ABSTRACT

The tropical root crop cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is, after rice and maize, the most important staple food crop cultivated in the tropics and the primary source of dietary calories in many of the world’s low-income countries. Cassava is cultivated in 80 tropical countries over a total of 16 million hectares and eaten by an estimated 500 million people daily (1). Addressing constraints to cassava production through the application of transgenic biotechnologies could improve the quality of life for hundreds of millions of people and contribute to future food security for billions more. Despite this, reports of the first confirmed transgenic cassava plants in 1996 were met with mixed enthusiasm. Although they credited the technical achievements, they raised concerns as to the relevance and value of the breakthroughs in a crop with undefined commercial value (2).