New technologies will be added regularly to this e-catalog.
12 results
An economically sustainable integrated cassava seed system! Cassava is a critical food and income source for millions of smallholders in Africa. Yet most cassava farmers rely on non-certified, disease-ridden seed, leading to low yields and food insecurity. The BASICS model, supported by BMGF, IFAD, and IITA, offers a tested and replicable approach to building sustainable, inclusive, and resilient seed systems. It bridges R4D outputs and smallholder needs, while encouraging national ownership and local enterprise development. The model is now promoted by the TAAT Cassava Compact as a pathway to scaling impact and meeting SDG targets on food, jobs, and sustainability.
Virus diagnostic tool for cassava seed health certification by seed producers and seed certifiers. Cassava virus indexing uses PCR and LAMP diagnostic methods to detect and eliminate virus-infected cassava planting materials. It ensures virus-free plants for seed production, improving seed quality, crop resilience, and food security. Key costs include lab setup (USD 20,000) and sample testing (USD 3/sample). Training for staff and collaboration with research and seed certification bodies are crucial for successful implementation.
Sell Smart, Grow Fast The Marketing Strategies technology is a toolkit designed to help cassava seed producers improve market access, visibility, and demand for certified seeds. It provides tools for understanding customer segments, developing effective pricing models, and leveraging both digital and traditional marketing channels. By enhancing seed producers' ability to engage with farmers, build trust, and promote high-quality seeds, the toolkit supports sustainable business growth and addresses key challenges in seed marketing, such as low market awareness, distribution inefficiencies, and poor customer engagement.
Building stronger cassava seed businesses for African seed entrepreneurs and farmers. CSAM is a systemic solution designed to strengthen the cassava seed sector by establishing formal associations of seed entrepreneurs. Through these associations, seed producers can access certification, financing, training, and policy advocacy, resulting in improved operational efficiency, enhanced seed quality, and stronger market connections. The model has already been validated in Nigeria and Tanzania and is now expanding into Rwanda and Kenya, benefiting over 2,700 seed entrepreneurs. The model provides an institutional framework that fosters collaboration, collective action, and long-term sustainability in the cassava seed value chain.
Transforming Cassava Farming Through Entrepreneurial Innovation! Cassava is a vital crop for food security and income generation across Sub-Saharan Africa. However, the region's traditional cassava seed systems have been largely informal and unsustainable, relying on farmer-to-farmer seed sharing and irregular free seed distributions from governments and NGOs. This practice has resulted in the widespread use of low-quality, disease-prone planting materials, leading to reduced crop yields and limited adoption of improved cassava varieties. The Cassava Seed Entrepreneur (CSE) Business Model offers a sustainable, market-driven solution to strengthen cassava seed systems. By transforming rural men, women, and youth into certified seed entrepreneurs, the model empowers local communities to produce and sell high-quality cassava planting materials. This initiative integrates capacity building, digital certification tools, and strategic partnerships to ensure the consistent availability of clean, certified seeds. As a result, it enhances agricultural productivity, fosters rural economic growth, and improves livelihoods, contributing to long-term food security and poverty alleviation in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Breeder & Foundation Cassava Seeds—Always Within Reach This technology enables seed companies and certified producers to multiply and supply breeder and foundation cassava seeds directly from research centers. It follows national seed certification standards, uses both in-house and outgrower schemes, and ensures that farmers and seed entrepreneurs get access to clean, high-quality planting material. Registration with seed authorities and proper field inspection are required for participation.
Improved cassava varieties crucial for enhancing food security, increasing farmer incomes, and reducing poverty in Africa. The technology is a market-driven cassava breeding system that develops improved varieties based on market needs, such as for fresh consumption, processing, or biofortification. It involves stakeholder input, standard breeding methods, and regulatory collaboration for variety release. Adoption is promoted through trials, launch events, and media campaigns, aligning breeding with market demand to boost cassava productivity and value chain performance.
Enhancing cassava productivity through healthy planting material Cassava Seed Quality Management is a scalable and inclusive approach to improving agricultural productivity. It ensures access to clean, certified planting material for smallholder farmers while reducing the spread of diseases and strengthening seed systems. It directly contributes to food security, livelihoods, and the resilience of rural communities.
Low-cost hygienic drying technology for high-quality products The Solar Bubble Dryer (ISD) is a mobile, solar-powered drying system designed to efficiently dry freshly harvested cassava roots, reducing post-harvest losses and improving product quality. It utilizes solar energy for both thermal collection to speed up drying and electricity to power a blower for air circulation, making it independent from the power grid. The system is mobile, allowing farmers to dry produce near the harvest site, minimizing transportation costs and spoilage risks. With a drying capacity of 90-145 kg per cycle, the technology boosts food security, supports women’s empowerment, reduces carbon footprints, and promotes sustainable practices. It has a 10-year lifespan, an initial cost of $1,800, and offers a return on investment ranging from 7% to 180%. The technology contributes to multiple SDGs, including those related to hunger, gender equality, clean energy, economic growth, and climate action.
Yellow-fleshed cassava rich in vitamin A Low level of vitamin and mineral in the common varieties of cassava grown by farmers leads to widespread malnutrition and hidden hunger, and numerable desease in the African continent. Therefore, it comes to raise the provitamin A in the conventional cassava throught breeding technics by parking the Golden cassava’s roots with beta-carotenoid for the color caracteristic, these to be convert after ingestion into vitamin A by enzymes as per the need in the body.
Transforming Cassava, Mobile Processing for Sustainable Agriculture The Mobile Cassava Processing Plant (MCPP) addresses challenges in cassava commercialization by providing an alternative to immobile processing factories. The MCPP, developed by the TAAT Cassava Compact, is a six-wheel truck with modern processing machinery, an electricity generator, and a loader crane. It facilitates on-site processing of cassava into shelf-stable products, reducing postharvest losses and transportation costs.
Enhancing cassava yields and quality for greater food security in Africa. Improved cassava roots with higher dry matter and starch content are crucial for farmers. These qualities determine how cassava can be used, whether for making flour, chips, or industrial materials. In Sub-Saharan Africa, cassava crops often have low levels of these important traits due to limited accessible varieties. Enhancing root quality is a significant opportunity for the future, benefiting both food security and the agri-food industry. Breeding cassava for these traits is essential to meet local and regional market demands. This leads to higher economic yields for farmers, providing more food and income from the same area of land.