Using ethnographic reports from the Human Relations Area Files in conjunction with national agricultural censuses, this study outlines the importance of cassava across Africa, especially in famine prevention and food security.

This exploratory study seeks to explain cassava production and processing in Africa by considering cultural, agronomic, and environmental data. After examining the descriptive results of the agricultural and social contexts of cassava use, the authors build upon Boserup's population density model (1965) to analyze their own hypothesized model of cassava's importance among the sampled societies.