Word: cassava
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...lush rice fields and farmlands of West Sumatra the experiment is looking extremely bright. Seventy-year-old Masrun, from the town of Sungai Kamuyang, tends to cassava, cloves and ginger. In 1968, the 130-hectare plot where he farms was transferred from local nagari leaders to a private company in a deal locals say was unfair. Masrun went from being a modest stakeholder to a day laborer earning, until recently, 15 a day. Several months ago, the revived nagari council decided to take back the land, and the private firm agreed to give it up. Masrun, with a toothless smile...
Viruses often cause massive failure in staple crops in developing countries. Two years ago, Africa lost more than half its cassava crop--a key source of calories--to the mosaic virus. Genetically modified, virus-resistant crops can reduce that damage, as can drought-tolerant seeds in regions where water shortages limit the amount of land under cultivation. Biotech can also help solve the problem of soil that contains excess aluminum, which can damage roots and cause many staple-crop failures. A gene that helps neutralize aluminum toxicity in rice has been identified...
...lone British researcher who claimed--somewhat dubiously--that g.m. potatoes damaged his lab rats. On the contrary, as scientists told the FDA, genetically modified foods could carry clear health benefits, such as delivering more nutrients, reducing spoilage and curtailing chemical contamination. Besides, natural doesn't always mean good: cassava, for example, can be toxic if not properly prepared...
...journalist, lost his job several months ago and cannot find a new one. The fees at his four-year-old son's religious school have risen from $23 to $114. The rent on the family's modest flat in Lagos has doubled to $36.50 a month. A bag of cassava flour that sold for $13.60 when the couple married in 1988 now goes for $50 or more. "Five years ago, I thought that by now we would have a fine home and two cars," says Dapo. "Now I wonder if I can ever have those things...
...hungry Third World that biotechnology offers the greatest hope. Washington University plant pathologist Roger Beachy is working on introducing genes for disease resistance into cassava, a critical food source for much of Africa. Scientists at the International Potato Center in Peru and the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines are applying the tools of genetic engineering to improve the major crops of South America and Asia. Before the middle of the next century, experts warn, world population may reach 10 billion, and agriculture had better keep up. By that time, the planet's crop and livestock growers will probably...