Production in Africa, the leading production zone, is expected to reach 88 million tons, or 4 percent above last year, as a result of favourable climatic conditions, higher yields, increased plantings and, in some cases, conducive government policies. Similarly, in Nigeria, output may reach a new record of about 35 million tons, or 10 percent above last year. Overall, this is the result of government actions directed towards large scale multiplication and diffusion of high yielding and disease resistant planting material, a progressive replacement of existing varieties with new ones and the promotion of new farm applications. By contrast, poor crops are reported for Kenya and Burundi following respectively dry conditions and civil strife that disrupted farming activities and also for Uganda and Zaire as a result of reduced plantings and yields following a mosaic-virus disease outbreak.
Little change is anticipated in the output in other countries of the region.
In fresh roots. In Latin America and the Caribbean, cassava production is forecast to grow in a number of countries, particularly in Brazil and Colombia. In Brazil, the world's second largest cassava producing and processing country, output in 1996 is expected to increase by 4 percent to reach 26.4 million tons, largely as a result of an increase in plantings and the establishment of a government price support for farmers. In Colombia, the rise in output, although marginal, is the result of various measures implemented by the Government to sustain and expand cultivation. In Asia, the 1996 production is forecast at 47.8 million tons, virtually the level of last year.