So what is cassava? Perhaps you have heard of one of its other
names: manioc, yucca, tapioca. Three characteristics make it
particularly fitting to the kind of program that CIAT is trying to
implement:

These qualities have made it an important vegetable for Southeast
Asian nations. Its tropical nature makes it a product that cannot
be efficiently produced by the wealthier nations of Europe, North
Asia and North America. Thus, it is an important export. More
importantly, its soil-friendly nature makes it a natural candidate
for the upland areas of Southeast Asia.

Asian uplands are unsuited to the more traditional lowland rice
paddies, which rely on an abundance of water. Historically, these
mountainous areas have been large enough to sustain the populations
that inhabit them. Communities have relied on slash and burn
agriculture, moving from location to location over the years as the
previous areas became unusable. When there were few people in the
area, this was possible. However, recent population increases and
tighter government policies have robbed the land of the time
required to grow back. Soil fertility has plummeted. With it has
fallen crop yield and food security. Poverty has ensued.

CIAT believes that such a cycle can be reversed if the right
agricultural system is used. Cassava provides just such a chance.
However, even it must be part of a soil-benign system if its
cultivation is to continue. Though this tuber is easier on the soil
than many other plants, it will still leach it of nutrients, if
grown without respite. CIAT's response has been to teach farmers
to intercrop it with other plants, to plant hedgerows to avoid
erosion, and to use "green manures" (crops such as alfalfa, mustard
or buckwheat) as a way of actively replenishing the soil's
vitality. This attempt at sustainability is one of the things that
initially caught the eye of The Nippon Foundation, leading us to
fund CIAT's Research into such soil-management systems.

CIAT's cassava program, with its sustainability
and profitability is giving the people of
upland Asia a better foothold on the future
than they have possessed in recent years. They
are able to do more than subsist. They are able
to use profits to vary their diets. They are
able to put a little back against bad years.
Those who have used the system are beginning to
escape the vicious cycle of poverty and hunger
that has plagued the region for over a century.

We are proud to support such an effort.

Writer: James Huffman