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In response to the situation in Nigeria, the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture, (IITA), Ibadan, in collaboration with the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike, have developed 40 high-yielding, disease-resistant improved cassava varieties. These varieties have the potential to raise the low cassava productivity on farmers’ farms by up to 30-40 ton/ha (NRCRI, 2010). Thus the introduction of improved varieties and agronomic practices into cassava production system consequently can increase yields per unit area by 40% (Nweke et al. 2001). A survey conducted in Nigeria in 2003 indicated that a lack of clean planting material (clean stakes) was by far the most important problem in cassava production systems, followed by low yields of fresh roots (Dickson, 2003). Moreover, rates of adoption and diffusion of the new varieties are slow because one cassava plant can only generate about 10 stem cuttings (IITA, 1998). Also, accounting for low adoptability of the new varieties among farmers were the issues of a weak extension system, insufficient quantity of recommended planting materials and the lack of an efficient seed system.
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