The child labour mitigation started by identifying ten market opportunities and market linkages which were facilitated among thirty eight traders across all the CVs. Farm Concern International - (FCI) then facilitated nineteen village based business forums intended to link farmers and traders to discuss the produce quality, quantities, supply frequency and pricing.

Greater impact was realized in the execution of the project in both areas. For instance, in 2012, average incomes in both sites were below KES 10,000 for all the crops. In 2013, prices varied with cereals showing a tendency of having a higher price than leafy vegetables. Green grams traded at a higher price than other cereals and it was also observed that kales and spinach maintained a low price while cassava experienced low trade. 

Intervention was geared towards commercialization that led to increase in prices for all products. This was attributed to the market-led production initiated by introduction of buyers to the farmers through village business forums and guided production before growing crops.

At the end of the intervention, significant impact was observed; green grams was the highest earner compared to other crops earning a cumulative income of over KES 50,000. The kales fetched the highest price among leafy vegetables while the pigeon peas, sorghum and peas maintained a lower cumulative income of below KES 10,000 probably because it is a staple food.

It was also noted that cassava trade improved greatly in both areas from the initial state though cumulative income was still below KES 10,000. This was pegged on the FCI cross programmes farmer support initiatives motivated by current existing cassava programs such as the  establishment of cassava processing units with chippers and driers and market availability.

Commercialization of Cassava has opened an additional financial window to farmers from Tangakona Commercial Village (CV) in Western Kenya.  Farmers have taken advantage of market demand to supply the much needed cassava and sweet potatoes planting materials in Busia and beyond. This is as a result of commercialization campaigns and market linkages by Farm Concern International under the Cassava Commercialization and Processing Programme supported by Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and implemented by FCI.

Tangakona farmers used to initially produce and market cassava and sweet potatoes individually and had little knowledge of markets as well as cassava and sweet potato value addition processes. In 2010, FCI mobilized the smallholders to work together to form a Commercial Village to enable them market their produce collectively. Farmers were also introduced to improved varieties of cassava and sweet potato, and good agronomic practices. As more farmers became aware of the potential benefits of the new cassava and sweet potatoes varieties, the demand for clean planting materials for cassava and sweet potatoes rose.  

Farmer organizations and NGOs started buying the vines and cuttings from the farmers, and the demand has steadily been rising. This has necessitated Tangakona Commercial Village to source from neighbouring CVs under the project to meet the demand. Tangakona CV has been transformed into not only a major supplier of clean and certified planting materials for cassava and sweet potatoes in Western Kenya, but also a key supplier of processed cassava. In the months of September and November 2013, they earned a total of KES 1,092,000 from a supply of 1,365 bags of Cassava cuttings. In July 2014 they sold a total of 4.8 MT of Cassava chips to Edom Nutrition Solutions valued at KES.169, 000. Moreover, in May 2015, they sold a total of 5,062 bags of vines at KES 500 each to One Acre Fund earning them KES 2.5Million. Currently, Tangakona CV earns an average monthly sale of KES 5,200 from value added products and an average of KES 2.5 million from cassava chunks and chips. A member of agro farmers, Mr Ekisa echoed, “Now we can fulfil our financial obligations to educate our children and improve our livelihoods.” Another member of the group, said, "We have come a long way to where we are today since FCI introduced us to the Commercial Village Model.” 

Members of Gwata Commercial Village, in Kibaha, Tanzania, have benefited from various capacity building forums and trainings under the programme. The farmers in Gwata took a step forward by planting 175 acres of cassava of Kiroba variety which is high yielding, early maturing, pests and disease resistant. Kibaha rural district council recognized the effort shown and intervened by contributing one cassava chipper as well as one milling machine which have been installed at Gwata Commercial Village. This has enabled the CV to commence cassava processing into flour. The CV processed 9,000kg of cassava flour worth TZs 11,700,000 which they sold to various individuals, food vendors and hotels.

A cassava processing innovation introduced by Farm Concern International (FCI) now reduces cassava chunks drying time from seven to two days during sunny periods. This saves time especially for the women who are involved in household cassava processing and drying.

Traditionally, cassava processing technologies use rudimentary processing methods that are often very time-consuming and laborious. This is a case in Kenya where the roots are processed into local products such as chips, flour, and gari among others. Therefore, designing and developing effective and simple processing machines and utilization techniques greatly increases labor efficiency, incomes and living standards of cassava farmers and the urban poor as well as enhances reduction of cassava roots wastage and spoilage.

Cassava shelf-life

Upon harvesting, cassava starchy roots undergo rapid physiological deterioration within 24-72 hours that renders them unpalatable and unmarketable. In addition, the roots are bulky with about 70% moisture content, hence transportation of the tubers to urban markets is difficult and expensive. The roots and leaves also contain varying amounts of cyanide which is toxic to humans and animals, while the raw cassava roots and uncooked leaves are unpalatable.

Therefore, processing cassava into various forms helps increase the shelf-life of the products from 72 hours to 12 months, facilitates transportation and marketing opportunities, reduces cyanide content and improves palatability. The nutritional status of cassava can also be improved through fortification with other protein-rich crops. Processing will also reduce food losses and stabilize seasonal fluctuations in the supply of the crop.

Farm Concern International set out to commercialize and process cassava at village level for food security and to promote the commodity into industrial value chains for improved livelihoods for smallholder farmers in three countries. FCI reached out to over 54,000 farmers in Makueni and Busia in Kenya; Jinja, Buyende in Uganda and Meru in Tanzania. 

Cassava processing procedures vary depending on products, which range from simple processing procedures (peeling and boiling) to complicated processing procedures (gari). The procedures involve several steps such as peeling, grating, pressing, fermenting, sifting and roasting. But processing of fresh cassava roots into storable products such as chips is one of the critical components under the programme.

FCI in partnership with equipment fabricators from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania designed and developed simple cassava processing chippers ranging from mobile Kijiji (mounted on a motorbike), diesel driven motorized (with wheels), petrol driven motorized to electrical and manual chippers with a capacity of 15-20MT, 25-30MT, 10-15MT, 4-5MT and 0.5MTS–1MT per day, respectively. 

The various categories of cassava chippers were distributed to the Commercial Villages (CV) and Village Processing Units (VPUs) strategically set-up across the three countries: Tangakona (Busia) and Mbuvo (Makueni) in Kenya, Mbuguni (Arusha) in Tanzania and Buyende in Uganda. The VPUs are supported by a number of micro-processing innovations carried out at a household level by families. Each VPU includes a solar dryer, a chipper, a grater, a milling machine and other accessories. 

The sustainability of the VPU is anchored on organizing smallholder farmers into CVs with enhanced governance systems which enables farmers participating in cassava processing to contribute funds for fuel and chipper maintenance from their savings based on the volumes of cassava processed. The revenue generated is being used for the operations and maintenance of the processing unit

In addition, demo VPUs are used as training resources through farmer exchange programs and internal skill enhancement course sessions which play a catalytic role in promoting cassava processing and drying technologies by the smallholder farmers in the commercial villages. 

The Cassava Pommercialization and Processing Programme supported by Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa and implemented by Farm Concern International has seen demand for clean and improved varieties and the prices of cassava cuttings increase tremendously in East Africa. In Kenya, the price increment was 25% in Busia, 200% in Uganda and 66.7% in Arusha, Tanzania.  

The programme has contributed to improved household food security and nutrition and increased income through the marketing of surplus produce as a result of increased production.

Before Farm Concern International’s (FCI) intervention in 2012, cassava production in Busia and Makueni in Kenya, Jinja in Uganda and Arusha in Tanzania was absolutely low. This was as a result of lack of effective systems of availing clean planting materials to farmers leading to over 98% of the planting materials being shared among farmers.

Cassava diseases such as brown streak and mosaic virus transmitted through the infected plant materials could cause losses of up to 70%. In addition, poor crop management and use of popular seed varieties added more losses. 

In Kenya, these challenges results to low cassava production which ranges from 11MT/ha as compared to potential yield of 90MT/ha-1 (Mware et al., 2009). 

However, FCI’s intervention through the programme in collaboration with other relevant partners has reversed this trend. As a result of cassava commercialization, demand of clean and improved varieties and the prices of cassava cuttings have increased tremendously. Currently, there is high demand for the improved high yield and early maturing varieties that are pest and disease resistant. 

FCI tested various approaches for sustainable and cost-effective seed multiplication and distribution systems with various experiential learning. Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization - (KALRO) and University of Nairobi were key providers of improved cassava cuttings varieties in Kenya at a cost of KES 10 (USD 0.10) and KES 5 (USD 0.05) per cutting respectively. The high cost of these seeds was attributed to the lengthy distance from the multiplication sites resulting to high transport costs. 

To mitigate this challenge, FCI facilitated the establishment of a sustainable seed system within the community. This resulted into the establishment of 250 village based seed multipliers with close supervision and inspection by research scientists from KALRO, NARO (National Agricultural Research Organisation) and Horti-Tengeru who started providing the cuttings at KES. 2 (USD 0.02) and below per cutting.

Commercial Villages in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda were further linked to these multipliers and had access to improved cassava varieties. At the end of the third year, a total of 40,013,000 cuttings of clean and improved cassava varieties were planted by CVs in 10,003.25acres.

Case Study 

A case study is that of Josephat Okana, a cassava seed multiplier in Tangakona Commercial Village in Western Kenya. Okana has leased a three-acre farm to prepare cassava seeds which he sells at KES 400 (USD 4.70) per bag. He harvests up to 100 bags of cassava seed per acre valued at KES 40,000 (USD 470.11). He admits to have enjoyed good market for the seeds which he mainly sells to smallholder farmers in Tangakona, Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) in Kakamega, Farm Inputs Promotions (FIPS) and World Vision.