{"id":834,"date":"2022-05-11T11:03:52","date_gmt":"2022-05-11T09:03:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biochemie-nat.cms.rrze.uni-erlangen.de\/?page_id=834"},"modified":"2025-09-16T16:41:48","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T14:41:48","slug":"projects","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.biochemie.nat.fau.de\/en\/projects\/","title":{"rendered":"Projects"},"content":{"rendered":"
Cassava Source-Sink (CASS) Project<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h5>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Our mission<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

We aim to develop robust and yield-improved cassava varieties that will be provided to African smallholder farmers in order to improve food security in Sub-Saharan Africa.<\/p>\n

Problem statement<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, approx. 220 million people suffer from chronic hunger in Sub-Saharan Africa. The tuberous roots of cassava (Manihot esculenta<\/i>) represent the main source of carbohydrates, making this tropical bushy shrub essential for food security of the African continent.<\/p>\n

Cassava is almost exclusively grown by smallholder farmers, who own less than two acers of farmland and have very limited access to the tools of modern agriculture, like heavy farming machinery, pest control or fertilizer. Yield increases therefore have to come from plants that are inherently more productive, even under conditions of low-input agriculture.<\/p>\n