To launch the paper, the 2020 Vision initiative held a seminar on June 8. The use and production of roots and tubers vary owing to differences in population and economic growth, cultural factors, and levels of urbanization. For example, although overall consumption of roots and tubers as food in developing countries increased by 22 percent between 1983 and 1996, cassava consumption stagnated in Latin America because of changing diets that favored potatoes, but rose sharply in Sub-Saharan Africa because of stagnant incomes, rapid urbanization, and population growth. The adaptability of roots and tubers to marginal environments, their contribution to household food security, and their flexibility in mixed farming systems and end uses will make them even more important as population and urbanization increase and poverty remains in the midst of rising incomes. The challenge will be to make roots and tubers a part of a targeted, sustainable strategy for improving the welfare of the rural poor and for linking smallholder farmers to markets.
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