PREFACE

Cassava was first introduced to the Africa continent, close to the mouth of the Congo River by Portuguese explorers and traders from Brazil, South America in the course of the 16^th and 17^th centuries. From there it was diffused by Africans, to many parts of sub-Saharan Africa over a period of two to three hundred years. In the course of its spreading across the continent, cassava has replaced traditional staples such as millet and yam, and has been successfully incorporated into many farming systems. It was initially adopted as a famine reserve crop as it provided a more reliable source of food during drought, locust attacks and the hungry season, the period before seasonal food crops are ready for harvesting.

At present, approximately half of the world production of cassava is in Africa where it is cultivated in around 40 countries, stretching through a wide belt from Madagascar in the southeast to Senegal and Cape Verde in the northwest. Approximately 75 percent of Africa's cassava output is harvested in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Tanzania and Mozambique. Cassava is grown by millions of poor African farmers, many of them women, often on marginal land. For these people, the crop is vital for both food security and income generation.

On the basis of current projections, it is expected that by 2020, over 60 percent of global cassava production will be in sub-Saharan Africa, where economic growth will be slow but population growth fast. Cassava, therefore, will be a favoured source of cheap carbohydrates in the countryside and will also continue to serve as a food security crop. Furthermore, as urbanization continues in the continent, more people in cities and towns will purchase their food rather than grow it themselves. This will continue to give small farmers a source of cash income from cassava; some of it will reach the market in a processed form. The resulting gain in poverty reduction and greater food security will depend in part on an integrated set of research and development outputs that include higher-yielding, pest-resistant varieties; improved crop management and integrated protection measures as well as processing equipment and procedures; better linkages among producers, processors, and consumers through capacity-building in market analysis and enterprise development; and improved policies that facilitate the development and adoption of these innovations.

The vision for cassava in Africa is that if the cassava food system is improved, it will enhance rural industrial development and raise incomes for producers, processors and traders. Cassava will contribute more to the food security status of its producing and consuming households, and will become an even more important cash crop that can promote rural development.

To achieve this vision, the Global Cassava Development Strategy was formulated with the participation of a large number of stakeholders and with support from FAO and IFAD. The essence of the Strategy is to use a demand/market-driven and commodity chain approach to promote and develop cassava-based industries with the assistance of a coalition of stakeholders including cassava producers and their organizations, governments and policy-makers, donors, technical and research institutions and their networks, NGOs and the private sector. The Strategy recognizes the need to support NEPAD's Pan-African Initiative, which is in support of the existing National and “Presidential” Initiatives, and public-private partnerships and multidonors' programmes on cassava in sub-Saharan Africa.

As a contribution to the development of the Global Cassava Strategy, IFAD's generous financial assistance supported the preparation of the Africa Regional Review on Cassava, the Country Case Studies on Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda and Bening, and the Report of the Africa Consultations on the Global Cassava Development Strategy. These were presented at the Validation Forum that was jointly organized by FAO and IFAD in FAO headquarters, Rome, April 2000.

The Crop and Grassland Service of the FAO Plant Production and Protection Division has compiled these documents and is now pleased to publish the Proceedings in order to disseminate the information to stakeholders, cassava producers and their organizations, governments and policy-makers, donors, technical and research institutions and their networks, NGOs and their networks, the private sector - as well as to scholars, experts and interested individuals.

It is hoped that this information will help to strengthen institutional and technical capacity in support of sustainable development and management of the cassava sub-sector, and value-added agro-enterprise enhancement, in order to contribute to increased food availability, poverty reduction, employment, better economic opportunities and wealth creation for improved livelihoods of the poor and vulnerable population of Africa.

Mahmoud B. Solh
Director
Plant Production and Protection Division
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The FAO Crop and Grassland Service would like to acknowledge the contribution of the following authors: Felix Nweke for the paper on cassava transformation in Africa; Dunstan Spencer and associates for the cassava overview on Africa; Adeoye Adeniji, Lawrence Ega, Malachy Akoroda, A.A. Adeniyi and Boniface Ugwu for the case study on Nigeria; Francis Ofori, E.V. Doku, Ramanatu Al-Hassan, J.J. Afuakwa, D. Pessey, R.K. Noamesi and W. Amoa-Amwuah for the case study on Ghana; Regina Kapinga, January Mafuru, Simon Jeremiah, Elizabeth Rwiza, Ruth Kamala, Fredrick Mashamba and Nicholas Mlingi for the case study on Tanzania; G.W. Otim-Nape, A. Bua, G. Ssemakula, G. Acola, Y. Baguma, S. Ogwal and R. Van der Grift for the case study on Uganda and N. Maroya, G. Houngnibo, C. Medenou, A. Lagbadohossou, S.F. Djogbenou, B. Soude and J. Monhouanou for the case study on Benin.

Felix Nweke, Adeoye Adeniji, Lawrence Ega, Boniface Ugwu, Malachy Akoroda, Francis Ofori, Regina Kapinga, January Mafuru, Simon Jeremiah, Elizabeth Rwiza, Otim-Nape, Anton Bua, Norbert Maroya and Adrianna Gabrielli are thanked for editing and Rita Ashton for preparing the camera-ready text.

Special acknowledgements are due to NeBambi Lutaladio (Agricultural Officer, Crop and Grassland Service, FAO) who has patiently coordinated, guided and made possible the release of this publication within the framework of the Global Cassava Development Strategy.

Eric A. Kueneman
Chief
Crop and Grassland Service
FAO Plant Production and Protection Division

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS