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Cassava: constraints to production and the transfer of biotechnology to African laboratories

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Abstract

Knowledge and technology transfer to African institutes is an important objective to help achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Plant biotechnology in particular enables innovative advances in agriculture and industry, offering new prospects to promote the integration and dissemination of improved crops and their derivatives from developing countries into local markets and the global economy. There is also the need to broaden our knowledge and understanding of cassava as a staple food crop. Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a vital source of calories for approximately 500 million people living in developing countries. Unfortunately, it is subject to numerous biotic and abiotic stresses that impact on production, consumption, marketability and also local and country economics. To date, improvements to cassava have been led via conventional plant breeding programmes, but with advances in molecular-assisted breeding and plant biotechnology new tools are being developed to hasten the generation of improved farmer-preferred cultivars. In this review, we report on the current constraints to cassava production and knowledge acquisition in Africa, including a case study discussing the opportunities and challenges of a technology transfer programme established between the Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute in Tanzania and Europe-based researchers. The establishment of cassava biotechnology platform(s) should promote research capabilities in African institutions and allow scientists autonomy to adapt cassava to suit local agro-ecosystems, ultimately serving to develop a sustainable biotechnology infrastructure in African countries.

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Acknowledgments

The KTTP based in MARI, Tanzania, is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Authors sincerely thank Martin Fregene (Donald Danforth Plant Science Centre, U.S.A.) for initiating and supporting the project. Evangelista Chiunga, Christina Kidule, Joel Erasto and Fred Tairo are acknowledged for their dedication at MARI, Tanzania. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology & Biochemistry, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, Avon, BA2 7AY, UK

    Simon E. Bull & John R. Beeching

  2. Department of Biology, Plant Biotechnology, ETH Zürich, Universitätstrasse 2, Zürich, 8092, Switzerland

    Wilhelm Gruissem & Hervé Vanderschuren

  3. Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute (MARI), P.O. BOX 6226, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

    Joseph Ndunguru

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  1. Simon E. Bull
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  2. Joseph Ndunguru
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Correspondence to Hervé Vanderschuren.

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Communicated by R. Reski.

A contribution to the Special Issue: Plant Biotechnology in Support of the Millennium Development Goals.

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Bull, S.E., Ndunguru, J., Gruissem, W. et al. Cassava: constraints to production and the transfer of biotechnology to African laboratories. Plant Cell Rep 30, 779–787 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-010-0986-6

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