ABSTRACT
Hunger, starvation, and famine are not new phenomena in human his tory. What is new and most troubling about them is that today we have the capacity, but perhaps not the will, to eliminate the most dev astating of their physical consequences-severe wasting and death. Famine, as the most extreme expression of this continuum, can be defined as "a widespread lack of access to food that occurs when drought, flood, or war disrupts the availability of food in a society of chronically malnourished people." (The Hunger Project 1985). The societies which are most negatively affected by famines in this era are those which have the least ability to respond institutionally to the so cial and political deprivation that famines cause. Africa has faced no less than 23 famines since 1960 (Passmore and Eastwood 1986). Drought, destruction of crops by pests, and social dislocation caused by war are the main causes of these famines. With drought and insect attack on crops, the need for energy-dense staples that can be easily cultivated, stored, processed, and consumed has assumed increasing significance. In each of these areas, use of the tropical shrub cassava or manioc (Manihot esculenta) has emerged as the superior ecological choice.
