Breeding Cassava for End-User Needs

Abstract

A lot of research initiatives have gone into the breeding of cassava which has led to the development and release of over 30 cassava varieties in Ghana, of which adoption rate is 40%. This low adoption is due to inadequate promotion of improved varieties and the fact that some of the varieties do not meet end-user needs. With cassava becoming an important cash crop, it is important that breeding programmes refocus to define the market segments and objectives to facilitate the improvement of target traits such as poundability, dry matter content, starch and carotenoids that will lead to the development of varieties tailored towards end-user needs. This will in the long run promote food and nutritional security especially in low- and middle-income countries where the crop is a major staple. In addition, there should be more investment in high-throughput phenotyping to enhance the assessment and evaluation for the development of varieties with end-user traits. Subsequently, the cassava seed system should be formalized to enhance the production and dissemination of high-quality improved cassava varieties with end-user traits.