JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Scientists say the long-neglected cassava root becomes even more productive in hotter temperatures and could be the best bet for African farmers threatened by climate change.
Scientists from the Colombia-based International Center for Tropical Agriculture praised cassava as the “rambo of the food crops” after publishing findings Monday in the scientific journal Tropical Plant Biology.
The study said starch-rich cassava thrived in tests using a combination of climate prediction and crop suitability models also tried on potato, maize, bean, banana, millet and sorghum.
The scientists found that with expected temperature increases of up to 2 degrees Celsius, cassava production in East Africa would increase 10 percent and it would find more hospitable climes in southern Africa.
