CASSAVA The Rambo crop, by the Agricultural Research Council of South Africa 

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is an important food security, industrial and energy crop in the world. Cassava has a number of attributes that make it attractive as a crop to promote under any climate change adaptation strategy for sub-Saharan Africa. Cassava provides an excellent insurance against famine for farmers. The Mechanisation Division of the Agricultural Research Council - Institute
for Agricultural Engineering (ARC-IAE) has focused its research efforts on specific areas
such as conservation agriculture research and mechanised cassava production. Cassava is
a lesser-known climate resilient crop in this country. Farmers are trained on mechanised
production techniques in the sub-tropical areas, where there is comparative advantage for the
growth of cassava and other root and tuber crops.
Experimental plots on pilot basis have been established at Empangeni in KwaZulu Natal,
Nelspruit at Mpumalanga, University of Venda in Limpopo Provinces and IAE experimental
farm at Silverton. Seedbed have been prepared and cassava planted on ridges to comply with
mechanical harvesting at crop maturity especially during the dry season, when the ground is
hard.