Cassava, yuca, manioc, Manihot esculenta

Cassava  is a woody shrub that was domesticated in west-central Brazil sometime  after 10 000 BC.
 By 6600 BC, it was already cultivated  as far North as Southern Mexico.

 Now days cassava is number 6 crop in the world, playing  important role in the tropics. More than 350 million people eat cassava daily. It brings exceptionally high yields, up to 90 TONS per hectare in most favorable conditions. Normally  its around 9-12 tons. Cassava is deadly poisonous when eaten raw (1 kg of  a bitter variety  has enough HCN to kill 25 cows) , and  very poor in protein content. It can also cause severe calcific pancreatitis in humans, leading to chronic pancreatitis, and , in perspective,  pancreatic cancer. Cyanide's from cassava often used to poison fish  in rivers and reefs. A lot of  wild-caught aquarium fish coming from South-east Asia and Oceania especially, were stunned with  cyanides from cassava. These poisons cause permanent damage to coral reefs , etc., and also to the  exported fish. 

Biggest producer of cassava in the world is Nigeria with 44 582 000 tons produced in 2008. The biggest producer per capita is Angola with over 675 kg  produced in 2009.

Worldwide over  240 989 481 tons were produced in 2009,(more than ever before, crop is growing every year since 1996) which leaves a potential consumer with  about 35.4 kg of  cassava per year. Not that you would want to eat it , but it's enough  to last  you  over  28 days at 2000 calories a  day.

Crop of cassava 2009 could feed  528.2 million people, more than populations of  Indonesia, Brazil and Philippines combined. However its protein content is poor , and at 50 grams a day it would suffice to only 200-260 million people. Interestingly, there are tons of protein in Cassava leaves that  are often used as hay for  animals.
Best worldwide yields ever  were reached in 2009-- 12 648.8 kg/ha.Worst, since 1961-- 7404.7 kg/ha (1961). Record yield belongs to India 34367.8 kg/ha.(2009)

19 058 376 + hectares were used to grow cassava in 2009(more than ever before)  That's a territory bigger that Syria and Trinidad and Tobago combined, or slightly smaller that South Dakota. Land usage grew 98% since 1961. That is slightly over 1.21% of all arable land in the world.

Cassava costs $80-250 per tonne, average is $100-150 with  minimum purchase of 50-100 t. Biggest exporter is Thailand  (77 % of world exports in 2005). World crop is about  $25 billion worth.


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Production in tonnes, 2007, 2008, 2009  (M, F--estimates)

American Samoa	Cassava	15	F	15	F		M
Angola	Cassava	843271		679167		994422
Antigua and Barbuda	Cassava	20	F	20	F		M
Argentina	Cassava	17500	F	17500	F	17700	F
Bahamas	Cassava	18	F	18	F	18	F
Barbados	Cassava	25	F	25	F	25	F
Belize	Cassava	19		23		25
Benin	Cassava	167102		183251			M
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)	Cassava	36631		36764		37048
Brazil	Cassava	1894460		1888859		1872812
Brunei Darussalam	Cassava	150	F	150	F		M
Burkina Faso	Cassava	2000	F	2000	F		M
Burundi	Cassava	64000	F	64000	F		M
Cambodia	Cassava	108000		179945		157000	*
Cameroon	Cassava	365000	F	365000	F	365000	F
Cape Verde	Cassava	320	F	320	F		M
Cayman Islands	Cassava	3	F	3	F	3	F
Central African Republic	Cassava	199281		207252		214299
Chad	Cassava	26000		20000	F		M
China	Cassava	268580	F	270580	F	270580	F
Colombia	Cassava	165588		165170		164754
Comoros	Cassava	11000	F	11000	F	11000	F
Congo	Cassava	105000	F	110000	F		M
Cook Islands	Cassava	60	F	60	F		M
Costa Rica	Cassava	26526	F	26760	F	30113	F
Côte d'Ivoire	Cassava	320843		390000	F		M
Cuba	Cassava	57385		52584		59582
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Cassava	1849203		1851051			M
Dominica	Cassava	105	F	105	F		M
Dominican Republic	Cassava	16978		14057			M
Ecuador	Cassava	16459		19964		21256
El Salvador	Cassava	1540		1709		1607
Equatorial Guinea	Cassava	18000	F	18000	F		M
Fiji	Cassava	6395		6183		3985
French Guiana	Cassava	1700	F	1700	F		M
French Polynesia	Cassava	240	F	240	F		M
Gabon	Cassava	47000	F	47000	F	47000	F
Gambia	Cassava	2600	F	2600	F		M
Ghana	Cassava	800530		839920		885800
Grenada	Cassava	30	F	30	F		M
Guadeloupe	Cassava	155	F	200	F		M
Guatemala	Cassava	5200	F	5200	F		M
Guinea	Cassava	139836		139836			M
Guinea-Bissau	Cassava	4267		4800	F		M
Guyana	Cassava	1850	F	1850	F		M
Haiti	Cassava	102000	F	99000	F		M
Honduras	Cassava	4905		4905		4900	F
India	Cassava	255500		270000		280000
Indonesia	Cassava	1201481		1193319		1175666
Jamaica	Cassava	992		806			M
Kenya	Cassava	53610		54672		70425
Lao People's Democratic Republic	Cassava	11015		14995		10375
Liberia	Cassava	85000	F	87000	F		M
Madagascar	Cassava	320000	F	320000	F		M
Malawi	Cassava	172539		183014			M
Malaysia	Cassava	41000		41000	F		M
Maldives	Cassava	2		1	F	1	F
Mali	Cassava	5925		6000	F		M
Martinique	Cassava	120		120	F		M
Mauritius	Cassava	17		22		27
Mexico	Cassava	1235		950			M
Micronesia (Federated States of)	Cassava	1200		1200	F		M
Mozambique	Cassava	850000	F	850000	F		M
Myanmar	Cassava	16500	F	16500	F		M
New Caledonia	Cassava	410	F	410	F		M
Nicaragua	Cassava	12000	F	12000	F		M
Niger	Cassava	6600	F	5000	F		M
Nigeria	Cassava	3875000		3778000			M
Niue	Cassava	10	F	10	F		M
Panama	Cassava	1438		1039			M
Papua New Guinea	Cassava	14500	F	14500	F		M
Paraguay				170694		180000
Peru	Cassava	103537		103369		104815
Philippines	Cassava	209633		211657		215900
Puerto Rico	Cassava	60	F	60	F		M
Qatar	Cassava		M		M		M
Réunion	Cassava	30	F	30	F		M
Rwanda	Cassava	125000	F	150000	F	150000	F
Saint Lucia	Cassava	340	F	340	F		M
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Cassava	120	F	120	F		M
Samoa	Cassava	30	F	30	F		M
Sao Tome and Principe	Cassava	660	F	660	F		M
Senegal	Cassava	61248		113205		32418
Seychelles	Cassava	30	F	30	F		M
Sierra Leone	Cassava	74000	F	74000	F		M
Singapore	Cassava	0	F	0	F		M
Solomon Islands	Cassava	150	F	150	F		M
Somalia	Cassava	8600	F	8600	F		M
Sri Lanka	Cassava	22560		23940		23870
Sudan	Cassava	6000	F	6000	F		M
Suriname	Cassava	155		115			M
Thailand	Cassava	1174209		1183536		1326743
Timor-Leste	Cassava	10000	F	10000	F		M
Togo	Cassava	126733		127630			M
Tonga	Cassava	770	F	770	F		M
Trinidad and Tobago	Cassava	100	F	100	F		M
Uganda	Cassava	386000		398000		411000
United Republic of Tanzania	Cassava	675000	F	675000	F		M
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)	Cassava	35083		34988			M
Viet Nam	Cassava	495500		555700		508800
Wallis and Futuna Islands	Cassava	250		250	F		M
Zambia	Cassava	200000		205000	*	200000	F
Zimbabwe	Cassava	44500	F	44500	F		M
World + (Total)	Cassava	18684182	A	18677848	A	19058376	A