CASSAVA SAFETY : IMPLICATIONS FOR CASSAVA BIOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH

The Cassava Biotechnology Network (CBN) is one of the products of CIAT's response to the situation of a decade ago, when the importance of cassava was seldom mentioned internationally and was not well known outside the tropics. Powerful new biotechnological tools for agricultural research were developing rapidly, but chiefly in countries where cassava was not grown. Consequently, little was being done to apply these new tools to cassava. However, biotechnology may be an important tool for the enhancement of cassava as a traditional staple, and for the development of new uses to satisfy diversified markets.

CBN was founded in 1988 to provide a forum for cassava biotechnology issues and to foster cassava biotechnology research on priority subjects. Since then, many cassava biotechnology research projects have been organised and funded (Table 1).