CIAT Cassava breeder Hernan Ceballos has called time on hopes of developing long-life cassava roots
“In terms of roots that can last for months after harvest, the dream is over,” he told delegates at a workshop of the CGIAR’s Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB) research program, at CIAT’s headquarters in Cali, Colombia, today. “Cassava will not turn into a potato,” he said, a reference to the latter’s excellent storage quality.
But encouragingly, his current research suggests that developing cassava roots that can last just a week without spoiling – longer-life rather than long-life – could enable farmers to overcome one of the most significant bottlenecks in the cassava processing chain. Read more