BioCassava Plus

	April 6 2009 Dr. Chiedozie Egesi was awarded the best scientist award for 2008 by the National Root Crop Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike, Nigeria.
	March 25-28 2009 Visit of the Nigerian Bio Safety Delegation, Dr. Chiedozie Egesi, BC Plus In-Country Manager for Nigeria; Professor Jonathan Ekepere, Chairman, National Biosafety Committee, Dr. Kenneth Nwosu, Executive Director, NRCRI, Mr. Matthew Dore, BC Plus Consultant, Mr. Ademola Usman, head, National Biosafety Office; Mr. Rufus Ebegba, Biosafety officer, National biosafety Office, and Professor Sylvia Uzochukwu, Chairperson, NBC Technical Sub-Committee to view the CFT trails in Puerto Rico.
	March 16-18 2009 Training course, organized by BC Plus and office of International Programs (OIP) at NRCRI, Umudike, Nigeria, to train field personnel, regulators, and plant quarantine officials on conduct of a CFT.
	March 2009 Arrival of the African trainee, Mr. Evans Nyaboga, to ETH, Switzerland.
	2 March 2009 Nigerian Minister of the Environment issues a permit to NRCRI and BC Plus to conduct confined field trial (CFT) of pro-Vitamin A enriched GM cassava events.
	9 February 2009 BC Plus PI and PDM visit GC9 and science and technology Senior Program Officers of the Gates Foundation.
	5 February 2009 Beginning of the six month training period for African Scientists at Danforth.
	January 2009 Arrival of the African Trainees: Mr. Paul Kuria; Mr. Solomon Afuape; Mr. Shuaibu Kahya; and Ms. Ihuoma Umezurumba at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center.
	17 December 2008 Application to hold a confined field trial (CFT) of pro-Vitamin A enriched GM cassava events submitted to the Internal Biosafety Committee of KARI.
	27 November 2008 Application to hold a confined field trial (CFT) of pro-Vitamin A enriched GM cassava events submitted to the Nigerian Biosafety Office.
	13 October 2008 Dr. Shantha J.R. Pieris was appointed as the new Laboratory Operations Coordinator for the Sayre Lab, the ERAC Institute for Renewable Fuels at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, U.S.A., and the Administrator for BC Plus.
	1 September 2008 Ms. Sally Mallowa was appointed as the new In-Country Product Development Manager for Kenya.
	1 September 2008 Dr. Chiedozie Egesi took office as the new In-Country Product Development Manager for Nigeria.

Funded by the Grand Challenges in Global Health

Cassava Quick Facts

Cassava on Wikipedia - This website discusses the origins, uses and problems associated with the cassava plant, including cassava pests. Also contains information on cassava’s scientific classification and external links.

Nutritional implications of projects giving high priority to the production of staples of low nutritive quality: The Case for Cassava (Manihot esculenta, Crantz) in the Humid Tropics of West Africa - an article in the Food and Nutrition Bulletin of the United Nations University. The policy paper discusses cassava’s importance as a primary food source; cassava’s nutritional value, toxicity problems, historical background and problems associated with dependency on cassava.

Indies Cassava Chips - an Indonesian company that produces Cassava Chips, much like potato chips, and sells them around the world. Also has a page about what cassava is and different methods of preparation.

Cassava: Latin Rhythms - A Toronto-based Latin salsa band that has adopted the Cassava name. Has links to a few pages about what the plant cassava is.

Cassava, Africa's Food Security Crop – an article on Africa dependency on cassava, from the World Bank’s Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research Newsletter. Includes basic information on cassava, in addition to information about several organizations progress on genetically modifying and altering the make up of cassava. A quote from this page puts cassava into perspective:
" Alfred Dixon, a cassava breeder at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan, Nigeria says ‘Cassava is to the African peasant farmers what rice is to the Asian farmers, or what wheat and potato are to the European farmers.’” Dixon and the IITA are participants in the BioCassava Plus Project and will be doing field trials of the genetically enhanced cassava project. Also includes a poem written about cassava.

Researchers Get To The Root Of Cassava’s Cyanide-Producing Abilities - an archived copy of an article on a past project of Dr. Richard Sayre. During this project, Dr. Sayre and another colleague working on the BioCassava Plus Project created cyanide free cassava plants. This was an important step leading up to the BioCassava Plus Project because it allows for cassava plants to be eaten without the cleansing process and solves cyanide-poisoning problems.

Cassava Processing - a very extensive article about cultivating, processing, and cooking cassava from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Also includes information about quality control of cassava, the world production and trade of cassava and the future development of cassava.

FAO article from 5 November 2002

Cassava Research at NUS

Google Search for Cassava

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