Golden cassava varieties (Vitamin A fortified)

Yellow-fleshed cassava rich in vitamin A

Yellow-fleshed cassava is a vitamin A-enriched variety. The variety is the result of the cross-breeding of natural lines containing high levels of provitamin A and hybrid lines with higher yield potential disease resistance and drought tolerance.

This technology is TAAT1 validated.

7•6

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 7/9; level of use 6/9

Adults 18 and over: Positive high

Provides improved nutrition, helping to address vitamin A deficiencies. This strengthens the workforce, boosting productivity and overall well-being.

The poor: Positive high

Golden cassava offers affordable access to essential nutrients, reducing healthcare costs associated with malnutrition.

Under 18: Positive high

It helps combat malnutrition and vitamin A deficiency, which is especially crucial for children's growth, immune system development, and overall health

Women: Positive high

Women, particularly pregnant and nursing mothers, benefit from better nutrition, reducing risks to maternal and child health.

Climate adaptability: Highly adaptable

Golden cassava varieties are bred to be more resilient to various environmental conditions

Farmer climate change readiness: Significant improvement

These varieties help farmers adapt to climate change by providing a resilient, nutrient-enriched crop

Biodiversity: Positive impact on biodiversity

Breeding techniques ensure that native species are preserved, thus maintaining biodiversity

Soil quality: Does not affect soil health and fertility

Golden cassava cultivation could promote better land use management when coupled with sustainable farming practices.

Water use: Same amount of water used

These varieties are expected to have similar water requirements as conventional cassava.

Problem

Golden cassava technology provide solutions to numerable problem such as:

Malnutrition and Hidden Hunger: Many people in Sub-Saharan Africa rely on cassava as their main food staple, but commonly grown cassava varieties lack essential vitamins and minerals. This has led to widespread malnutrition and hidden hunger, particularly vitamin A deficiency, affecting 50% of children.
Vitamin A Deficiency-Related Health Issues: Insufficient vitamin A intake causes preventable blindness in children and compromises their immune system, increasing the risk of death from diseases like measles, diarrhea, and respiratory infections.
Limited Nutritional Value: Conventional cassava varieties do not provide balanced nutrition, unlike synthetic supplements, and do not contain sufficient provitamin A.
Agronomic Challenges: Many cassava varieties lack disease resistance and drought tolerance, limiting their yield potential.

Solution

Golden cassava technology provides numerous solutions to the problems such as

Biofortification with Provitamin A: Golden cassava varieties are biofortified with elevated levels of provitamin A, which is converted into vitamin A in the body. This addresses the problem of vitamin A deficiency and hidden hunger.
Improved Agronomic Traits: Through breeding techniques, golden cassava varieties are developed by crossing natural lines with elite land races and hybrid lines, resulting in improved agronomic traits such as disease resistance and drought tolerance.
Higher Provitamin A Content: Golden cassava varieties contain 2 to 3 times more provitamin A than the original parent material, allowing them to meet a significant portion or all of the nutritional requirements in communities that rely on cassava as a staple food.
Genomic Modification: Genomic modification is used to silence the activity of enzymes that break down provitamin A without reducing yield potential or interfering with other agronomic traits.
Successful Scaling and Commercialization: Scaling programs for golden cassava in Sub-Saharan African countries have effectively reduced vitamin A deficiency and related health issues, boosting value creation for farmers at the local and regional scale.
Adaptability: Golden cassava varieties can be adapted to various agro-ecosystems and growing conditions, making them suitable for a wide range of regions.
Consumer Acceptance: Studies show that consumers do not object to the color and like the flavor of provitamin A-enriched cassava, which promotes its acceptance.
Wide Availability: Open-pollinating lines of golden cassava can be multiplied by community and private enterprises for rapid scaling and commercialization, while hybrid types with improved traits are also available.
High Yields: Some golden cassava varieties, like UMUCASS 36, UMUCASS 37, and UMUCASS 38, have been developed to achieve similar or higher yields than natural or hybrid lines under various soil and weather conditions, addressing the agronomic challenges.

Key points to design your program

A Golden Solution for Cassava Farming in Africa

Golden cassava varieties are vitamin A-enriched yellow-fleshed cassava developed to address nutrition deficiencies while boosting agricultural productivity. These varieties offer high yields, disease resistance, and drought tolerance, making them well-suited for regions facing climate-related challenges.

They align with key Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 2 by improving food security and reducing malnutrition, SDG 3 by promoting better health through enhanced nutrition, and SDG 13 by supporting climate-resilient agricultural practices.

As part of the Cassava Technology Toolkit, golden cassava varieties complement other technologies like cassava mechanized planting and processing equipment, ensuring higher productivity and economic returns for smallholder farmers.

Golden cassava varieties have been introduced in Burundi, DR Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda under the Enabling Sustainable Regional Agricultural Extension (ENSURE) project, funded by the African Development Bank.

With support from key agricultural organizations like IITA, golden cassava varieties are transforming cassava farming across Africa, creating new opportunities and addressing critical health and food security challenges.

IP

Open source / open access

Countries with a green colour: Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour: Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour: Tested
Countries with a blue colour: Testing ongoing

Countries where the technology is being tested or has been tested and adopted
Country	Testing ongoing	Tested	Adopted
Nigeria	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
AEZ	Subtropic - warm	Subtropic - cool	Tropic - warm	Tropic - cool
Arid
Semiarid
Subhumid
Humid

Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.

Goal 2: zero hunger

It addresses malnutrition and hidden hunger by increasing provitamin A content in cassava.

Goal 3: good health and well-being

It Helps reduce vitamin A deficiency, which can lead to severe health issues such as blindness and immune system problems.

Goal 5: gender equality

Women involved in cassava cultivation and consumption benefit from increased income and good health.

Select healthy cuttings from yellow-fleshed cassava varieties, and Ensure that the cuttings are free from disease symptoms.
Choose the appropriate planting technique based on local rainfall conditions. In dry climates, plant cassava cuttings horizontally and cover them entirely with soil. In humid areas with high precipitation, plant cuttings vertically or angularly.
Follow recommended soil and fertilizer management practices tailored to your specific growing area and conditions, essential for achieving high root yields.
Tackle limitations in nutrient availability and water supply. Prevent soil compaction and weed encroachment
Utilize disease-resistant cassava varieties to enhance production levels.
Harvest the mature cassava roots when they are ready for use.
Due to their high nutritional value, the roots from golden cassava varieties are ideal for processing into various products. Manufacture products like flour, bread, garri, or crisps from the cassava roots. These processed goods can be sold in both local and international markets.