High Yielding Cassava for East Timor

Good news for cassava growers in east Timor. Two new high-yielding cassava varieties have recently been released in the country through ‘Seeds of Life' food security program. Funded by the East Timor Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, AusAID and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, the program aims to reduce hunger by lifting yields of staple food crops through improving varieties. Cassava is an important staple crop in East Timor, where most families suffer from chronic food shortages and rationing for up to six months of the year.

The new varieties, Ai-luka 2 and Ai-luka 4, have been well received by farmers, who are who are keenly anticipating yield increases of 51-65 percent over local cassavas. William Erskine, Director of Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA) which manages the Seeds of Life program, noted that "an increase in yield as high as 65 percent in a staple food such as cassava is going to make a big difference to people's lives."

For more information on CLIMA, visit http://www.clima.uwa.edu.au/