Cassava harvesting – once one of the most labour-intensive tasks in agriculture – may soon become a quick, efficient, and economically viable process thanks to an innovation from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
The TEK Mechanical Cassava Harvester (TEK MCH), developed under the leadership of Emmanuel Y. H. Bobobee, is a tractor-drawn implement that dramatically reduces the time, labour, and pain associated with cassava harvesting.
How it works & why it matters
- The device is attached to a tractor, and as the tractor moves, the implement loosens the soil, digs beneath the tuber cluster, and uproots the cassava roots – a process that used to take many minutes per plant manually. With TEK MCH, harvesting per cassava plant can take about one minute (or even less under optimal conditions).
- The harvester is versatile: beyond cassava, it can be used for other root or tuber crops (e.g. yam or sweet potato) -expanding its relevance in small-holder and commercial farming across sub-Saharan Africa.
- Field trials in multiple agro-ecological zones in Ghana showed that TEK MCH had significantly lower tuber damage compared to manual harvesting – for example, for the ‘Nkabom’ cassava variety on ridged landforms, mechanical harvesting achieved an average tuber damage of only ~9.9%.
- The method works best when cassava is planted in rows or on ridges – a condition that encourages uniform spacing and root clustering, which makes mechanical harvesting efficient.
Impact & Potential for Africa
The TEK harvester comes at a critical moment: Africa produces over half of the world’s cassava, but most harvesting is still manual – slow, labour-intensive, and limiting large-scale production.
Prof. Bobobee and his team argue that by adopting mechanised harvesting, African countries can transform cassava from a subsistence crop into an industrial, export-oriented commodity – boosting food security, creating jobs, and stimulating agro-industrial growth.
Moreover, mechanisation reduces the drudgery and physical strain on farmers – making cassava farming more attractive, especially to younger generations who otherwise avoid manual, back-breaking labour.
Conclusion
The TEK Mechanical Cassava Harvester isn’t just a machine – it represents a paradigm shift in how cassava is farmed in Africa. By drastically cutting down harvest time, reducing labour, and minimising root damage, TEK MCH has the potential to unlock cassava’s under-utilised economic value and contribute significantly toward sustainable agriculture, food security, and industrial development across the continent.
Adoption at scale – through government support, private investment, and farmer training – could make cassava farming a competitive, profitable, and climate-smart agricultural business for Ghana and beyond.