Dr Clair Hershey is former Cassava Program Leader at the world-famous International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Colombia. With a background in plant breeding, Dr Hershey has previously worked for the FAO and the Global Partnership Initiative for Plant Breeding Capacity Building (GIPB) and was Editor of Plant Breeding News. Dr. Fauquet is an international leader in plant virology including taxonomy, epidemiology, molecular virology, and in gene-silencing as an antiviral strategy. He co-founded the Global Cassava Partnership for the 21st Century (GCP21) in 2002, which he is now directing and whose goal is to improve cassava worldwide. Dr Fauquet has published more than 300 research papers in reviewed journals and books. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, of the American Phytopathological Society and a member of the St Louis Academy of Sciences. In 2007, Dr. Fauquet was knighted Chevalier de lâ Ordre des Palmes Académiques by the French Minister of High Education and Research.

• Part 1 The cassava plant and its uses1.The emergence of cassava as a global crop: Doyle McKey, University of Montpellier, France and Marc Delêtre, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland; 2.Use and nutritional value of cassava roots and leaves as a traditional food: Aurélie Bechoff, Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, UK; 3.Cassava for industrial uses: Kuakoon Piyachomkwan and Sittichoke Wanlapatit, National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Thailand; and Klanarong Sriroth, Kasetsart University, Thailand; 4.New uses and processes for cassava: Keith Tomlins and Ben Bennett, Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, UK; Part 2 Current cassava cultivation and opportunities for improvement 5.Cassava cultivation in Asia: Tin Maung Aye, CIAT, Vietnam; 6.Cassava cultivation in sub-Saharan Africa: Dunstan S. C. Spencer, Enterprise Development Services Ltd, Sierra Leone; and Chuma Ezedinma, UNIDO, Nigeria; 7.Cassava cultivation in Latin America: Olivier F. Vilpoux, Denilson de Oliveira Guilherme and Marney Pascoli Cereda, Catholic University of Campo Grande, Brazil; 8.Drivers of change for cassava’s multiple roles in sustainable development: Clair H. Hershey, formerly CIAT, Colombia; 9.Targeting smallholder farmers to adopt improved cassava technologies: challenges and opportunities: Kolawole Adebayo, Federal University of Agriculture, Nigeria; 10.GCP21: a global cassava partnership for the 21st century: Claude M. Fauquet and Joe Tohme, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Colombia; Part 3 Sustainable intensification of cassava cultivation11.Integrated crop management for cassava cultivation in Asia: Tin Maung Aye, CIAT, Vietnam; and Reinhardt Howeler, CIAT Emeritus - formerly CIAT, Thailand; 12.Seed systems management in cassava cultivation: James George and Sarojini Amma Sunitha, ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, India; 13.Cassava cultivation and soil productivity: Reinhardt Howeler, CIAT Emeritus - formerly CIAT, Thailand; 14.Addressing nutritional disorders in cassava cultivation: Reinhardt Howeler, CIAT Emeritus - formerly CIAT, Thailand; 15.Nutrient sources and their application in cassava cultivation: Reinhardt Howeler, CIAT Emeritus - formerly CIAT, Thailand; 16.Intercropping and crop rotations in cassava cultivation: a production systems approach: Thomas W. Kuyper, Wageningen University, The Netherlands; and Samuel Adjei-Nsiah, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ghana; 17.Value chain approaches to mechanization in cassava cultivation and harvesting in Africa: George Marechera and Grace Muinga, African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), Kenya;

"The result is a beautiful book with a lot of useful and updated information. I am sure it will be in great demand, and hopefully will help in the further improvement of cassava yields, especially in Africa where it is such an important food crop."Dr Reinhardt Howeler, CIAT Emeritus; author in: Achieving sustainable cultivation of cassava Volume 1