Mozambique and USDA Align to Fight Cassava Root Rot Disease
September 7, 2007| |
Mozambique’s National Institute for Agricultural Research (IIAM), with the financial support of United States Agency for International Development (USAID), released 5,000 seedlings of a new cassava variety resistant to root rot, to be distributed among the peasant farmers in the northern province of Nampula. Cassava is cultivated in almost all the districts in Mozambique where it is one of the major staple food crops, particularly in the rural areas. Infestation of the root rot disease has caused significant yield losses over the years contributing to food insecurity in the region.
The two-year project, which aims to distribute over 50,000 seedlings to 200,000 peasant farmers in Nampula, was in part made possible by a USAID grant to upgrade IIAM’s Biotechnology Laboratory. The IIAM Biotechnology Laboratory developed the first batches of seedlings of the root rot disease resistant cassava variety, "Nachinyaya", using tissue culture. Over 300,000 people are expected to benefit from this project.
Read more at Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique http://www.sortmoz.com/aimnews or at http://www.usaid.gov/mz
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