The development of the Global Cassava Development Strategy (GCDS) and associated documents evolved from a brainstorming meeting convened by the International Fund for

Agricultural Development (IFAD) in 1996 in Rome, Italy. Recognising the importance of cassava as staple food and a source of income for hundred of millions of poor people in marginal areas in many parts of Africa, Asia and, Latin America and the Caribbean, the meeting noted the urgent need to formulate an overall strategic plan for cassava development.

The strategy consists in a systematic approach to identifying opportunities and constraints at each stage of the commodity development cycle from production to consumption. It is also considered as a framework for technical co-operation in research and technology transfer and for future debates on global issues affecting cassava.

It is recognised that a GCDS requires a coalition of stakeholders including cassava producers and their organisations, governments and policy makers, donors, technical and research institutions and their networks, NGOs and their networks, and the private sector.

The development of the strategy was spearheaded by IFAD and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the Natural Resources Institute (NRI) and the "Centre de cooperation internationale en recherche agronomique pour le developpement" (CIRAD).

The GCDS Validation Forum was jointly organised by FAO and IFAD under the auspices of the FAO-Headquarters in Rome on 26 - 28 April 2000. There were 78 participants from 22 countries. The GCDS was endorsed with the following key points highlighted:

• it should be demand driven and/or market oriented and take advantage of market opportunities for traditional and new products;
• it should follow an integrated approach, involving, simultaneously, production, processing and marketing;
• it should have catalysts and champions to facilitate cassava development;
• it needs to be applicable to a wide range of stakeholders and implemented at various paces and levels starting from national, through regional to global;
• it should address issues of sustainability, gender and equity, and potential environment impact; and,
• it should address food security concerns for disaster mitigation and recovery situations.

An implementation plan was adopted during the forum drawing on the principles outlined in the strategy document and takes into consideration the priorities established by representatives of the public and private sectors during the various consultation meetings.

The Global Cassava Development Strategy and some of the supporting documents can be found at www.globalcassavastrategy.net
(received 10 Mar 2001 from A. Westby)