The Rural Voice, 1992-09, Page 16READY TO LAY
PULLETS
BABY CH CKS
WHITE & BROWN EGG LAYERS
FISHER POULTRY FARM INC.
AYTON ONT. NOG 1C0
519-665-7711
Vincent's are
pleased to
welcome Ralph
Havercamp to our
sales team. Ralph,
who has had years
of experience in the
agri business field,
wishes to invite all
his friends and
farm business
associates to call
or visit him for all
their equipment
needs.
SEAFORTH 527-0120
FARM EQUIPMENT LIMITED
12 THE RURAL VOICE
Robert Mercer
The Tuber Revolution
The green revolution has helped
India and Asia feed an expanding pop-
ulation off a land base that has not had
to increase to improve nutrition and
the standard of
living.
Tucked away
in the bombard-
ment of news and
information this
past month, has
been a story
which could well
be more import-
ant than the green
revolution with
rice. This time
it's tubers.
The most pop-
ular and staple
food of Africa is
the cassava. This oval-shaped tuber
provides over half the food needs of
200 million people in Africa and new
research can double the plant's output.
This is indeed a major improvement in
an area where food aid of any kind is
needed regularly. It is also widely
grown in South America and Asia.
Crop breeders at the International
Institute of Tropical Agriculture have
discovered the "Super Cassava" by
crossing cultivated and wild species.
The clones are said to be able to pro-
duce double the yield of traditional
varieties. It is also known as manioc.
The cassava is high caloric as it has
a better carbohydrate content than rice.
It provides a flour which can be used
for tapioca, macaroni and spaghetti.
It is mainly grow in west and cen-
tral Africa, but is also produced as far
north as the Sahel and as far south as
Zambia. The International Institute of
Tropical Agriculture says it grows in
areas that are classified as semi -arid to
humid forest, can survive in poor soils
and is resistant to drought. One major
benefit is that it can be left in the soil
for long periods which lengthens the
harvest period and reduces the need
for any kind of storage facility. The
cassava is the quintessential cheap
food of Africa. It may not eliminate
hunger, but the new super yielding
varieties may substantially reduce the
incidence of hunger.
Statistically, about half the world's
160 million tonnes of actual cassava
production is grown in Africa, with
Nigeria producing about one-third of
the total. By contrast the total pro-
duction of all major grain in Canada in
1991 was 61.2 million tonnes, of
which wheat was 32.8 million tonnes.
According to officials at the Institute
the major thrust now is to try and
expand the area of production, espe-
cially in drought -hit southern Africa
where they believe it could be of major
benefit.
This breakthrough is like the green
revolution; it's like the hybridization
of corn; it's like the gigantic forward
steps with artificial insemination and
the plant breeding of rapeseed to
canola.
The challenge is to get acceptance,
distribution and education. It is a far
better extension of high technology
than trying to bring western ideas or
crops to Africa. The product is
already in use, in diets and in the cul-
ture. The breakthrough is in expand-
ing the yield of the population's staple
food supply without use of any
exterior supplements.
Cassava or Manioc: This plant has a
twisted stem and seven -lobed leaves
and grows about three feet high. A
tropical plant, cassava is cultivated for
its tuberous roots which are a staple
food among Brazilian Indians and
other tropical and African peoples.
The roots are processed into cassava
flour, or tapioca; they are fermented
into an alcoholic beverage and
cassava products are used as laundry
starches, fabric sizings, and in the
manufacture of explosives, glues, and
alcohol.
One of the earliest plants to be
domesticated in the Western
Hemisphere, manioc was introduced to
Europe by the Spaniards and later to
Africa by the Portuguese. Many of the
approximately 150 species of manioc
contain the poison hydrocyanic acid,
which can be removed only by cooking
the root, or extracting the juice.0
Robert Mercer is editor of the
Broadwater Market Letter, a weekly
commodity and policy advisory letter
from Goodwood, Ontario LOC 1AO