cassava Archives - IITA News

Farmers prefer locally bred CBSD-resistant cassava clones in DRC

The USAID-funded Action to Control Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD) in the Democratic Republic of Congo project, on 15 June, hosted a Participatory Varietal Selection (PVS) to evaluate the CBSD-tolerant cassava clones currently on trial. The PVS took place in the Ruzizi Plain, with farmers invited to participate. IITA is implementing the project in…

IITA partners in launch of Tanzania’s national cassava strategy

IITA and other cassava stakeholders came together for the official launch of the National Cassava Development Strategy by Tanzania’s Minister of Agriculture on 7 May in the country’s capital, Dodoma. IITA was also among the main sponsors and played a key role in organizing the event, which provided a forum for stakeholders to discuss how…

GIZ–GIAE and IITA target job creation and increased maize and cassava productivity in Nigeria

The Green Innovation Centre for the Agriculture and Food Sector Program (GIAE) – Nigeria is launching an 18-month project to boost maize and cassava production and create jobs for youth and women in the value chains. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) implements GIAE on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation…

Farmers recount the benefits of AKILIMO in cassava production

The outgrower farmers of Psaltry International Limited (PIL) have started experiencing the positive impact of the AKILIMO tools from the African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI). Multiple success stories have emerged in relation to the use of the tools. Farmers from Ado Awaye in Iseyin Local Government of Oyo State under the outgrower scheme of Psaltry…

NextGen Cassava project develops new gari product for consumers in Benue, Imo, and Osun states

Traditionally, the cassava mash used for gari production in Nigeria is left to ferment between 48 and 96 hours, depending on its quality. Thus, there is high variability in the sensory attributes and consumer acceptability of the gari Additionally, the fermentation process takes longer in some communities where highly sour gari is preferred, reducing the…

BASICS-II kicks off partnership to promote improved cassava varieties cultivation and consumption

SANO Foods Limited and IITA, through the Building an Economically Sustainable, Integrated Cassava Seed System, Phase 2 (BASICS-II) project, have embarked on a public-private sector partnership to promote the cultivation of improved cassava varieties and the consumption of locally processed products in Nigeria. The initiative recently kicked off with a “Joint public exhibition of fortified…

IITA takes the lead in agricultural transformation in DRC

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), IITA has continued to take a leading role in driving domestic agricultural transformation. Between 15 and 19 February, the Institute carried out multiple interventions to boost agriculture in the region. The Institute organized a regional capacity-building workshop on the management of aflatoxins under the auspices of the Integrated…

ACAI project: Upscaling cassava agronomy in Africa

IITA has commenced a new phase of the African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) project to increase the availability of appropriate and affordable technologies to sustainably improve cassava productivity in sub-Saharan Africa. The 5-year project, which is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will focus on five countries: DR Congo, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, and…

Gift supports Cornell’s Tanzanian cassava efforts

An anonymous gift of $2.65 million to support Cornell and partner research in Tanzania will improve distribution of new and more resistant varieties of cassava while empowering women and marginalized groups in the East African nation. Cassava is a fundamental staple and basis of food security for 500 million people across Africa and a major…

Food security and economic benefits of newly released cassava varieties

At the end of 2020, IITA’s cassava breeders collaborated with their research partners and released five new varieties. Their names, indicating their attributes to farmers, processors, and consumers, are Game-Changer, Hope, Obasanjo-2, Baba-70, and Poundable. In January 2021, scientists and breeders from IITA, Next Generation Cassava (NextGen), and the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) Umudike,…