Reuters - USA; JAKARTA, Jan 30, 2009 - Indonesia's government is planning to pay a subsidy to biofuel producers starting this year to encourage them to remain in the business and promote widespread use of the alternative energy source, an energy ministry official said on Friday.
The government wants to make the use of biofuel mandatory from this year to ensure the survival of the fledgling industry, an aim made more urgent since biofuel became more expensive than crude oil-based fuel after oil prices dived more than 70 percent from their peak in July last year.
"We will only pay the subsidy if biofuel prices are higher than crude oil-based fuels," Evita Legowo, director general of oil and gas at the energy ministry told Reuters.
Under the plan, if prices of biofuel products are higher than crude oil-based fuels, the government will pay subsidy of 1,000 rupiah ($0.08) per litre on average.
"At the moment, palm-based biodiesel is more expensive than crude oil-based diesel, but prices of bioethanol are not," Legowo said.
Bioethanol is made using both cassava and cane molasses.
Palm biofuel and bioethanol compete with cheap domestic petrol diesel in Indonesia, one of the lowest priced in Asia because of generous government subsidies.
Palm-based biodiesel prices were around 5,800 rupiah per litre on Friday, or about 1,500 rupiah higher than diesel, said Paulus Tjakrawan, secretary general of Indoesian Biofuel Producers Association.
State run PT Pertamina, which sells subsidised fuel products, is estimated to blend 194,444 kilo litres of bioethanol and 580,025 kiloliters of palm-based biodiesel in 2009, a government document showed.
Jan 23, 2009
Imo Poly develops highyield cassava stems
Written by Chidi Nkwopara Vanguard Online, Lagos, Nigeria,, Friday, 23 January 2009
Owerri—The management of Imo State Polytechnic, Umuagwo, Ohaji/Egbema local government area of Imo State, yesterday said that the institution has developed about 43 varieties of high yielding cassava stems for use by farmers in the state. The institution’s Rector, Dr. Anderson Amadioha, who stated in an interview with newsmen, also said that this development was part of the school administration’s commitment to the attainment of food sufficiency and food security in the state.
“We have developed about 43 varieties of high yielding cassava stems for use by farmers. This is part of our commitment to the attainment of food sufficiency and security, creation of wealth for farmers, as well as improving the revenue base of the state”, Amadioha said.
Fielding questions from newsmen, the Rector said that the varieties include those specially developed for pelleting with the aim of exporting them and another for starch production.
“The variety for starch production is aimed at meeting the federal government directive that 10 percent of flour for bread production should come from cassava starch. We also have a variety for garri production”, the Rector explained.
Dr. Amadioha also said that the school is taking time to properly educate farmers on the varieties, pointing out that Imo State Polytechnic has witnessed tremendous transformation since he came on board in 2005.
“Prior to my assumption of office, none of the courses run in the school was accredited by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE). All our science based courses have been cleared and about April, NBTE will come for the accreditation of the Business courses”, Amadioha said.
He assured that the school management has put everything in place in readiness for the next visit of the NBTE accreditation team, with a view to ensure that everything is successful.
Owerri—The management of Imo State Polytechnic, Umuagwo, Ohaji/Egbema local government area of Imo State, yesterday said that the institution has developed about 43 varieties of high yielding cassava stems for use by farmers in the state. The institution’s Rector, Dr. Anderson Amadioha, who stated in an interview with newsmen, also said that this development was part of the school administration’s commitment to the attainment of food sufficiency and food security in the state.
“We have developed about 43 varieties of high yielding cassava stems for use by farmers. This is part of our commitment to the attainment of food sufficiency and security, creation of wealth for farmers, as well as improving the revenue base of the state”, Amadioha said.
Fielding questions from newsmen, the Rector said that the varieties include those specially developed for pelleting with the aim of exporting them and another for starch production.
“The variety for starch production is aimed at meeting the federal government directive that 10 percent of flour for bread production should come from cassava starch. We also have a variety for garri production”, the Rector explained.
Dr. Amadioha also said that the school is taking time to properly educate farmers on the varieties, pointing out that Imo State Polytechnic has witnessed tremendous transformation since he came on board in 2005.
“Prior to my assumption of office, none of the courses run in the school was accredited by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE). All our science based courses have been cleared and about April, NBTE will come for the accreditation of the Business courses”, Amadioha said.
He assured that the school management has put everything in place in readiness for the next visit of the NBTE accreditation team, with a view to ensure that everything is successful.
Jan 21, 2009
Nigeria, China sign agreement on cassava
Daily Triumph - Kano,Nigeria-Nigeria Jan. 21, 2009
(Cassava News) Nigeria and China have signed a multi-billion naira technical cooperation agreement on the development of cassava in Nigeria, Mr James Awoniyi, an agronomist, has announced. He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja that the agreement, tagged: ``Nigerian/Chinese Centre (NC3)'' was aimed at assisting Nigeria develop its cassava value chain.
Awoniyi said the five-year agreement, under the Private-Public-Partnership (PPP) initiative, was also targeted at the development of cassava plantations and creating employment opportunities for Nigerians.``It is estimated that more than 80 per cent of cassava in Nigeria is wasted in production and post-harvest activities. ``To save the future of the crop, there is need for improvement in its value chain through increased yield, processing and marketing,’’ he said.
Awoniyi said that under the agreement, cassava resource institutes would be established in all the cassava producing areas of the country, where problems militating against the development of the crop would be attended to.
(Cassava News) Nigeria and China have signed a multi-billion naira technical cooperation agreement on the development of cassava in Nigeria, Mr James Awoniyi, an agronomist, has announced. He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja that the agreement, tagged: ``Nigerian/Chinese Centre (NC3)'' was aimed at assisting Nigeria develop its cassava value chain.
Awoniyi said the five-year agreement, under the Private-Public-Partnership (PPP) initiative, was also targeted at the development of cassava plantations and creating employment opportunities for Nigerians.``It is estimated that more than 80 per cent of cassava in Nigeria is wasted in production and post-harvest activities. ``To save the future of the crop, there is need for improvement in its value chain through increased yield, processing and marketing,’’ he said.
Awoniyi said that under the agreement, cassava resource institutes would be established in all the cassava producing areas of the country, where problems militating against the development of the crop would be attended to.
IITA's purported relocation
Guardian Newspapers January 21, 2009
Sir: I read the story "IITA Relieves 50 of Jobs, May Relocate" (The Guardian, Sunday, 18 January, 2009), with apprehension. Although the story carried some denials of any relocation plan, my immediate reaction is to use this medium to send an appeal to President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua to wade into the matter and use his good offices to prevent any relocation plan.
One of the problems facing IITA, it was reported, has to do with paucity of funds, which has forced the organization to embark on massive retrenchment of its staff. The motivation for relocation was not explicitly stated. Whatever it is, it cannot be in Nigeria's interest for the highly resourceful International Institute for Tropical Agriculture to quit the country. IITA has contributed immensely to agricultural development in Nigeria, though its mandate covers many countries in the tropical zone.
Nigeria has been the immediate beneficiary of IITA's research findings and innovations over the years. The institute has developed a series of high-yielding, disease-resistant staple crops like maize and cassava, among others, to make agro-business more lucrative and hasten the journey towards food security in Nigeria.
Its sturdy cassava, for instance, takes only six months to mature. It has developed bio-gas systems for cooking and large scale and efficient palm-oil processor, among several other innovations that Nigerian farmers are enjoying today. Of course, we cannot quantify its contributions to capacity building in terms of best practices in the field of agriculture._
All these aside, it does not send the right signal to the international community, who may not have details of the justification for the planned relocation of IITA, about Nigeria's hospitality and, in fact, seriousness in promoting its status as a regional leader and major player in the global arena. Not at this time when we want a permanent seat in the Security Council. A requirement for that seat is a proven commitment to regional and global leadership.
I, therefore, wish to earnestly and urgently urge President Yar'Adua to get to the root of this relocation story and use Nigeria's diplomatic clout to stop it. If funding is IITA's problem, the president should use his good offices to source funds for the organization locally and externally. If local funding is requested, I shall contribute my quota to it, and I believe there are many public-spirited Nigerians - both individual and corporate - who would gladly do more than I could.
As someone raised in Ibadan, IITA's location, the much I know about IITA is that it is a cost-effective organization, which gives me no worries about security cum utilization of its funds. We must not lose IITA, especially given its capacity to assist us in realizing the goals of agriculture as embedded in the Yar'Adua administration's Seven-Point Agenda.
Femi Meyungbe-Olufunmilade
Okada, Edo State.
Sir: I read the story "IITA Relieves 50 of Jobs, May Relocate" (The Guardian, Sunday, 18 January, 2009), with apprehension. Although the story carried some denials of any relocation plan, my immediate reaction is to use this medium to send an appeal to President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua to wade into the matter and use his good offices to prevent any relocation plan.
One of the problems facing IITA, it was reported, has to do with paucity of funds, which has forced the organization to embark on massive retrenchment of its staff. The motivation for relocation was not explicitly stated. Whatever it is, it cannot be in Nigeria's interest for the highly resourceful International Institute for Tropical Agriculture to quit the country. IITA has contributed immensely to agricultural development in Nigeria, though its mandate covers many countries in the tropical zone.
Nigeria has been the immediate beneficiary of IITA's research findings and innovations over the years. The institute has developed a series of high-yielding, disease-resistant staple crops like maize and cassava, among others, to make agro-business more lucrative and hasten the journey towards food security in Nigeria.
Its sturdy cassava, for instance, takes only six months to mature. It has developed bio-gas systems for cooking and large scale and efficient palm-oil processor, among several other innovations that Nigerian farmers are enjoying today. Of course, we cannot quantify its contributions to capacity building in terms of best practices in the field of agriculture._
All these aside, it does not send the right signal to the international community, who may not have details of the justification for the planned relocation of IITA, about Nigeria's hospitality and, in fact, seriousness in promoting its status as a regional leader and major player in the global arena. Not at this time when we want a permanent seat in the Security Council. A requirement for that seat is a proven commitment to regional and global leadership.
I, therefore, wish to earnestly and urgently urge President Yar'Adua to get to the root of this relocation story and use Nigeria's diplomatic clout to stop it. If funding is IITA's problem, the president should use his good offices to source funds for the organization locally and externally. If local funding is requested, I shall contribute my quota to it, and I believe there are many public-spirited Nigerians - both individual and corporate - who would gladly do more than I could.
As someone raised in Ibadan, IITA's location, the much I know about IITA is that it is a cost-effective organization, which gives me no worries about security cum utilization of its funds. We must not lose IITA, especially given its capacity to assist us in realizing the goals of agriculture as embedded in the Yar'Adua administration's Seven-Point Agenda.
Femi Meyungbe-Olufunmilade
Okada, Edo State.
Jan 20, 2009
Gov't, WFP: Northeastern Uganda faces acute food crisis
Xinhua - China, Jan 16, 2009
KAMPALA- The Ugandan government and the UN World Food Program (WFP) on Friday announced that the northeastern part of the country is facing an acute food crisis that is likely to slip into famine if no urgent action is taken.
Musa Ecweru, minister of state for disaster preparedness and relief, told reporters here that the situation is severe following massive crop failure and warned that the acute malnutrition levels are close to emergency.
"When you reach Karamoja (northeastern region) you will see cases of malnutrition, the elderly are in dire need of support," he said flanked by Stanlake Samkange, WFP country director.
The food crisis in the region has been escalating for years and was heightened by the 2007 floods and a severe drought which destroyed all the crops, putting over 970,000 people at risk of starvation.
Ecweru announced that government and WFP will in the first week of February unveil a 64 million U.S. dollar emergency response package that will be used to purchase 89,000 metric tonnes of food.
Editor: Zhang Xiang
KAMPALA- The Ugandan government and the UN World Food Program (WFP) on Friday announced that the northeastern part of the country is facing an acute food crisis that is likely to slip into famine if no urgent action is taken.
Musa Ecweru, minister of state for disaster preparedness and relief, told reporters here that the situation is severe following massive crop failure and warned that the acute malnutrition levels are close to emergency.
"When you reach Karamoja (northeastern region) you will see cases of malnutrition, the elderly are in dire need of support," he said flanked by Stanlake Samkange, WFP country director.
The food crisis in the region has been escalating for years and was heightened by the 2007 floods and a severe drought which destroyed all the crops, putting over 970,000 people at risk of starvation.
Ecweru announced that government and WFP will in the first week of February unveil a 64 million U.S. dollar emergency response package that will be used to purchase 89,000 metric tonnes of food.
Editor: Zhang Xiang
Jan 16, 2009
Cassava exports stuck at Chinese border
Viet Nam News 16-01-2009. More than 2,000 tonnes of cassava starch is stuck at Chi Ma Border Gate in northern Lang Son Province after Chinese firms were reported to have called a temporarily halt to their imports without notifying their Vietnamese partners. — VNA/VNS Photo Song Toan
LANG SON — More than 2,000 tonnes of cassava starch transported to the Chi Ma Border Gate in Lang Son Province for export to China two months ago is still stuck at the border.
Export enterprises and the cassava growers are becoming increasingly concerned about the losses they will incur.
In the middle of last November, some 40 lorries carrying 2,160 tonnes of cassava starch from five enterprises arrived at the border and began the long wait for the completion of export procedures. At no time were the managers of these enterprises informed that their Chinese partners had temporarily stopped importing the product.
"I am greatly worried, and so are the other enterprise managers," said Ngo Thi Lien, vice director of An Phu Company in Lang Son Province. Her company now has 800 tonnes of cassava starch stuck at customs.
Chinese partners have remained evasive for the reason of the import halt, according to Tran Xuan Thuong, vice-head of the Chi Ma Customs Branch.
Le Minh Thanh, director of the province’s Department of Industry and Trade, said the reason for the border hold-up might be controls on food hygiene and safety.
China’s Border Gate responded to Vietnamese enterprises that the goods could be imported if they accepted exporting them as ingredients for industrial production, said Thuong.
"The price of cassava starch for industrial production is much lower than for food processing, that is why enterprises do not agree," according to Thuong.
All they can do now is wait, according to Thuong.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese enterprises are bearing the high costs for the storage and parking at the border.
Lien said the price for parking lorries was VND500,000 (US$28.5) per day. For the past two months, the five companies had had to pay about VND200 million ($11,400) for parking fees alone.
"We have to hire labourers to look after the goods, and rains have made the cassava starch mouldy," said Lien.
Enterprises cannot return the goods because they have already finished customs clearance procedures or are in the waiting for them to be finished.
Meanwhile, Nghiem Duc Thuan, vice director of Dak Lak Agricultural Food and Materials Company, said the difficulties the company would be facing were huge, adding that in Tay Ninh, some 20 out of 40 enterprises operating in cassava starch production had closed.
The price of cassava has sharply decreased, making growers hesitant to sell. More than two months ago, the price was VND7,000 per kg, now it is only VND3,000.
Pham Van Phai, from Tran Yen District of Yen Bai Province, who has a 2ha cassava plantation, has left the whole plantation unharvested.
"We are still waiting for the price to come up. If it does not, then I am broke," said Phai.
Last year, he earned VND40 million ($2,200) from selling cassava.
"The situation is unprecedented," said Duong Van Dam, a cassava trader in Yen Bai Province.
Experts’ opinions
A broad look at the situation showed that the crisis was caused by short-sightedness and short-term thinking, said Nguyen Tri Ngoc, head of the Department of Cultivation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).
He said MARD’s plan for cultivation development to 2020 had suggested farmers not to further increase the area of cassava plantations, but to maintain the total area of cassava cultivation at 400,000ha.
Ngoc said that farmers, as well as enterprises, chased short-term profits and grew more cassava than detailed in the general plan.
Currently, the country has more than 420,000ha of cassava.
The major market for exporting cassava starch is China, according to Nghiem Duc Thuan, vice-director of Dak Lak Agricultural Food and Materials Company.
"My company only exports to China, and has no other consumption market. When this market closes, the company will be broke," said Nguyen Thi Kim, director of Quang Phat Company in Lang Son Province.
Le Khac Triet, acting chairman of the Viet Nam Association of Rural Industries Small-and Medium-sized Enterprises (VARISME), proposed the establishment of an association for the cassava industry so that it could act as the representative to protect the rights of enterprises in such cases.
By now, the amount of cassava starch is still at the custom border gate. Enterprises can only wait. — VNS
IN DEPTH: Cassava's link to iodine deficiency requires further study
By Adelia Saunders, MediaGlobal Corresondent in Paris
15 January 2009 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: It has been called King Cassava, but with roots that resemble long hairy potatoes, naturally-occurring toxins that can sicken unwitting consumers, and a reputation for under-appreciation, cassava is perhaps best described as the frog prince of agricultural development.
What this hardy crop lacks in glamour, it makes up for in sheer usefulness, and in a time of widespread food shortages, its calorie-rich roots are considered a key to global food security. But some scientists worry that cassava’s growing popularity could lead to increases in iodine deficiency, a micronutrient shortage that the World Health Organization (WHO) calls the world’s leading cause of mental retardation.
Cassava’s popularity is on the rise, particularly in Africa, where production has tripled in the past 20 years. “Cassava is being transformed—not only as a food security crop. It is becoming a cash crop,” NeBambi Lutaladio, the Roots and Tubers Specialist at the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) headquarters in Rome, told MediaGlobal. “You see places like Ghana and Nigeria—cassava production is increasing dramatically, because you have all these small entrepreneurs in the rural areas processing cassava and being able to provide to the domestic and regional market.”
While it drives rural development, cassava is rarely traded internationally. This makes it immune to the kind of market fluctuations that sent prices of wheat and corn skyrocketing last year, Lutaladio said. Countries that currently depend on imported grain are taking note, and some governments are encouraging farmers to plant more cassava.
“[It’s] a growing industry,” Dr. Robert Asiedu, Director of Research for Development at Nigeria’s International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), said in an interview with MediaGlobal. “Over the past few years it has been transforming from a crop that is known as a poor man’s food into a crop that provides a lot of food for the urban population.”
Nearly a billion people around the world rely on cassava as a dietary staple, and in Africa, only maize provides more calories. Exceptionally productive, it can be harvested year-round, weathers drought and requires little fertilizer—it’s own nutrient-rich leaves fertilize the soil as they drop. When the leaves and roots are eaten together, cassava provides balanced nutrition and a range of vitamins.
But cassava roots also contain varying amounts of cyanide, a potent poison. Most of the toxins can be eliminated though proper processing, but “whichever method of detoxification is used, it is difficult to remove the last traces of cyanide from the cassava root, especially from the bitter, high cyanide varieties,” Stephanie Gallat, a post-harvest management officer at the FAO’s Rural Infrastructure and Agro-Industries Division, told MediaGlobal. The body is able to detoxify the remaining traces of cyanide during digestion, but as they break down, a goitrogenic compound called thiocyanate is produced. This compound is known to limit the thyroid gland’s ability to store and process iodine.
Without iodine, the thyroid is unable to regulate important metabolic processes in adults and trigger key stages of fetal and infant development. Children born to even moderately iodine-deficient mothers risk irreversible brain damage and physical stunting. One study found that the mean IQ of iodine deficient communities was a full 13.5 points lower than that of their iodine-sufficient neighbors.
Goitrogens are so called because by blocking iodine absorption, they encourage the development goiter, the bulbous swelling of the thyroid gland that is the most visible sign of iodine deficiency. Cassava is by no means the only goitrogenic food—lima beans, almonds and bamboo shoots have similar properties, but they are rarely eaten consistently enough or in large enough amounts to pose a health risk, whereas many people eat cassava for several meals a day. And the bulk of cassava consumers live in the world’s poorest countries, where iodine deficiency is highest.
Cassava is prized for its hardiness, but it is the times when its stamina matters most that eating it is most likely to become hazardous. Cassava is often the only crop to survive a drought, but cyanide levels in its roots rise considerably in dry conditions, doubling the toxin levels that remain in processed cassava flour. The high cyanide content can lead to far more immediate effects than iodine deficiency, such as the neurological disorder konzo, which causes irreversible paralysis of the legs. High-cyanide cassava was blamed for a konzo outbreak during a 2005 drought in Mozambique.
Detoxifying cassava usually requires several days of grating, pressing and drying, and in times of war or famine refugee populations may have no choice but to eat the roots before they have been fully treated. “[If] the people are under pressure because they are moving from place to place, they are not able to process cassava the way they normally do,” Asiedu, the IITA scientist, said, noting that ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo has made proper detoxification difficult or impossible for many people. During the country’s prolonged civil war, thousands have been paralyzed by konzo after eating unprocessed cassava.
But Asiedu noted that, under normal conditions, people who are familiar with the crop know how to process correctly. “We have, over the years, analyzed this in a lot of detail and come up with the conclusion that if people use the cassava in the way that they normally do, and use the right varieties of cassava, you will not have this problem at all,” he said.
But as cassava spreads to new regions, the knowledge of proper processing techniques needs to come with it. “If the people get the right kind of varieties and the right kind of knowledge in handling it, there is no problem at all, even though it may be a new crop in the area,” Asiedu said. The IITA, FAO and other research organizations have spent years developing varieties with lower cyanide content, as well as processing techniques that make the crop both safer and more profitable.
Even after most of the plant’s toxins have been removed, the traces of cyanide that are left are known to have a harmful effect on the thyroid function of severely iodine-deficient populations. But most experts, including Annika Wennberg of the FAO’s Nutrition and Consumer Protection Division, are confident that eating detoxified cassava poses no threat to those who were well-iodized to begin with. “The effect on the thyroid gland is likely only in the case of pre-existing iodine deficiency,” she told MediaGlobal.
It is cassava’s impact on the populations in between—communities whose diet is low in iodine but who do not show a high enough incidence of goiter to alert health workers to iodine deficiency—that worries some researchers.
“Clearly, there are health consequences of relying on cassava as a staple food in areas where there is coexisting iodine deficiency,” Gallat said, but she added that “more research needs to be conducted into the link between cassava consumption and iodine deficiency.” Scientists still aren’t sure how much cassava it takes to alter thyroid function, and little is known about what happens when people who are only slightly iodine deficient start eating more cassava.
The point is hardly academic. Forty percent of Africans rely on cassava as a major source of calories. Forty-two percent do not get enough iodine.
“If cassava consumption is going to be encouraged and it’s going to be done in areas where iodine supply in marginal, then I think [the relationship] should be better appreciated,” Dr. Michael Zimmermann, a senior scientist at the Laboratory for Human Nutrition at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, said in an interview with MediaGlobal.
What information does exist may be out of date. Zimmerman observed that much of what is known about cassava’s role in iodine deficiency comes from a few studies conducted in central Africa in the 1970s and ’80s.
“It would be nice to see in a study of mild to moderate iodine deficiency if chronic daily high levels of consumption of cassava would make a difference in terms of thyroid function,” Zimmerman said. “That hasn’t been done.”
In any case, “ensuring adequate iodine intake in vulnerable communities appears to be a key intervention in preventing the occurrence of goiter related to cassava consumption,” Gallat noted.
Public health officials have known just how to do this for nearly a century. “The most effective way to deliver iodine to every human being every day in exactly the right amount is through iodized salt,” David Haxton, Executive Director of the International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (ICCIDD), said in an interview with MediaGlobal.
Salt is one of the only substances consumed in predictable amounts by nearly every person on earth, and it is cheap and easy to iodize—if salt production is centralized and regulated. Iodized table salt has virtually eliminated iodine deficiency in many developed countries.
The areas that remain iodine deficient tend to be the world’s poorest, where salt is mined or collected by small-scale producers and iodization is difficult. These are the areas most in need of economic development, where the devastating effects of iodine deficiency help drive cycles of poverty. They are also the regions where cassava is most likely to be a major, or even sole, staple food.
Combating iodine deficiency requires cooperation, and there is often little communication between those involved in cassava development projects and those monitoring iodine deficiency or promoting salt iodization. Ghana, for example, has one of the world’s highest rates of iodine deficiency—the effects of which cost the country an estimated $22 million each year in productivity losses. And cassava is Ghana’s most important food crop—production tripled between 1961 and 1999. Yet the World Food Programme’s Ghana office, which oversees a major salt iodization initiative there, informed MediaGlobal that no research had been done on the impact of cassava consumption on iodine deficiency.
“I would say that communication has been minimal as these issues are handled by different ministries—agriculture and health—who generally don’t spend a lot of time talking to one another,” Gallat said. “The link between food security and public health certainly needs to be strengthened.”
“This is not a sectoral problem. It is not a health problem or a nutrition problem alone,” Haxton said. The effects of iodine deficiency, particularly in the first months of life, can be devastating, robbing the next generation of brain power and productivity. “You’re talking about a national security issue here when you’re talking about baby’s brains,” he said.
As climate change prompts governments in drought-prone areas to encourage farmers to plant cassava, and high import prices transform the locally-grown roots into a lucrative industry, “the consumption of cassava products is only going to increase,” said Lutaladio, the FAO’s roots and tubers specialist.
“So many questions remain to be answered,” Gallat noted, “but as this issue is one that predominantly affects poor African communities, it has not received priority attention or adequate funding.”
While more research needs to be done, some things are certain. A meal containing thoroughly detoxified cassava is healthier if it is seasoned with iodized salt. And that’s a meal that the health and agriculture sectors will have to work together to create.
MEDIAGLOBAL is the global news agency, based in the United Nations Secretariat, creating awareness in the media for the countries of the global South, with a strong focus on South-South Cooperation. The media company is one of the leading providers of information on global development issues facing vulnerable countries. MediaGlobal's news stories are read by leaders of developed countries, the global media, policymakers in donor countries, non-governmental organizations and key personnel in the United Nations Secretariat, its agencies and managers in the field worldwide. Please contact us at: UNITED NATIONS, Room 301, UN Secretariat, New York, NY 10017. Telephone: 212.963.9878. Mobile: 609.529.6129. Email: media@mediaglobal.org. Website:www.mediaglobal.org
15 January 2009 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: It has been called King Cassava, but with roots that resemble long hairy potatoes, naturally-occurring toxins that can sicken unwitting consumers, and a reputation for under-appreciation, cassava is perhaps best described as the frog prince of agricultural development.
What this hardy crop lacks in glamour, it makes up for in sheer usefulness, and in a time of widespread food shortages, its calorie-rich roots are considered a key to global food security. But some scientists worry that cassava’s growing popularity could lead to increases in iodine deficiency, a micronutrient shortage that the World Health Organization (WHO) calls the world’s leading cause of mental retardation.
Cassava’s popularity is on the rise, particularly in Africa, where production has tripled in the past 20 years. “Cassava is being transformed—not only as a food security crop. It is becoming a cash crop,” NeBambi Lutaladio, the Roots and Tubers Specialist at the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) headquarters in Rome, told MediaGlobal. “You see places like Ghana and Nigeria—cassava production is increasing dramatically, because you have all these small entrepreneurs in the rural areas processing cassava and being able to provide to the domestic and regional market.”
While it drives rural development, cassava is rarely traded internationally. This makes it immune to the kind of market fluctuations that sent prices of wheat and corn skyrocketing last year, Lutaladio said. Countries that currently depend on imported grain are taking note, and some governments are encouraging farmers to plant more cassava.
“[It’s] a growing industry,” Dr. Robert Asiedu, Director of Research for Development at Nigeria’s International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), said in an interview with MediaGlobal. “Over the past few years it has been transforming from a crop that is known as a poor man’s food into a crop that provides a lot of food for the urban population.”
Nearly a billion people around the world rely on cassava as a dietary staple, and in Africa, only maize provides more calories. Exceptionally productive, it can be harvested year-round, weathers drought and requires little fertilizer—it’s own nutrient-rich leaves fertilize the soil as they drop. When the leaves and roots are eaten together, cassava provides balanced nutrition and a range of vitamins.
But cassava roots also contain varying amounts of cyanide, a potent poison. Most of the toxins can be eliminated though proper processing, but “whichever method of detoxification is used, it is difficult to remove the last traces of cyanide from the cassava root, especially from the bitter, high cyanide varieties,” Stephanie Gallat, a post-harvest management officer at the FAO’s Rural Infrastructure and Agro-Industries Division, told MediaGlobal. The body is able to detoxify the remaining traces of cyanide during digestion, but as they break down, a goitrogenic compound called thiocyanate is produced. This compound is known to limit the thyroid gland’s ability to store and process iodine.
Without iodine, the thyroid is unable to regulate important metabolic processes in adults and trigger key stages of fetal and infant development. Children born to even moderately iodine-deficient mothers risk irreversible brain damage and physical stunting. One study found that the mean IQ of iodine deficient communities was a full 13.5 points lower than that of their iodine-sufficient neighbors.
Goitrogens are so called because by blocking iodine absorption, they encourage the development goiter, the bulbous swelling of the thyroid gland that is the most visible sign of iodine deficiency. Cassava is by no means the only goitrogenic food—lima beans, almonds and bamboo shoots have similar properties, but they are rarely eaten consistently enough or in large enough amounts to pose a health risk, whereas many people eat cassava for several meals a day. And the bulk of cassava consumers live in the world’s poorest countries, where iodine deficiency is highest.
Cassava is prized for its hardiness, but it is the times when its stamina matters most that eating it is most likely to become hazardous. Cassava is often the only crop to survive a drought, but cyanide levels in its roots rise considerably in dry conditions, doubling the toxin levels that remain in processed cassava flour. The high cyanide content can lead to far more immediate effects than iodine deficiency, such as the neurological disorder konzo, which causes irreversible paralysis of the legs. High-cyanide cassava was blamed for a konzo outbreak during a 2005 drought in Mozambique.
Detoxifying cassava usually requires several days of grating, pressing and drying, and in times of war or famine refugee populations may have no choice but to eat the roots before they have been fully treated. “[If] the people are under pressure because they are moving from place to place, they are not able to process cassava the way they normally do,” Asiedu, the IITA scientist, said, noting that ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo has made proper detoxification difficult or impossible for many people. During the country’s prolonged civil war, thousands have been paralyzed by konzo after eating unprocessed cassava.
But Asiedu noted that, under normal conditions, people who are familiar with the crop know how to process correctly. “We have, over the years, analyzed this in a lot of detail and come up with the conclusion that if people use the cassava in the way that they normally do, and use the right varieties of cassava, you will not have this problem at all,” he said.
But as cassava spreads to new regions, the knowledge of proper processing techniques needs to come with it. “If the people get the right kind of varieties and the right kind of knowledge in handling it, there is no problem at all, even though it may be a new crop in the area,” Asiedu said. The IITA, FAO and other research organizations have spent years developing varieties with lower cyanide content, as well as processing techniques that make the crop both safer and more profitable.
Even after most of the plant’s toxins have been removed, the traces of cyanide that are left are known to have a harmful effect on the thyroid function of severely iodine-deficient populations. But most experts, including Annika Wennberg of the FAO’s Nutrition and Consumer Protection Division, are confident that eating detoxified cassava poses no threat to those who were well-iodized to begin with. “The effect on the thyroid gland is likely only in the case of pre-existing iodine deficiency,” she told MediaGlobal.
It is cassava’s impact on the populations in between—communities whose diet is low in iodine but who do not show a high enough incidence of goiter to alert health workers to iodine deficiency—that worries some researchers.
“Clearly, there are health consequences of relying on cassava as a staple food in areas where there is coexisting iodine deficiency,” Gallat said, but she added that “more research needs to be conducted into the link between cassava consumption and iodine deficiency.” Scientists still aren’t sure how much cassava it takes to alter thyroid function, and little is known about what happens when people who are only slightly iodine deficient start eating more cassava.
The point is hardly academic. Forty percent of Africans rely on cassava as a major source of calories. Forty-two percent do not get enough iodine.
“If cassava consumption is going to be encouraged and it’s going to be done in areas where iodine supply in marginal, then I think [the relationship] should be better appreciated,” Dr. Michael Zimmermann, a senior scientist at the Laboratory for Human Nutrition at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, said in an interview with MediaGlobal.
What information does exist may be out of date. Zimmerman observed that much of what is known about cassava’s role in iodine deficiency comes from a few studies conducted in central Africa in the 1970s and ’80s.
“It would be nice to see in a study of mild to moderate iodine deficiency if chronic daily high levels of consumption of cassava would make a difference in terms of thyroid function,” Zimmerman said. “That hasn’t been done.”
In any case, “ensuring adequate iodine intake in vulnerable communities appears to be a key intervention in preventing the occurrence of goiter related to cassava consumption,” Gallat noted.
Public health officials have known just how to do this for nearly a century. “The most effective way to deliver iodine to every human being every day in exactly the right amount is through iodized salt,” David Haxton, Executive Director of the International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (ICCIDD), said in an interview with MediaGlobal.
Salt is one of the only substances consumed in predictable amounts by nearly every person on earth, and it is cheap and easy to iodize—if salt production is centralized and regulated. Iodized table salt has virtually eliminated iodine deficiency in many developed countries.
The areas that remain iodine deficient tend to be the world’s poorest, where salt is mined or collected by small-scale producers and iodization is difficult. These are the areas most in need of economic development, where the devastating effects of iodine deficiency help drive cycles of poverty. They are also the regions where cassava is most likely to be a major, or even sole, staple food.
Combating iodine deficiency requires cooperation, and there is often little communication between those involved in cassava development projects and those monitoring iodine deficiency or promoting salt iodization. Ghana, for example, has one of the world’s highest rates of iodine deficiency—the effects of which cost the country an estimated $22 million each year in productivity losses. And cassava is Ghana’s most important food crop—production tripled between 1961 and 1999. Yet the World Food Programme’s Ghana office, which oversees a major salt iodization initiative there, informed MediaGlobal that no research had been done on the impact of cassava consumption on iodine deficiency.
“I would say that communication has been minimal as these issues are handled by different ministries—agriculture and health—who generally don’t spend a lot of time talking to one another,” Gallat said. “The link between food security and public health certainly needs to be strengthened.”
“This is not a sectoral problem. It is not a health problem or a nutrition problem alone,” Haxton said. The effects of iodine deficiency, particularly in the first months of life, can be devastating, robbing the next generation of brain power and productivity. “You’re talking about a national security issue here when you’re talking about baby’s brains,” he said.
As climate change prompts governments in drought-prone areas to encourage farmers to plant cassava, and high import prices transform the locally-grown roots into a lucrative industry, “the consumption of cassava products is only going to increase,” said Lutaladio, the FAO’s roots and tubers specialist.
“So many questions remain to be answered,” Gallat noted, “but as this issue is one that predominantly affects poor African communities, it has not received priority attention or adequate funding.”
While more research needs to be done, some things are certain. A meal containing thoroughly detoxified cassava is healthier if it is seasoned with iodized salt. And that’s a meal that the health and agriculture sectors will have to work together to create.
MEDIAGLOBAL is the global news agency, based in the United Nations Secretariat, creating awareness in the media for the countries of the global South, with a strong focus on South-South Cooperation. The media company is one of the leading providers of information on global development issues facing vulnerable countries. MediaGlobal's news stories are read by leaders of developed countries, the global media, policymakers in donor countries, non-governmental organizations and key personnel in the United Nations Secretariat, its agencies and managers in the field worldwide. Please contact us at: UNITED NATIONS, Room 301, UN Secretariat, New York, NY 10017. Telephone: 212.963.9878. Mobile: 609.529.6129. Email: media@mediaglobal.org. Website:www.mediaglobal.org
Jan 14, 2009
Mushroom Tempura Vietnamese Style
with lecturer Nguyen Van Anh from the Hoa Sua Vocational School in Ha Noi (Viet Nam News January 12, 2009)
A few simple steps can bring a surprisingly excellent result. This appetiser is a favourite of Anh, and is made with popular ingredients available everywhere.
Ingredients: for 10 people
White button mushrooms: 1kg
Fried white sesame: 300g
Sweet&sour sauce: 700ml
Pepper and salt: to taste
Cooking oil: 500ml
Casava powder: 200g
Eggs: 10
Method:
Cut the mushroom to 0.3cm-thick slices. Marinate with salt and pepper.
Mix the cassava powder and white sesame thoroughly together.
Beat the eggs to a frothy consistency.
Dip the mushroom slices into the beaten egg, then continue to coat them with the mixture of cassava powder and white sesame.
Boil the cooking oil in a pan. Drop the mushrooms into the boiling oil and fry until they turn gold. Remove from the pan and put on a tissue to soak up the extra oil.
Serve hot with sweet&sour sauce.
You can enjoy the dish at the Hoa Sua Training Restaurant, 28A Ha Hoi Street, Ha Noi.
Jan 12, 2009
Vietnam-Cambodia trade hit US$1.7 billion in 2008
VOVNews.vn - Hanoi,Vietnam
Cambodian exports were mostly wooden products, rubber latex, grains, unprocessed cashew nuts, tobacco and cassava.Two-way trade between Vietnam and Cambodia hit nearly US$1.7 billion in 2008, an increase of US$400 million from a year earlier, according to the Vietnamese Trade office in Phnom Penh. Of the total figure, Vietnam exported US$1.45 billion worth of goods to Cambodia, the office said on January 10.
Between 2004-08, the volume of Vietnamese goods exported to the neighbouring country increased by 40 percent annually and the export value rose fivefold compared to the import value.
The leading export staples to Cambodia in 2008 were building steel, agricultural machines, fertilisers, plant pesticides, household utensils, farm produce, milk, seafood and petrol. Seafood products made up 80 percent of Cambodia’s market share, followed by building steel (68 percent) and farm produce (67 percent).
Cambodian exports were mostly wooden products, rubber latex, grains, unprocessed cashew nuts, tobacco and cassava.
By late 2008, 120 Vietnamese businesses opened their representative offices and showrooms in Cambodia.
Currently, Vietnam is Cambodia’s 10th largest foreign investor, with 19 licensed projects capitalised at US$228 million.
Cambodian exports were mostly wooden products, rubber latex, grains, unprocessed cashew nuts, tobacco and cassava.Two-way trade between Vietnam and Cambodia hit nearly US$1.7 billion in 2008, an increase of US$400 million from a year earlier, according to the Vietnamese Trade office in Phnom Penh. Of the total figure, Vietnam exported US$1.45 billion worth of goods to Cambodia, the office said on January 10.
Between 2004-08, the volume of Vietnamese goods exported to the neighbouring country increased by 40 percent annually and the export value rose fivefold compared to the import value.
The leading export staples to Cambodia in 2008 were building steel, agricultural machines, fertilisers, plant pesticides, household utensils, farm produce, milk, seafood and petrol. Seafood products made up 80 percent of Cambodia’s market share, followed by building steel (68 percent) and farm produce (67 percent).
Cambodian exports were mostly wooden products, rubber latex, grains, unprocessed cashew nuts, tobacco and cassava.
By late 2008, 120 Vietnamese businesses opened their representative offices and showrooms in Cambodia.
Currently, Vietnam is Cambodia’s 10th largest foreign investor, with 19 licensed projects capitalised at US$228 million.
Jan 7, 2009
Uganda: GM Cassava Ready for Field Trials
Aidah Nanyonjo
AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA 6 January 2009
"We developed 12 cassava resistant and high yielding varieties. Unfortunately the ten have been attacked by cassava mosaic and brown stem diseases. The two remaining varieties have stood the test and we want to put them into the field to test their performance," Baguma said.
Kampala — LABORATORY experiments for the genetically modified (GM) cassava have been completed and the National Crops Resource Research Institute (NCRRI) Namulonge has sought permission from the National biosafety committee to transfer the genetically modified cassava from the green house to the field.
"We are through with the laboratory work. If our application gets a favorable consideration by committee, we shall have the first genetically modified cassava in the field. We have all the tools that can be used to genetically improve the type of cassava we have today in the country,"Dr. Yona Baguma, a researcher said.
One of the roles of the national biosafety committee is to ensure safe conduct and safety of the biotech products to human beings and the environment. The cassava plants shall be subjected to various tests. Recently, the research institute came up with crop materials that combine resistance to both cassava mosaic and cassava brown stem disease.
Researchers have used the technology to impart genes of resistance to cassava mosaic, which is caused by a double stranded virus and cassava brown stem that is caused by the single stranded virus.
"We developed 12 cassava resistant and high yielding varieties. Unfortunately the ten have been attacked by cassava mosaic and brown stem diseases. The two remaining varieties have stood the test and we want to put them into the field to test their performance," Baguma said.
He said to come up with best cassava varieties Ugandans have to use of biotechnology best approaches. According to him, if the field trial succceds, the products that would be generated will be disseminated to the local farmers.
Baguma said famine maybe felt in some areas of the country due the extinction of most staple foods caused by the pest and diseases.
He said that cassava has been invaded by the mosaic and brown stem while black sigatoka and banana weevils are a threat to East African highland bananas.
According to the scientists, cassava mosaic and cassava brown streak disease are the most important constraints affecting cassava production in Uganda and most parts of Africa.
The research aims at improving CMD resistance genes while retaining the superior storage root traits. Baguma was speaking during a workshop on biosafety and biotechnology held at Imperial Royale Hotel on Thursday
AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA 6 January 2009
"We developed 12 cassava resistant and high yielding varieties. Unfortunately the ten have been attacked by cassava mosaic and brown stem diseases. The two remaining varieties have stood the test and we want to put them into the field to test their performance," Baguma said.
Kampala — LABORATORY experiments for the genetically modified (GM) cassava have been completed and the National Crops Resource Research Institute (NCRRI) Namulonge has sought permission from the National biosafety committee to transfer the genetically modified cassava from the green house to the field.
"We are through with the laboratory work. If our application gets a favorable consideration by committee, we shall have the first genetically modified cassava in the field. We have all the tools that can be used to genetically improve the type of cassava we have today in the country,"Dr. Yona Baguma, a researcher said.
One of the roles of the national biosafety committee is to ensure safe conduct and safety of the biotech products to human beings and the environment. The cassava plants shall be subjected to various tests. Recently, the research institute came up with crop materials that combine resistance to both cassava mosaic and cassava brown stem disease.
Researchers have used the technology to impart genes of resistance to cassava mosaic, which is caused by a double stranded virus and cassava brown stem that is caused by the single stranded virus.
"We developed 12 cassava resistant and high yielding varieties. Unfortunately the ten have been attacked by cassava mosaic and brown stem diseases. The two remaining varieties have stood the test and we want to put them into the field to test their performance," Baguma said.
He said to come up with best cassava varieties Ugandans have to use of biotechnology best approaches. According to him, if the field trial succceds, the products that would be generated will be disseminated to the local farmers.
Baguma said famine maybe felt in some areas of the country due the extinction of most staple foods caused by the pest and diseases.
He said that cassava has been invaded by the mosaic and brown stem while black sigatoka and banana weevils are a threat to East African highland bananas.
According to the scientists, cassava mosaic and cassava brown streak disease are the most important constraints affecting cassava production in Uganda and most parts of Africa.
The research aims at improving CMD resistance genes while retaining the superior storage root traits. Baguma was speaking during a workshop on biosafety and biotechnology held at Imperial Royale Hotel on Thursday
Rethinking the food situation in Zambia
By Mingeli Palata
Lusaka Times - lusaka,Zambia, Jan. 6, 2009
I will give you an example of Cassava, a crop I am most familiar with because my grand mother in Kapompo grows the crop. Cassava is cheap and convenient to grow; it is rich in carbohydrates and will not let you down should your basal metabolic rate be higher than the average Zambian. Yet it is very drought resistant, doesn’t need fertilizer and can grow in various soils with minimum supervision. The advantages that Cassava has over maize are immense and I see no reason why it should not be promoted as a staple food of choice.
It’s only natural that the issue of food is on top of the mind for most people and certainly for me. I fail to perform to expected levels when my stomach is not tightly gripped. I choose to believe that most of you share this view. You many not really understand the food crisis in this country until like me you meet the likes of Justin Mwemba, a taxi driver in Lusaka whom I met the previous week. Aside from struggling to make his cashing markup, I got to learn that Justin is also a father to two and a husband of one wife who lives with his family in Bauleni compound. The man vividly put the deteriorating hunger situation in the country, describing the cost of living and the price of mealie meal in particular as unattainable for most average Zambians.
True to the word, in the past year, the issue of mealie meal prices has been one of great interest to most Zambians and it was only a few weeks ago when we were told that Zambia will experience a poor harvest this year, alarming isn’t it? Yet this is the order of the day- year after year. The price of mealie meal is negatively affected by mismanagement of food administration and low agriculture output, as much as it is affected by weather patterns.
I need not overstate the fact that Zambia has a special God-given capacity to feed itself and its neighbors.Despite countless efforts made to urge government to put agriculture in the center stage of their undertakings for both internal food security and foreign exchange purposes, there has been little done in this area. Today agricultural news is still rocked by unattainable fertilizer prices and maize grain price scandals. It is obvious that the system being used to make these much needed agricultural inputs available is not working. This is not only embarrassing but detrimental to aspirations of ensuring sustainable food security and making Zambia the ultimate food basket in Africa.
Firstly there is a lot of mismanagement, low innovation and lack of priority that characterizes operations at the FRA. In frantic efforts to know what the problem is, I was shocked to learn that both commercial and subsistence farmers find it more profitable to sell the maize to opaque beer brewers or foreign nations rather than the government simply because alcohol brewers for instance offer to buy the grain at double the price. Why can’t government rectify this anomaly? I suggest that deliberate regulation be effected to woo farmers to vend the grain to the FRA by offering attractive prices and terms.Smart economic measures such as high taxation and regulation should be effected to discourage farmers from selling their maize to ‘opaque beer brewers’.
Secondly, Government needs to take a more deliberate action other than relying on selfish private commercial farmers, who would rather sell their maize grain to the Congo than the FRA. I suggest that the state identify key farmers so as to equip and position them in strategic locations for the sole purpose of achieving food security in our beloved country. These strategic state aided farms should be equipped with state of the art farming equipments, inputs, an all season irrigation system that enables winter farming (tapped from the numerous mighty rivers we are endowed with) and objective government supervision to ensure that food shortages and crazy mealie meal prices are a the thing of the past.
Lastly, Zambia also suffers from a self inflicted addiction to maize- somehow we believe that the only thing worth being called food is maize meal- nshima. This should notbe the case.There are other foodstuffs like rice, cassava, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, that can supplement maize as the staple food. Government needs to take deliberate action to fight this stereotype and promote other foodstuff to combat hunger in this country. I will give you an example of Cassava, a crop I am most familiar with because my grand mother in Kapompo grows the crop. Cassava is cheap and convenient to grow; it is rich in carbohydrates and will not let you down should your basal metabolic rate be higher than the average Zambian. Yet it is very drought resistant, doesn’t need fertilizer and can grow in various soils with minimum supervision. The advantages that Cassava has over maize are immense and I see no reason why it should not be promoted as a staple food of choice.
We need to see more inspiring deliberate action and more government innovative regulation to ensure that the country has maximum food security so that Justin Mweemba and his family are well fed. This in my view is the government’s primary responsibility and there is no room for excuses.
Jan 4, 2009
BIO-EARN promoting biotechnology in Ethiopia
Walta Information Center - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Saturday, 03 January 2009
Addis Ababa, January 3 (WIC) – BIO-EARN, an East African regional network for the development of Biotechnology, announced that it is working toward promoting the application of biotechnology in agriculture, industry, and environmental management in order to contribute for the sustainable development of the country.
BIO-EARN project and research coordinator, Shumu Teferra told WIC that the project is working to develop a network of excellence that will significantly contribute to improve food security, sustainable environment management, industrial production and enhanced livelihood in Ethiopia.
He said the organization, together with the Addis Ababa University and the Ethiopian Agricultural Research Institute, is undertaking various researches in Ethiopia including development of biotechnologies to improve biotic and abiotic stresses in Sorghum.
According to the coordinator, the project is also working to release virus-resistant cassava and sweet potato varieties and innovate seed delivery system for sweet potato and cassava at the Awash Melkasa research institution.
Development of improved technologies to utilize industrial and agricultural waste with a view to producing bio-energy and value-added chemical is also underway, he indicated.
He called upon government and other pertinent bodies to exert efforts on research and technology development in a bid to improve industrial productivity and create science-based business enterprises.
BIO-EARN is an East African regional program and research network working for biotechnology, bio-safety and biotechnology policy development in Uganda Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania.
Addis Ababa, January 3 (WIC) – BIO-EARN, an East African regional network for the development of Biotechnology, announced that it is working toward promoting the application of biotechnology in agriculture, industry, and environmental management in order to contribute for the sustainable development of the country.
BIO-EARN project and research coordinator, Shumu Teferra told WIC that the project is working to develop a network of excellence that will significantly contribute to improve food security, sustainable environment management, industrial production and enhanced livelihood in Ethiopia.
He said the organization, together with the Addis Ababa University and the Ethiopian Agricultural Research Institute, is undertaking various researches in Ethiopia including development of biotechnologies to improve biotic and abiotic stresses in Sorghum.
According to the coordinator, the project is also working to release virus-resistant cassava and sweet potato varieties and innovate seed delivery system for sweet potato and cassava at the Awash Melkasa research institution.
Development of improved technologies to utilize industrial and agricultural waste with a view to producing bio-energy and value-added chemical is also underway, he indicated.
He called upon government and other pertinent bodies to exert efforts on research and technology development in a bid to improve industrial productivity and create science-based business enterprises.
BIO-EARN is an East African regional program and research network working for biotechnology, bio-safety and biotechnology policy development in Uganda Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania.
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