Cassava's huge potential as 21st century crop:
FAO offers sustainable farming model to meet increased demand
Rome: 'Save and Grow', an environment-friendly farming model promoted
by FAO, can sustainably increase cassava yields by up to 400 percent and
help turn this staple from a poor people's food into a 21st Century
crop, the FAO said last week.
In a newly-published field guide detailing Save and Grow's
application to cassava smallholder production, the FAO noted that global
cassava output has increased by 60 percent since 2000 and is set to
accelerate further over the current decade as policymakers recognise its
huge potential. But using the input-intensive approach pioneered during
last century's Green Revolution to boost cassava production risks
causing further damage to the natural resource base and increasing the
greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change.
The solution, the FAO said, lies in the 'Save and Grow' approach
which achieves higher yields with improved soil health rather than with
the heavy use of chemical inputs. 'Save and Grow' minimises soil
disturbance caused by conventional tillage such as ploughing, and
recommends maintaining a protective cover of vegetation over soil.
Instead of the monocropping normally seen in intensive farming
systems, 'Save and Grow' encourages mixed cropping and crop rotation,
and predicates integrated pest management, which uses disease-free
planting material and pests' natural enemies to keep harmful insects
down, instead of chemical pesticides.
Spectacular results
The approach has yielded spectacular results in trials organised in
Vietnam, where farmers using the improved technologies and practices
boosted cassava yields from 8.5 tonnes to 36 tonnes, an increase of more
than 400 percent.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, through training in the use of
healthy planting materials, mulching and intercropping, farmers
attending field schools achieved yield increases of up to 250 percent.
In Colombia, rotating cassava with beans and sorghum restored yields
where mineral fertiliser alone had failed.
Cassava is a highly versatile crop grown by smallholders in more than
100 countries. Its roots are rich in carbohydrates while its tender
leaves contain up to 25 percent protein, plus iron, calcium and vitamins
A and C. Other parts of the plant can be used as animal feed, and
livestock raised on cassava have good disease resistance and low
mortality rates.
One reason driving increased demand for cassava is the current high
level of cereal prices. This makes it an attractive alternative to wheat
and maize, particularly as cassava can be processed into a high-quality
flour than can partially substitute for wheat flour.
Food security
But, together with its importance as a source of food and food
security, cassava also has a range of industrial uses that give it huge
potential to spur rural industrial development and raise rural incomes.
Cassava is second only to maize as a source of starch and
recently-developed varieties produce root starch that will be highly
sought after by industries. The demand for cassava as a feedstock for
the manufacture of bioethanol is also growing rapidly.
Another important consideration is that of the major staple crops in
Africa, hardy, resilient cassava is expected to be the least affected by
advancing climate change.
With 'Save and Grow' developing countries can thus avoid the risks of
unsustainable intensification while realising cassava's potential for
producing higher yields, alleviating hunger and rural poverty and
contributing to national economic development.
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