An estimated 800 million people's food and income are threatened by rapidly spreading cassava diseases. But in good news for cassava breeders and farmers, breakthrough research has established the pathogens and the first diagnostic tests for two diseases: Cassava Frogskin Disease and Cassava Witches’ Broom Disease. This achievement can revolutionize cassava disease management across Latin America and the Caribbean as well as Southeast Asia, where farmers and researchers have been working side-by-side to fight the spread of these diseases for decades.

Scientists have organized structural barriers to food systems change into a comprehensive framework, with the aim of empowering policymakers, civil society organizations, and researchers to tackle food sustainability challenges more effectively.