Can in vitro biology have farm-level impact for small-scale cassava farmers in Latin America?

Cassava is uniquely suited for food security and economic development in un favored areas of the tropics. Development research far cassava is an urgent need. In 1998, the Cassava Biotechnology Network (CBN) convened a workshop of cassava stakeholder groups in Latin America. After hearing an opening s tatement from representatives of small-scale cassava producers and processo rs. stakeholders formulated a consensus set of research and development (R& D) priorities. An adequate supply of good-quality planting material of desi red varieties was clearly the most urgent, followed by R&D on market-value traits. yield losses due to pests, diseases, and drought; and cropping syst em flexibility. Two new projects are using in vitro techniques to address priorities of sma ll-scale cassava farmers in Latin America. One project in Colombia combines a nongovernmental organization, a local farmers' association, and the inte rnational research center, CIAT, to explore affordable micropropagation. Fi ndings to date, shots that most culture medium components can be replaced w ith local products, and a rustic growth room permits good culture growth wi thout electricity or air conditioning. Low-costs system(s) developed will b e assessed as a local microenterprise. A second project, in Ecuador, couples local cassava germplasm (with oral hi stories and an in vitro back-tip collection) and elite clones (introduced i n vitro) with new concepts in agribusiness development, to restart local fa rmers' cooperatives after the disastrous 1998-99 el Nifio floods. The proje ct was developed through group planning by the cooperatives, the local tech nical university the national agricultural research program, and CIAT. Research to improve in vitro tools focuses on safe and stable conservation and exchange of cassava genetic resources, long-term, less expensive conser vation, rapid clonal propagation, and ultimately, genetic transformation te chnologies to add desired traits to useful cassava varieties.