This guide is the first on the practical application of FAO’s “Save and Grow” model of agriculture to specific smallholder crops and farming systems. It comes as cassava production intensificies worldwide, and growers shift from traditional cultivation practices to monocropping, higher-yielding genotypes, and greater use of agrochemicals.

Intensification carries great risks, including soil nutrient depletion and upsurges in pests and diseases. The guide shows how ecosystem-based “Save and Grow” approaches and practices can help tropical developing countries to avoid the risks of unsustainable intensification, while realizing cassava’s potential for producing higher yields, alleviating hunger and rural poverty, and contributing to national economic development.