2. Research efforts to increase cassava productivity
in Sub-Saharan Africa
Outline
• Cassava production and use in Nigeria
• IITA cassava breeding progress
• Closing the yield gap
• Future directions for biofuel research
P. Kulakow, R. Okechukwu, G. Tarawali, B. Maziya-Dixon,
A. G. O. Dixon, and C. Egesi

3. Introduction
• Most cassava in Africa is used for food purposes and
• Cassava has a key role in food security
• Cassava also important for income genetation for
farmers and processors
– Reliable markets in biofuels can contribute to farm income
• Cassava production in SSA faces many challenges
– disease and pests,
– limited access to improved varieties,
– sub-optimal production practices
– limited access to markets (transportation, quality, market
information, location of processors)

4. Introduction
• Increased business management of cassava
farms is needed to track costs and markets
• Development of the biofuel sector will
compete with other initiatives to
commercialize cassava production
– Starch
– Flour
– Glucose syrup
– Many factories operate well below capacity with
new processing facilities coming on-line. Many
processors operate at 30-50% capacity or less.

5. FAO and
RTEP
Estimates
of Cassava
Production
in Nigeria
2000-2009
Year
RTEP
Estimate
(Million MT)
Change
%
FAO
Estimate
(Million MT)
Change
%
2000 36.8 32.0
2001 37.9 3.1 32.1 0.2
2002 40.0 5.4 34.1 6.4
2003 40.7 1.7 36.3 6.4
2004 42.8 5.3 38.8 7.0
2005 45.7 6.8 41.6 7.0
2006 50.7 10.9 45.7 10.0
2007 49.1 -3.2 43.4 -5.1
2008 51.1 4.1 44.6 2.7
2009 52.0 1.8
Source: RTEP (Root and Tuber Expansion Program), compiled from 1. Annual Reports of
Central Bank of Nigeria, 1998, 2001, 2003 and 2005 2. RTEP, cassava production survey, 2007, 2008
and projections for 2009; and faostat.fao.org
RTEP estimates
average 13.5% higher
than FAO

6. Issues in cassava production estimates
• Accuracy of production estimates?
• What proportion of national cassava
production will be available for biofuel
feedstock?
• Opportunities for use of cassava for biofuels
will come from increased production and
excess supply over food security needs.

7. Yield Gap and Waste
• Development of the cassava biofuel industry
in SSA will need a reduction in the yield gap
between yield potential and the actual yields
realized by farmers.
• The cassava sector experiences significant
amounts of post-harvest waste. Waste
reduction and niche uses of waste for energy
are potential benefial applications of biofuels.
• Targeted investment to reduce and utiliize
post-harvest waste needed.

8. Most Cassava production in SSA is
utilized for food
• In Nigeria, greater than 70% of cassava
production is processed into garri by village
level processors – Chiedozie Egesi, NRCRI
• Per capita consumption of cassava is greater
than 200 kg/year in NC, SW, SE, and SS Nigeria

9. Selected Traditional
Cassava Processing
Methods
Flours
Chips
Fufu
Gari

10. Cassava Breeding
• Plant breeding has contributed to increased
productive potential of cassava.
• Research addressing production limiting factors will
continue to show progress.
• Benefits from genetic improvement will apply to
multiple uses including food, industrial applications
and biofuels.
• Time from hybridization to variety for cassava is
minimum of 8-12 years with opportunities for
fastrack releases in as little as 6 years.

11. Key targets for Cassava Breeding
1. Select durable resistance to critical diseases and
pests in Africa especially viruses
2. Enhance nutritional quality through development of
biofortified varieties
3. Produce stable high yields in variable environments
by improving local and broad adaptation through
abiotic stress tolerance.
4. Enhance adoption of improved varieties that
provide reliable root supplies with preferred end-use
quality characteristics.
– improved agronomic practices
– connected value chain

12. TME 419 TME 117
Cassava Mosaic Disease –
Selection and Diversifying Resistance
Cassava Diseases-Virus, Fungi, Bacteria

13. Cassava Brown
Streak Disease
CBSD
Leaf, Stem and
Root Symptoms

14. Ecosystem management of Cassava Pests:
Breeding to Enhance Bio-Control of Cassava Green Mite
 Predatory mite -- Typhlodromalus
aripo feeds on cassava green mite
 Introduced to Africa from Brazil
in 1993 for biological control of
cassava green mite
Mononychellus tanajoa
 Hairiness of apical leaves is
necessary for support biocontrol
agents

15. Abiotic Stress Tolerance – Stay Green
High leaf retention capacity five months after planting
increases fresh yield by 7 tonnes per ha

16. Muvazi, DRC
Lilongwe, Malawi
Ibadan, Nigeria
Cassava Processing
Centers
• Participatory Evaluation
• Technology Transfer and training
• Enterprise Development
• Linkage to Investors and Industry

17. Cassava Breeding Progress
from 1970 - 2003
• 581 elite genotypes cloned from 1970 to 2003
were evaluated between 1999/00 and
2006/07 growing seasons in 6 locations in
Nigeria.
• Regression of mean genotype values on year
of cloning shows change in average
performance of selected elite clones

18. FYLD increased by 83.9%
y = 0.0101x - 18.908
R2
= 0.3406
0.00
0.20
0.40
0.60
0.80
1.00
1.20
1.40
1.60
1.80
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000
Fresh Root Yield
Year of cloning
Meanlog(freshyield)
Genetic gain/year = 1.01%

19. DMC increased by 3.4%
y = 0.0006x + 0.332
R2
= 0.0146
1.20
1.25
1.30
1.35
1.40
1.45
1.50
1.55
1.60
1.65
1.70
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000
Dry Matter Content
Year of cloning
Meanlog(drymatterpercentage)
Genetic gain/year = 0.06%

20. CMD decreased by 30.8%
y = -0.0044x + 9.1817
R2
= 0.1741
0.25
0.30
0.35
0.40
0.45
0.50
0.55
0.60
0.65
0.70
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000
Cassava Mosaic Disease Severity
Year of cloning
Meanlog(CMDseverity)
Genetic gain/year = 0.44%

21. Progress in Cassava Breeding in SSA
CMD Fresh Root Dry Matter
Year of Cloning Severity Yield Content
(t/ha) (%)
1970 - 1980 2.00 ± 0.09 9.59 ± 0.56 33.71 ± 0.38
1981 - 1990 2.06 ± 0.07 14.00 ± 0.39 32.82 ± 0.49
1991 - 2002 1.38 ± 0.02 17.64 ± 0.22 34.87 ± 0.16

22. Cassava Breeding Progress
• 75 variety release events in
partnership between IITA
and NARS from 2006-2009
• Over 600 improved
genotypes available for
international distribution
• Advanced genotypes for
preferred end user quality
characteristics

23. Variety Identity and quality

24. Current Promising Products of Cassava Breeding

25. Promising Genotypes for Multiple Pest
Resistance, Yield, and Dry Matter – 2009/10
Clone
Mean CMD
Score Fresh Yield Dry Yield
Dry
Matter
t/ha t/ha %
07/0134 1.1 36.2 13.0 32.8
07/0299 1.0 33.2 7.1 24.5
07/1378 1.0 30.7 10.2 32.0
07/0045 1.0 30.6 9.7 31.5
07/0004 1.1 29.4 11.8 35.5
30572 (check) 3.2 24.2 5.9 23.8
Trial Mean 1.4 27.6 9.2 31.9

26. Deep yellow Yellow Cream White
Beta-carotene Enriched Cassava
Breeding target of 15 µg/g fresh weight
Increasing pro-Vitamin A content of
cassava using recurrent selection

27. Nigeria - National Cooperative Research Program
Vitamin A Biofortified Cassava Candidate Varieties for Release in 2011
Trials Coordinated by NRCRI
Clone
Mean
CMD
severity
Fresh
yield
Dry
matter
Total
carotene
beta-
carotene
score t/ha % μg/g frwt μg/g frwt
01/1368 2.9 21.4 28.0 6.1 4.4
01/1371 1.2 22.1 26.5 8.1 5.9
01/1412 1.0 29.6 29.0 6.4 4.3
30572 (chk) 2.8 21.0 38.0 0.6 0.4

28.
Mean CMD
Severity
Fresh
yield
Dry
yield
Dry
matter
Total
carotene
Genotype t/ha t/ha % ug/g frwt
07/0593 1.1 11.8 3.1 24.6 11.4
06/1635 1.2 10.0 2.4 22.3 9.1
07/0824 3.3 10.1 1.8 18.4 9.0
01/1368
(check) 2.7 16.5 3.9 22.4 8.2
07/0553 3.0 15.2 3.2 20.6 7.8
07/0539 1.1 12.0 2.5 19.0 7.7
01/1371
(check) 1.7 13.1 3.0 19.4 6.0
Trial Mean 2.0 10.3 2.2 19.9 7.2
Pipeline of Biofortified Yellow Root
Cassava Genotypes

29. Closing the Yield Gap
• Increased on-farm yield with improved value
chain linkages will benefit cassava uses for
food, industry and biofuels.

30. Farmer yields of improved and local
varieties by state in SS and SE Nigeria

31. Seven (7) project countries
- Central Africa: DR Congo
- East Africa: Tanzania
- West Africa: Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone
- Southern Africa: Malawi, Mozambique
Project Objective
Provide adequate supply of cassava
products at economically affordable
prices through availability of improved
cassava varieties, production processes
and farm gate processing
Unleashing the Power of Cassava in Africa
in response to the food price crisis - UPoCA

32. Extension leaflets
Each distributed to about 4000 farmersEach distributed to about 4000 farmers

33. 3333
Demonstration trials
Early plant developmentEarly plant development
Technologies:Technologies:
1.1. Spacing distance (0.8 x 1.0m)Spacing distance (0.8 x 1.0m)
2.2. Herbicides for weed controlHerbicides for weed control
3.3. FertilizerFertilizer
4.4. Local and Improved VarietyLocal and Improved Variety
5.5. Compare to local practicesCompare to local practices
6.6. 40 demonstrations established40 demonstrations established
Clustered around three starch factoriesClustered around three starch factories

34. Fertilizer
depot
Agro
chemicals
Weed Control Groups
Fertilizer plant in Ebonyi
State
Commercial Banks, Micro-credit SchemesCommercial Banks, Micro-credit Schemes
Linkages to service providers
Syngenta / Dizengoff

35. Farm Machinery

36. Priorities for Bioenergy Uses for Cassava
• Life-cycle assessments of biofuel technologies
– Energy balances
– Food security needs
– Environmental costs
• Identify appropriate targets for biofuel applications
– Waste minimization
– Targeted reliable markets for farmers
– Niche economic technologies
• Cogeneration using waste from processing facilities
• On-farm applications
• Larger scale applications utilizing excess productive capacity
• Capitalize on variation in cassava starch and sugar variability
– Apply genomics knowledge and integrated breeding platforms to
develop adapted varieties with specialized traits
• International and regional research networks on biofuels
– Most research investment should still target food and industrial uses of
cassava in SSA
– Shared research resources are more likely to yield advances