Two new cassava varieties released to boost PSI

Kumasi, Aug 22, GNA- The Presidential Special Initiative (PSI) on cassava has received a big boost with the introduction of two new cassava varieties to farmers by the Crop Sciences Department of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

The varieties called "IFAD" and "Nkabom", had proven to have high level of starch for industrial use and acceptable level of cyanide. Production of varieties comes after four years of on-farm testing jointly carried out by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and the University.

Dr Francis Ofori, Chairman of the National Varietal Release Committee, who announced this to formally give the go ahead for the cultivation of the varieties in Kumasi on Friday, noted that the new discovery will enhance food security and industrial development.

The Reverend Professor Sarfo Kantanka of the Crop Sciences Department of the KNUST, who pioneered the research into the development of the varieties, said apart from the high yield and good cooking quality, they possessed genes that made them resistant to diseases. The Vice Chancellor of the KNUST, Professor Kwesi Andam, said the achievement was the kind the nation expected from the universities. He noted that the people were looking up to the KNUST to serve as a vehicle on which "we have to take the nation to prosperity".

The Vice Chancellor said the new cassava show how effective the university could become given the needed resources.

Professor Daniel Okine, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, KNUST, said they believed in collaborative and participatory approach in solving problems facing the country's agriculture.

The new varieties were developed through the support of the International Fund for the Development of Agriculture (IFAD) under the Root and Tuber Improvement Project (RTIP).