In South Vietnam cassava is predominantly used as a raw material for processing into a wide range of products, both at the household and small-scale processor level, generating employment in the rural sector. Soil fertility problems are also important.
Processing is constrained, especially by raw material supply fluctuations and quality.
The potential for processing technology is significant. Cassava varietal dissemination in Vietnam has made rapid and consistent progress. In South Vietnam the new cultivars are now planted on a fairly large acreage, already generating additional economic benefits of about S million US dollars, which is shared by processors, production organizers and small farmers according to their size of operation. It appears to be the most equitable contribution of crop breeding. Cassava, with the immediate possibility of yield increases, will play an increasingly important role as an income generator to upland farmers in Vietnam.