Improved cassava varieties developed by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and tested in Ethiopia –one of the countries in the Horn of Africa—have high prospects of tackling the menace of seasonal bouts of famine in that region.
Under good conditions in Ethiopia, cassava’s yield performance showed high potential of 25 tons per hectare to more than 40 tons per hectare, although current farmer yields are often well below these levels, according to preliminary trials.
“These results reinforce the fact that cassava can be grown, and can provide food security in that part of the continent. More importantly, hence the region is drought prone, growing cassava is one of the best options,” said Dr Pheneas.
Ntawuruhunga, IITA Cassava Breeder, who carried some studies in that region in collaboration with the national program.
Consumed by more than 600 million people in the developing countries mostly for its high carbohydrate content, cassava is resistant to drought and tolerant of biotic and abiotic stresses such as low soil fertility. These characteristics make cassava an alternative for a region that highly relies on cereals and legumes.
The Ethiopian government realized the importance of cassava and attention has been given to cassava production intensification and promotion.
“Cassava is now on top of the agenda of the government as a food security crop. And I must say that IITA contributed significantly to this development,” according to Dr. Solomon Assefa, the Director General of the Ethiopian Institute of Agriculture Research.
But from Assefa’s point of view, more research is needed to maximize the full potential of the root crop.
In 2000, through the former Eastern Africa Root Crops Research Network (EARRNT) in collaboration with the Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization /Southern Agricultural Research Institute (EARO/SARI), IITA introduced, first, 117 clones from Nigeria.
Out of these, 42 genotypes reached the preliminary yield trial by 2007. Another set of 46 clones resistant to cassava mosaic disease (CMD) was introduced in 2005 from EARRNET coordination through Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services (KEPHIS). “Six clones were advanced directly into multi-locations trial in six locations and their performance was very good whilst the rest were evaluated at Awasa Research Centre,” explained Dr Ntawuruhunga.
According to him, two clones (44/72 Red and 104 Nigeria Red) introduced from Nigeria in the 1990s were officially released and being promoted through multiplication in collaboration with nongovernmental organisations and private companies.
But since the end of EARRNET in 2007, Dr Ntawuruhunga said this collaboration ceased and no information has been collected from that country.
To move cassava forward, Drs. Assefa and Ntawuruhunga noted that additional efforts are needed to multiply, distribute the selected varieties, and scale up through participatory mechanisms along the value chain.
“Because of the increasing dem and for cassava, there is a need to strengthen research. Apart from breeding new varieties, we also need to underst and the agronomic practices associated with the crop,” Assefa concluded.
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For information, please contact:
Godwin Atser, g.atser@cgiar.org
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