THE Zambia Agriculture Research Institute, under the Mansa Research Station, has started developing cassava varieties which are resistant to diseases.
This is to counter the many diseases affecting cassava in Luapula Province, resulting in low yield.
Mansa Research Station root and tuber programme officer Martin Chiona said the disease-resistant crop will help farmers to harvest more cassava.
He said the cassava mosaic disease, which is transmitted by the white fly, is the most common.
“Cassava is the staple food in Luapula Province, but farmers are not harvesting enough because of diseases,” he said.
Dr Chiona said the cassava mealie bug and green mite are the other pests which affect cassava.
He said the government has realised that if diseases and pests are not controlled, they may spread to other provinces.
Dr Chiona said the other factor which makes cassava important is that the people of Luapula Province depend on its leaves as the most commonly eaten vegetable during the dry season.
He said the Mansa Research Station is also contemplating improving the protein content in cassava.
Dr Chiona said the improvement of protein in cassava will make it compete with maize.
He said it is important to increase the cassava yield, especially that some local and foreign companies have expressed interest in buying it for starch processing.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
This is great news and a step in the positive direction! My sincere hope is that government sets up and funds more research institutes in various fields! It is only through such programmes that Zambia will achieve technological advancement and be counted among other countries!
This is great news. There seems to be a lot of research going on in Mansa. Can we please throw more money that way. Such news is exciting.
I hope there is no use of black magic or Katele Kalumba’s Laptop in this research
#3 Is this the only comment you can make? Awe uli chisushi atase. Chikala Chobe fuseki Atase
Improved insect resistance is good, but in the absence of verifying how much people will like eating this cassava, it’s a futile excercise. With all the outcry against GMO’s, how are they going to increase protein levels in Cassava in the absense of genetic engineering?
#4 I think it is a valid comment following the new that comes from those areas. I am not going to insult you since u have not come up with observations of your own apart from insults. Ukupesha Lunshi kunya pabili