In 2017 the aprobar of GM cassava in Nigeria was allowed, although this cassava has faced challenges:

The research on cassava has been carried out since 28 years ago. This is because there are obstacles regarding the breeding for better varieties due to the plant's unpredictable flowering, which has led to a lack of genetic improvement in cassava.

• Genetic modification, are performed by inserting foreign DNA into the cassava. This restriction enzymes scientist have tried to increase nutrients in cassava, although given the inability of conventional breeding to perform this specific task in cassava, it wasn’t been further developed.
• Another approch was been utilising a technique by which breeders can improve their cassava varieties rapidly, and then CRISPR-Cas9 technology introduced specific mutations in cassava which would prevent them from obtaining certain CMD viruses. This takes more effort and time.
• Scientists have expressed worries about the long-term effects of GM cassava on the environment and the lack of a regulatory framework, despite their belief that the technology has the potential to create disease and pest-resistant cultivars and increase the nutritional value of cassava, they were concerned that consumers may express such concerns given limited understanding of GM technology.

Since the early 1900s, most crops have been genetically improved by selective breeding, where plants with desired traits are mated to create newer, better varieties of crops. A fundamental requirement of breeding like this is the ability to control a plant’s flowering and pollination cycles. Cassava, however does not flower very predictably, frustrating efforts to breed better varieties.

The result suggests that an overwhelming majority of scientists agree that GM biofortified cassava will benefit the health of millions in Africa, and that GM cassava conferred with disease and pest resistance will increase cassava production as it is currently plagued by cassava mosaic diseases (CMD). However, respondents are wary of long-term effects of GM cassava on the environment and lack of a regulatory framework to facilitate the adoption of GM cassava. Even though scientists expressed little or no concern about health risks of GM cassava, they were concerned that consumers may express such concerns given limited understanding of GM technology.

As a result, small-scale farmers are unlikely to benefit from conventional breeding as it might not serve the purpose of improving crop production and increasing the opportunity for large scale farming in tropical areas.

• The overall aim of BC + is to develop improved cassava of different varieties particularly in terms of biofortifying cassava with iron, zinc, protein and the vitamin A precursor, β-carotene. Again, the belief is that biofortified cassava has the ability to improve health and quality of life among poor farmers, including women, and young children in Africa.

1. The adoption of agricultural biotechnologies in Nigeria remains low due to various socioeconomic, ethical, and health factors.
2. There are concerns and rejection of transgenic cassava applications from certain organizations2. These factors have contributed to the limited development of GM cassava in Nigeria.