Edo, IITA to collaborate on cassava production

The Edo State Government and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture have agreed to join forces to bring about transformational change in cassava production.

The Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, disclosed this after at the international conference on water-energy-food systems in sub-Saharan Africa, organised by the Pennsylvania State University in collaboration with the IITA and the University of Ibadan, on IITA-Ibadan campus, according to a statement.

In a meeting with IITA’s Director-General, Dr Nteranya Sanginga, Obaseki said his administration’s vision was to establish a cassava production zone of at least 50,000 hectares where cassava would be produced and processed with the active participation of smallholder farmers and the private sector.

According to the statement, although the focus will be on cassava, the state is looking at other crops in which it has comparative advantage.

Meanwhile, the Global Cassava Partnerships for the 21st Century has called for an urgent regional approach to halt the spread of cassava mosaic disease threatening cassava production in Southeast Asia.

The region, according to it, accounts for about 55 million tonnes of cassava and host billions of dollars in cassava investment.

According to the IITA, extensive field surveys and stakeholder interaction in the region conducted by the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture and national partners show that CMD was present in six provinces of Cambodia and two provinces of southern Vietnam.