Roots and tubers provide great opportunities for long-term food security

Improving the competitiveness of root and tubers will help in alleviating poverty in Africa, considering that 80 percent of people in the rural areas depend on agriculture as a source of livelihood, says President John Dramani Mahama.

“Root and tuber crops (sweet potato, cassava, and yams) provide great opportunities for long-term poverty alleviation and food security much more than any other staple foods produced in the African, Caribbean and Pacific regions,” he said.

Mr. Mahama who was represented by Mohammed Alfa, Deputy Minister of Environment, Science and Technology Innovation at the 12^th symposium organized by the International Society for Tropical Root Crops-Africa Branch (ISTRC-AB) in Ghana.

The Accra symposium is coming at a time when global attention on agriculture is trending up. It provided scientists and partners in development the opportunity to reexamine the competitiveness of root and tuber crops with a view to harnessing their potential and accelerating Africa's economic growth.

Dr Nzola Mahungu, ISTRC-AB President, said “root and tuber crops play an important role in ensuring food security in Africa, and we must tap the opportunities of these crops.”

Widely consumed across Africa, root and tuber crops play a key role in the continent, providing incomes for farmers, generating wealth, and cushioning the effect of cereals’ shortfall.

Cassava, for instance, is a source of livelihood for over 300 million people in Africa, and with climate change the root crop is becoming increasingly important, thanks to its ability to withstand drought and growth on soils with marginal fertility.

“But the potential of these crops is yet to be fully exploited,” Dr Mahungu said.

The conference provides a window of opportunity for partners to compare notes and develop strategies that will unleash the potential of the root and tuber crops. 

Specific areas of interest include: African root crops trade and market scenarios; Policies favorable to competitiveness of root crops in Africa; African scenario on production and utilization of root and tuber crops; Business and investment scenarios on competitiveness of root crops in Africa—benchmarking Latin American, Asian and European markets (Learning from Latin American, Asian & European industries); and mobilizing investors for sustainable root and tuber crops research and development.

IITA Deputy Director General (Partnerships and Capacity Development), Dr Kenton Dashiell commended the ISTRC-AB team for organizing the meeting, adding that it was timely especially in light of the growing threats to food security and rising unemployment in the continent.

He noted that if properly harnessed, the root and tuber crops would help in absorbing the burgeoning number of unemployed youths, and put this pool of human resource to productive use.

He also called on scientists to ensure that their research outputs were creating the desired change at the farm level by addressing the constraints of development.