Bridging cassava to community: simple practices of connecting research - industry - community for sustainable food system

Abstract

Abstract Indonesia is one of the third largest world cassava producers, however, Indonesia was still importing cassava to meet domestic demand. Indonesia utilizes cassava for food and feed, while the use of cassava for bio-energy is also emerging. To support the high cassava demand, Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) is actively involved in the cassava development program. The multidisciplinary research activities in the university include breeding, ecophysiology, plant biotechnology, pest and disease management, also agricultural engineering. Designing research based on the industry- and community-demand is as important as delivering the research results to its users. Starting in 2017, the cassava research team in IPB implement simple practices to gain insights into market demand on cassava products and to deliver research results to the market. Through a Technology Based Pre-Enterprise Program, we introduce a one stop shopping concept for cassava based products and technologies to the industry and community with the brand name of Catalyst - Cassava Life Style. However, collaboration from various stakeholders is needed to realize the added value of cassava in Indonesia.