It is a very nutritious and resilient tuber and Kenya will have to rely on this resource to feed that large slice of its population that will suffer extreme hunger as the pandemic emergency progresses.
We are talking about cassava, also known as yucca or cassava, which is now widespread in the African country, even though it was introduced less than five hundred years ago by the Portuguese, who in turn found it during the first explorations in Brazil. 
Last year Kenya produced 973,000 tons of cassava, all sold and consumed in the country in the form of flour or even used as potatoes, boiled, roasted or fried.
This tuber has a very high production potential, because its roots produce more calories per unit of soil than any other crop with the sole exception of sugar cane.
More resistant than maize and millet, cassava develops a greater tolerance to extreme environmental conditions and the roots, once ripe, can survive in the soil without receiving water for long periods of time, preserving their nutritional properties.
This is the advantage of cassava, compared to cereals, which makes it an excellent basic resource for food security, particularly in critical periods of drought and famine. This large elongated tuber with bark-like bark could therefore be safely described as one of the main crops for world food security, a great resource for poor people, therefore.
Until now, the world of the food economy has not cared too much about its expansion, but now, in order to speed up the process of extension of crops, it is thinking about facilitating the cultivation of genetically modified crops precisely to cope with the emergency. So Kenya is planning to approve GMO cultivation in the country and the multinational Monsanto has already proposed to provide assistance for its development. The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (Kalro) is working to introduce the genetically modified variety that is reportedly more resistant to disease than traditional strains.
"The National Biosafety Authority (NBA) announces to the public that it has received a request for consideration for a possible environmental release (open cultivation) and the placing on the market of genetically modified cassava Brown Streak Disease resistant cassava (CBSD), a common viral disease present in Kenya," reads a statement.
According to Kalro, GM cassava would result in increased marketable yields for farmers.
"Farmers and consumers will benefit from resistant cassava both for subsistence and to make a profit from its trade," the statement continues.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, cassava is not only resistant but can also be grown without mechanization or expensive inputs such as fertilizers.
Nigeria currently leads the continent in cassava production, with Malawi, Tanzania, Ghana and Uganda completing the list of the top five producers.
NBA said the government is considering changes to the nutritional composition and safety of the new proteins in the assessment before granting approval for harvest.
If approved, GM cassava will be included in the list of GM crops currently awaiting legalization.