Socio-economic contribution of cassava varietal improvement to the small farmer communities in Asia

Abstract

The success or failure of any large-scale crop breeding program should be measured by achievement of the following step-by-step goals: 1) Establishment of a breeding program 2) Building of effective research capability 3) A large number of genotypes produced and evaluated 4) Selection of superior genotypes 5) A large number of cultivars released 6) A considerable area planted with new cultivars 7) Additional yield and quality as a result of the planting of new cultivars 8) Additional economic benefits generated by the adoption of new cultivars 9) The less privileged strata of society receive the greatest share of the profits 10) Beneficial social changes brought about by the planting of new cultivars

Accomplishing all of these was our wildest dream when we established a major cassava breeding program at CIAT headquarters in Colombia more than 20 years ago. The first step towards achieving these goals came in the form of a distinctly higher yielding capacity of the breeding population within CIAT. When a major part of the CIAT cassava program extended to the collaborative program in Thailand, a significant improvement followed in root dry matter content and in adaptation to drier climates. Then, this progress was transferred to other major national cassava programs in Asia. Many new cultivars were developed and released, and thanks to the effective involvement of national and private research, extension and development institutions, the new cultivars are now planted in more than half a million ha in Asia. The additional economic benefits generated by the additional fresh root yield and higher starch content of these new cultivars are surpassing 500 million US dollars. More importantly, at least half of this additional benefit is going directly to the family income of hundreds of thousands of small farmers. It is fortunate that we have been able to work with the same basic strategy and the same fundamental objectives throughout the history of nearly a quarter century of our cassava varietal improvement program. Now, we are beginning to see many of the original goals being attained.