Cassava: a basic food of Africa

Abstract

Although cassava is a staple crop for one-eighth of the world's population, it is virtually unknown outside the tropics. There, however, it is very important as a subsistence crop which can be relied on to produce a reasonable yield over a very wide range of climatic conditions. Since its foundation in 1967, IITA has devoted a great deal of effort to developing improved strains of the crop and better methods of cultivation and disease control.