To Fraction Mukhori, 45, cassava served not just as a crop, but as the thread holding his family's livelihood together. Since 1999, the father of six from Maida Village in Traditional Authority Kapichi, in the southern district of Thyolo, in Malawi has depended on his half-hectare cassava field to feed his family, pay school fees, and make ends meet.

In an area where maize struggles to grow, cassava thrived—earning him as much as K600,000 ($343) last year alone. Khonjeni Extension Planning Area (EPA) became Thyolo’s heartbeat of cassava farming.

He sells groceries at a makeshift market known as Mphanje in the area. And to strangers, it was hard to tell where Mukhori’s real wealth came from. Unbeknownst to many, he had another economic venture far from the market—cassava farming.

But this year, the story has changed. His once-reliable source of income is withering in the fields. A wave of the devastating Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD) has struck, and for Mukhori and many others, hunger is no longer a fear—it's a growing reality.

Having been in cassava farming for nearly two decades, 45-year-old Norbert Msuza, a father of five, has developed a keen eye for spotting diseases in his fields. Msuza, from Group Village Headman Mulonda in Traditional Authority Mbawera under Thekerani EPA in the same district, said he first noticed yellowing cassava leaves and dark brown rot in the tubers late last year.

He traditionally cultivates and consumes fresh cassava and also processes it into dried flour known locally as Makaka and Makanya. From his one-hectare field, he typically earns over K300,000 (about $172) annually. However, Msuza is now devastated. Since the outbreak began, he says he has not received any advisory support, even as the disease continues to spread.

A swift crop assessment in Thyolo District has uncovered a worrying outbreak of the disease, a highly destructive viral infection threatening the food and economic security of nearly 1,900 farmers across six (EPAs).

The assessment, conducted in July 2025 by the district agricultural authorities in conjunction with the Bvumbwe Research Station, reveals that 288.1 hectares of cassava have been affected, with Thekerani and Dwale EPAs identified as the hardest-hit areas.

Thyolo District Commissioner Hudson Kuphanga describes the situation as alarming.

“We are looking at a potential cassava disaster. Thekerani alone has 844 farmers affected and Dwale has 746. If we don’t act swiftly, the disease could wipe out cassava fields across the entire district,” Kuphanga warned.

The District Commissioner has since urged farmers to uproot and destroy infected crops, use clean planting materials, and adopt Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to control the spread of white-flies, the insect vectors that transmit the disease.

What Is Cassava Brown Streak Disease?

The CBSD is known for its devastating symptoms: yellowing or chlorosis of leaves, die-back of stems, brown streaks or lesions, and dark brown rot in cassava tubers—often leaving the roots inedible and destroying market value.

The disease not only poses a threat to food security but also affects the livelihoods of smallholder farmers who rely heavily on cassava as a staple and cash crop.

Thyolo District Council Chairperson of the Agriculture Services Committee, George Matiya attests that "the disease is significantly reducing both the yield and quality of cassava roots, putting farmers’ incomes at risk".

Mulanje Also at Risk

Alarmingly, signs of the disease have also been spotted in neighboring Mulanje District, sparking fears of a regional outbreak.

Blessings Fadwick Khajawu, a 61-year-old farmer from Chigwembere Village, Traditional Authority Chikumbu in Mulanje District, shares the predicament. Cassava has been more than just a crop—it has been a lifeline. Since venturing into cassava farming in 2004 under the Boma EPA's Zipangani section, Khajawu has relied on the crop to support his household.

But with a recent outbreak of a suspected cassava disease, all that is now under threat. 

“We need the government to act quickly,” urges Khajawu. “There should be extensive research and immediate pesticide interventions to save us before it’s too late.”

He believes that the time has come for authorities to go beyond temporary fixes and instead supply farmers with clean, disease-resistant varieties. He also emphasizes the need to work closely with lead farmers through advisory services to curb the spread of the disease.

Before the outbreak, Khajawu cultivated one hectare of cassava using local varieties popularly known as Gado, Manyokola, Akazimwawapedza, and Pwapwa. He proudly recalls harvesting bumper yields that sustained his family and provided income through sales.

“We used to sell cassava and buy maize, our staple food,” he explains. “In Mulanje, most families can’t grow enough maize due to limited land, so cassava was our safety net,” he said.

Now, with the disease threatening their main source of livelihood, Khajawu joins Mukhori, Msuza and hundreds of the farmers in calling for urgent and sustained action to rescue cassava farming in the districts.

The Mulanje District Director of Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources, Osmund Chapotoka, confirms that the disease has been detected in three Extension Planning Areas (EPAs) of Milonde, Msikawanjala and Boma. He states that the assessment is still underway.

Like Thyolo district authorities, Chapotoka advises the farmers to uproot affected plants to prevent further spread, noting that symptoms include black and rotten tubers, as well as yellowing leaves. 

He suspects the disease may have been transmitted from Mozambique, given the border location of the affected areas.

Extension Services Key to Containment

Renowned agricultural analyst Gresham Kamnyamata says the current outbreak should serve as a wake-up call for both farmers and policymakers.

“We are urging all cassava growers to embrace better crop husbandry and immediately seek guidance from extension officers. Prevention and early intervention are critical,” Kamnyamata said.

Another food and agriculture expert Ronald Chilumpha urges the farmers to avoid using affected cuttings for the new fields to avert further spreading of the disease.

Chilumpha observes: "Using infected cuttings only fuels the spread of this devastating disease," said Chilumpha. "Farmers must prioritize clean planting materials to protect their future harvests."

The spread of the CBSD across districts could jeopardize national efforts in promoting cassava as a food security crop and a source of economic empowerment in southern Malawi.

Meanwhile,  according to presentation on Research Towards the Control of the Cassava Whitefly by Dr. David Hughes of PlantVillage and Dr. Everlyne Wosula of IITA, biological control of whiteflies which involves using natural enemies (like predators or parasites) of white-flies to manage their populations. 

While the ResearchGate's (Early Detection of Plant Virus Infection Using Multispectral Imaging and Machine Learning) guide, noted that integrated use of bio-technologies, backed by government policies and farmer training, can help to eradicate the disease. 

These include digital agriculture and disease surveillance tools, farmer participatory breeding and community seed systems, early detection using portable diagnostics, biological control of white-flies, virus-free tissue culture propagation, genetically modified (GM) cassava, and molecular breeding and marker-assisted selection (MAS).

The Call for Action

With thousands of livelihoods on the line, authorities and experts are calling for: rapid response teams to identify and destroy infected crops, public awareness campaigns to educate farmers, increased distribution of clean cassava planting materials, and investment in disease-resistant cassava varieties.

Unless immediate and coordinated efforts are made, Malawi risks losing a critical food source—at a time when food security challenges are already on the rise.

“This is more than just a farming issue; it’s a community crisis in the making. What’s happening is that, as you may know, people in Thyolo didn’t harvest enough maize this year, so many were relying on cassava. But with this disease outbreak, the cassava harvest will also be lower—it’s going to be a terrible situation,” worried Kuphanga, Thyolo District Commissioner.

This must not mirror the fate of banana farming in Thyolo, whose glory faded a decade ago when the Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) devastated approximately 4,031 hectares of banana plantations.