For most Africans, cassava is grown to be eaten. Though low in protein, its bulky tubers are rich in carbohydrates. Pound for pound, cassava packs more than two and a half times as many calories like maize or yam, Africa’s next two most important staple foods. Its young shoots and leaves are good to eat—high in vitamins, minerals, and proteins.
One big factor contributing to the importance of cassava is that it is so easy to grow. No extensive land preparation is required, other than removing shrubs and vines and making sure that there is some sunlight. When the soil is moist, the farmer plants stem cuttings from which the cassava will grow. It doesn’t require a lot of weeding, and it needs little or no fertilizer, fungicide, or insecticide. It also can be harvested at any time of the year.
Cassava is amazingly hardy. It grows well in good soil and in poor. It thrives from sea level up to altitudes of 6,500 feet [2,000 m]. It flourishes in areas of heavy rainfall, but it is also fruitful in climates where there is no rain for nine months of the year. Even if a fire should burn it to the ground, cassava sprouts afresh from its base! So from the time it is planted until the harvest, cassava is relatively labor-free.
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