A review of root, tuber and banana crops in developing countries: past, present and future

Abstract

For many of the developing world's poorest farmers and food-insecure people, roots, tubers, bananas and plantain crops (RTBs) serve as a critical source of food, nutrition and cash income. RTBs have been particularly important in areas where local agri-food systems are under stress. Under such circumstances, growers, processors and traders often see opportunities to improve food security or increase their incomes with those crops due to shifting tastes and preferences for food and non-food products. Since the early 1990s, cassava output surged in sub-Saharan Africa, while potato production expanded rapidly in Asia. RTBs are consumed by over three billion people in developing countries with a market value of US$ 339 billion. This paper analyses the major changes in production, utilisation and trade of RTBs over the last six decades, assesses estimates of their future trajectory and offers recommendations so that they might achieve their full potential.

Global Plant Virus Disease Pandemics and Epidemics

“…Although generally more suited to cool conditions, over the last two decades its production increased considerably in developing countries, especially at higher altitudes. It now plays an increasingly important role in helping provide food security in the developing world [ 66 , 162 , 163 ]. Potato crops suffer from many virus diseases [ 89 , 90 , 164 ].…”

“…The crop is now widely grown in all regions of the world with warm climates, including in Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas, the largest production being concentrated in China and East African countries. Amongst staple food crops, sweet potato is ranked seventh in importance globally and fifth most important for developing countries [ 66 , 163 , 178 , 179 ]. It constitutes an ideal crop for many subsistence agriculture situations as it tolerates infertile soils and drought well, and its tuberous roots can be left stored in the soil for long periods before harvest [ 94 , 95 ].…”

“…As a world staple food crop, banana ( Musa spp., including dessert banana and plantain) ranks sixth in the world after maize, wheat, rice, potato and cassava, and the fourth most important for developing countries [ 66 , 163 ]. It is grown widely in the humid tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.…”

Integrating end‐user preferences into breeding programmes for roots, tubers and bananas

“…Papers address key problems in the breeding of RTB crops in SSA: inadequate understanding of requirements for different end uses, missing information on the physicochemical factors determining these requirements and absence of high‐throughput screening protocols. The review papers provide a broad overview of RTB production and use trends (Scott, 2021), describe case studies of varietal change (replacing old varieties with new ones) (Thiele et al ., 2021), summarise analytical methods for rapid quality assessment of yam and cassava using near‐infrared spectroscopy (Alamu et al ., 2021), describe gari end‐user preferences (Awoyale et al ., 2021) and review the literature to develop a product profile for fried sweet potato in West Africa (Carey et al ., 2021).…”

“…Roots, tubers and bananas play an essential role as staple foods in the tropics and subtropics, and particularly in Africa where they are culturally highly valued (Muimba‐Kankolongo, 2018; Kennedy et al ., 2019; Lebot, 2019; Petsakos et al ., 2019; Scott, 2021). Key RTB crops in the African context are cassava, cooking bananas/plantains, yams, sweet potatoes and potatoes (FAO, 1990; Lebot, 2019).…”