Understanding Drivers and Risks for Policy: A Comparative Assessment of Cassava Production Systems in Africa

Main Article Content

Mohammed Sadiq
Muhammad Ahmad
Musa Isah
Bashir Sani
Invinder Singh

Abstrakt
Cassava is a critical staple crop for food security and livelihoods across sub-Saharan Africa, yet its production dynamics vary significantly between major producing nations. This study conducts a comparative analysis of cassava production trends, drivers of change, and sources of instability from 1993 to 2024 in five leading African producers: Angola, Congo, Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania. Utilising a decomposition analysis framework on FAO time-series data, the research quantifies the contributions of area expansion and yield improvement to production growth and identifies the statistical components of output volatility. The results reveal two distinct models: Ghana exemplifies a productivity-led intensification path, where rising yields contributed most to growth, while Nigeria and Tanzania followed an area-driven extensification model, where massive land expansion offset declining yields and introduced higher instability linked to volatile area allocation. Angola and Congo demonstrated more balanced growth. The primary sources of instability differed, with Nigeria's risk dominated by fluctuations in cultivated area and Ghana's by increasing yield variance. The study concludes that sustainable growth in the cassava sector requires a strategic shift from extensification to intensification. Policy implications advocate for differentiated national strategies prioritising investment in yield-enhancing technologies, climate-resilient practices, and stabilised land-use policies to ensure long-term productivity and reduced volatility.

Article Details

Jak cytować
Sadiq, M., Ahmad, M., Isah, M., Sani, B., & Singh, I. (2026). Understanding Drivers and Risks for Policy: A Comparative Assessment of Cassava Production Systems in Africa. Zeszyty Naukowe SGGW W Warszawie - Problemy Rolnictwa Światowego, 26(1), 35–54. https://doi.org/10.22630/PRS.2026.26.1.3
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