{"id":17008,"date":"2026-06-20T12:54:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:54:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/bill-gates-eulogizes-nextgen-cassava-research-in-africa\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T18:21:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T18:21:04","slug":"bill-gates-eulogizes-nextgen-cassava-research-in-africa","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/bill-gates-eulogizes-nextgen-cassava-research-in-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill Gates eulogizes NextGen cassava research in Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"The efforts of researchers working through the Next Generation Cassava Breeding (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nextgencassava.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Prochaine G\u00e9n\u00e9ration Manioc<\/a>)\u00a0project to significantly increase the rate of genetic improvement in cassava breeding and unlocking the full potential of Africa\u2019s most popular staple crop were applauded by Bill Gates, founder of the Bill &amp; Melinda\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.gatesfoundation.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gates Foundation<\/a>\u00a0in his\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gatesnotes.com\/development\/five-reasons-i-am-optimistic-about-africa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">blog<\/a>\u00a0this month.\n<div id=\"attachment_1895\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/DSC_9326_1024.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1895 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/DSC_9326_1024.jpg\" alt=\"Picture of Millions of African households depend on cassava for their livelihoods.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"577\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1895\" \/><\/a>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-1895\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Millions of African households depend on cassava for their livelihoods.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\nWhile sharing his five reasons for being optimistic about Africa, Gates said that the efforts of the researchers are helping to generate varieties that are both nutritious and high yielding. His blog in part reads\n\n\u201cIn the developed world, most people eat the root vegetable cassava only in tapioca pudding or bubble tea. But in Africa, it\u2019s the primary staple for half a billion people and the continent\u2019s most popular crop. That\u2019s why I\u2019m super excited that scientists are using the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.economist.com\/news\/science-and-technology\/21693184-annual-aaas-meeting-looked-immune-system-roman-portraits-and-genetic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">most advanced hybridization techniques<\/a>\u00a0for the benefit of cassava farmers and those who depend on the crop. With the support of UK Department for International Development and our foundation, scientists are making great progress developing hybrids that are resistant to the major virus that cuts down on cassava yields (cassava mosaic virus). At the same time, these scientists are breeding strains that have more nutrients than the strains under cultivation today\u201d.\n\nThe NextGen Cassava project uses genomics\u00a0to breed varieties that will respond positively to most of the \u201csensitivity\u201d issues exhibited by the crop in the region. Earlier last year,\u00a0<em>The Economist<\/em>\u00a0featured a\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.economist.com\/news\/science-and-technology\/21693184-annual-aaas-meeting-looked-immune-system-roman-portraits-and-genetic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rapport<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/egesi-chiedozie\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chiedozie Egesi<\/a>, IITA scientist and researcher at the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike, Nigeria, who leads the NextGen Cassava project. The report detailed some of the progress on the crop as highlighted during the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), in Washington, DC.\n\nNextGen is led by\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/ip.cals.cornell.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">International Programs in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences<\/a>\u00a0at Cornell University, in collaboration with IITA, NRCRI, the National Crops Resources Research Institute in Uganda, Tanzania\u2019s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries, the West African Centre for Crop Improvement in Ghana, Makerere University in Uganda, the Boyce Thompson Institute, USDA-ARS, and the US Department of Energy in the United States. The project is supported by the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK Department for International Development.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The efforts of researchers working through the Next Generation Cassava Breeding (NextGen Cassava) project to significantly increase the rate of genetic improvement in cassava breeding and unlocking the full potential of Africa\u2019s most popular staple crop were applauded by Bill Gates, founder of the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation in his blog this month.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":17009,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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