ABSTRACT
Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz, Euphorbiaceae) is a root crop of southern Amazonian origin that was spread throughout the Old World tropics by Portuguese sailors in the 16th century. Since then cassava has gradually become an economically important crop in developing countries due mainly to its tolerance to drought, poor soil fertility and acid soils. In Africa, fresh roots of cassava are a staple food and constitute a commodity for regional trade. In Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, dried cassava is an export commodity, while in Colombia and Brazil cassava is produced mainly for internal consumption. Today cassava ranks fourth among the major sources of carbohydrates in the tropics where it is an indispensable staple for millions of people. The importance of cassava as a low-cost source of carbohydrates in the world merits the application of modern biotechnological techniques to improve germplasm for nutritional quality and biotic and abiotic stress tolerance among other traits. This chapter focuses on the prospects of development and deployment of transgenic cassava, while attempting to examine possible social implications of the endeavour.
