Summary of Objective

Objective 1: Assess the opportunities, challenges and risks for the development of sustainable regional solutions for cassava disease management in mainland SEA including coordinated policy development, sustainable business and public-private funding models;

Objective 2: Enhance the capacity and collaboration between breeding programs in mainland Southeast Asia to develop new product profiles for commercially viable cassava varieties by identifying and incorporating known and novel sources of resistance to Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD) and Cassava Witches Broom Disease (CWBD) into national breeding programs:

Objective 3: Develop, test and deploy diagnostic protocols, tools, and information platforms fit for purpose in monitoring, surveillance, and certification applications; and

Objective 4: Develop and evaluate technically feasible and economically sustainable cassava seed system models for the rapid dissemination of new varieties and clean planting material to smallholder farmers in different production systems and value chains.

The project will develop technically viable and economically sustainable solutions to address the disease related problems, test and evaluate methods for scaling, and prepare the region to defend against future pest and disease incursions by strengthening capacity and networks, and investigate opportunities for public-private funding models.

Outputs of the project will include:

1. Commercially competitive and acceptable cassava varieties resistant to CMD and yield high the existing varieties under disease pressure through a process of screening, breeding and selection;
2. Source of resistance to CWBD identified and introduced into cassava breeding programs;
3. Enhanced regional diagnostic protocols, tools and information platforms fit for purpose in monitoring, surveillance, and certification applications across scales;
4. Models for the development of economically sustainable cassava seed systems for the rapid dissemination of new varieties and clean planting material to farmers in different value chains.
5. Business models, policy recommendations and alternative funding models for sustainability of interventions across multiple scales.