• ADFMA partners with regional research center WAVE to improve cassava yields

• Post-harvest losses reach 40% of national output, driven by low yields and disease

• Cassava sector generated CFA514 bln ($850 mln) in value added in 2018, CIRAD says

Côte d’Ivoire’s Cassava Development Agency (ADFMA) has entered into a partnership with the Regional Center of Excellence for Transboundary Plant Pathogens (WAVE). The announcement was made on September 9 during a meeting between the two organizations in Bingerville, according to the Ivorian Press Agency (AIP).

#Société | Autosuffisance en manioc : les acteurs nationaux du secteur à la rencontre du Centre régional "Central and West African Virus Epidemiology" pour l'amélioration de leur productivité

Abidjan, le 10 septembre 2025- Face à la menace des maladies telles que la striure… pic.twitter.com/H41SPSfP4D

— Gouvernement de Côte d'Ivoire (@Gouvciofficiel) September 10, 2025

The initiative aims to improve cassava productivity and reduce post-harvest losses, which account for nearly 40% of national production. “Where one hectare of cassava should yield between 25 and 35 tons, we are producing only 10 to 18 tons. This means losses of 7 to 13 tons per hectare,” said ADFMA president Memel Kevin Yedo.

The low yields are linked to poor harvesting performance and plant diseases such as Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD) and Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD). According to the FAO, CBSD can wipe out yields entirely in some regions of Africa, particularly with highly sensitive cassava varieties.

“We are developing several cassava varieties for mass production. We are ready to work with industry players to treat existing varieties and propose new ones,” said WAVE executive director Justin Pita. WAVE operates in 14 African countries, with 17 laboratories across the continent.

Strengthening cassava productivity is seen as vital given the crop’s economic role. A 2018 study by CIRAD estimated the direct value added along Côte d’Ivoire’s cassava value chain at CFA514 billion ($850 million).