LEISA Magazine, volume 18
Issue 4 - Women managing change
Bitter cassava and women: an intriguing response to food security
Many farmers not only prefer, but also grow a higher proportion of bitter cassava cultivars than sweet cultivars - despite higher levels of toxins and more work required to process the bitter cassava. Women in particular prefer the bitter cassava cultivars, despite the additional processing work, because they have superior end-product qualities and because the toxin protects the crop from intruders of all kinds, man and beast alike. This article looks at the difficulties faced by farmers in Malawi, where the dominant maize crop does not provide food security. The farmers were having problems in obtaining cassava stem cuttings with desirable characteristics, and genderbalanced exchange visits between farmers in different areas were successful in helping to address this problem. The needs of women farmers that were single, de jure or de facto, became clear in these visits - they were keen to select as many bitter cassava varieties as possible, in order to minimise the risk of crop failure.
Linley Chiwona-Karltun, Chrissie Katundu, James Ngoma, Felistus Chipungu, Jonathan Mkumbira, Sidney Simukoko, Janice Jiggins| Language: | English |
| Keyword(s): | rural women, manihot esculenta, gender issues, malawi, food security, Back to basics |
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