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This Months Issue
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The Cassava Invasion continues
Cassava was introduced to the Pacific and quickly became the islanders’ ‘TV Dinner’ staple, displacing yam and dalo as the most commonly consumed crop. It is placed today to make a further invasion with ethanol production, and may displace the dalo and sugar industry to become our most valuable produce.
ACCORDING to a Peruvian myth, a descendant of the Sun created man and woman. When man died, the Sun felt sorry for the woman and gave her a son. Later the creator of man and woman killed and buried the woman’s son. From the slain son’s teeth grew maize and from his ribs grew the long roots of the manihot. There is great debate among scientists about the origins of the Manihot Esculenta Crantz commonly known as cassava or tavioka in Fiji. Some say it originates from North-East Brazil while others say West-Central Brazil. There are also those who argue that it is native to both Mexico and Guatamala. Cassava has been known to be domesticated in Brazil for nearly 10, 000 years BP, before it started to appear in other parts of Central and South America. The earliest direct evidence of cassava cultivation was found only last year at a 1,400 year old Mayan site in El Salvador by an archaeological team from the University of Colorado. 
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