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Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17190622
28 February 2012 Last updated at 06:58 ET
Cassava 'offers climate change hope' for Africa
The cassava plant could help African farmers cope with climate change, a scientific report says.
"It's like the Rambo of the food crops," report author Andy Jarvis, of the Colombia-based International Center for Tropical Agriculture, said.
He told the BBC: "Whilst other staples can suffer from heat and other problems of climate change, cassava thrives."
The root crop is already one of the most widely consumed staple foods on the continent.
But the report also stresses the need for more research to make cassava more resistant to pests and disease.
Last November, UN scientists warned that a virus was attacking the crop, nearing an epidemic in parts of Africa.
Viral infections have periodically wiped out the crop in some regions leading to famine...
28 February 2012 Last updated at 06:58 ET
Cassava 'offers climate change hope' for Africa
The cassava plant could help African farmers cope with climate change, a scientific report says.
"It's like the Rambo of the food crops," report author Andy Jarvis, of the Colombia-based International Center for Tropical Agriculture, said.
He told the BBC: "Whilst other staples can suffer from heat and other problems of climate change, cassava thrives."
The root crop is already one of the most widely consumed staple foods on the continent.
But the report also stresses the need for more research to make cassava more resistant to pests and disease.
Last November, UN scientists warned that a virus was attacking the crop, nearing an epidemic in parts of Africa.
Viral infections have periodically wiped out the crop in some regions leading to famine...