Systèmes agroalimentaires à base de racines, tubercules et plantains

National cassava crops related to populations show the special importance of this staple foodstuff in the African countries that account for 50 percent of world production. Research on cassava production should take the entire industry into account in order to incorporate certain features of production objectives that may vary according to whether cassava is a food crop (the most common case) or a cash crop for use as animal feed or in industry. The two-fold issue in the years to come consists of "producing more" and "obtaining a food-stuff of competitive quality" and researchers in agronomy should examine first of all the increase in production in the face of a decrease in soil fertility, whereas fertilisation (mainly potassic) is often not particularly compatible with processing techniques and end-product quality. A few examples drawn from agronomic research results illustrate this interdependence between factors of production and the processing or marketing of cassava. (Résumé d'auteur