Cameroon Reaps Benefits of Investments in Agricultural Research for DevelopmentFarmers in Cameroon are now enjoying the increased harvests they obtained as a result of the Programme National de Development des Racines et Tubereules (PNDRT) supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). IFAD President Dr. Kanayo F. Nwanze in his recent visit to IITA, challenged the government of Cameroon and the private sector to continue to tap the country's land and agroecological resources, to leverage on the gains made and scale up the technologies to farmers. According to Dr. Rachid Hanna, Country Representative for IITA, "the project had helped researchers to develop and disseminate cassava varieties with multiple resistance and/or tolerance to pest and disease constraints and to disseminate natural enemies under the IITA-biological control program to tackle some of the pests." In addition to yield increases, farmers were provided with technologies to develop new products from cassava and increase its value. To tackle the postharvest problem, the project also developed and deployed cassava chippers to farmers in 25 pilot villages in the main cassava producing zones of Cameroon.
This article is part of the Crop Biotech Update, a weekly summary of world developments in agri-biotech for developing countries, produced by the Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology, International Service for the Aquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications SEAsiaCenter (ISAAA) View Crop Biotech Update (
March 9, 2012
) Newsletter |
