Just like the Philippines, cassava is a staple food in Kenya, a country in eastern Africa. It is considered the second most important food crop next to corn, so much so that when diseases strike, the country's food supply chain is greatly affected.
New cassava variety offers hope to farmers - FarmKenya Initiative standardmedia.co.ke - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from standardmedia.co.ke Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
New cassava variety offers hope to farmers standardmedia.co.ke - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from standardmedia.co.ke Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Cassava is a staple for one in ten people on earth, grown mostly by small farmers tending a few acres. One of the challenges is insect-vectored virus Cassava Brown-Streak Virus that destroys the root.
Scientists from Africa and the Danforth Center in St. Louis MO, USA have collaborated to create a cassava line that is genetically engineered to suppress the virus.
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The approach is similar to what was done to save the papaya in Hawaii, essentially using a portion of the virus sequence to shut down viral infection.