Expanding cassava cultivation will increase jobs and generate higherincomes for farmers, thus contributing to socio-economic development,the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Cao Duc Phat, said.

Vietnam is the world’s second largest exporter ofcassava, with cassava exports in the first quarter of this year reaching1.37 million tonnes, a year-on-year increase of 24 percent, earning thecountry 420 million USD, a 22.7 percent rise, according to the Ministryof Agriculture and Rural Development.

Cassava consumption isexpected to increase in the near future due to an expanding market forthe root vegetable, especially in China where cassava is used to produceethanol. Vietnamese raw cassava and flour are among seven potentialexport products.

Vietnam currently has 551,000 hectares of landunder cassava plants, mostly in the northern central region, centralcoastal region and south-eastern region. Cassava cultivation is possiblein diverse ecological conditions and farm sizes.

However, thecassava processing industry still faces a number of challenges,including risks posed by the dependence on a single market (China, whichconsumes 85 percent of Vietnamese cassava exports) as well as limiteddomestic consumption.

The International Centre for TropicalAgriculture (CIAT) said the unsustainable development of cassava inVietnam is based on disparities in productivity. It suggested the gap bereduced by improving sapplings and increasing the transfer of advancedtechnology.

Furthermore, two new diseases, broom and mealybug, are posing a threat to cassava productivity, quality and yields in Vietnam.

LeHuy Ham, the Director of the Agricultural Genetics Institute,recommended zoning off cassava cultivation areas and using high-qualitystrains while integrating appropriate farming techniques.

Inaddition, the country needs to focus on investing in processingtechnology for the production of bio-ethanol fuel rather than exportingraw cassava.-VNA