Cassava (Manihot esculenta C.) is one of the staple food commodities widely consumed by the Indonesian population. It ranks as the third most consumed food commodity, after rice and corn. Cassava is also known as ketela, a term derived from the word kastela due to the influence of the Portuguese and Spanish traders. It is believed that cassava originated from Southern Brazil, Eastern Bolivia, and other parts of South America, and has been cultivated for 8,000 to 10,000 years. The spread of cassava has reached almost all parts of the world, including Africa, Madagascar, and Asia, such as India and China. In Indonesia, cassava was first cultivated around 1810, introduced by Portuguese traders who brought it to the Maluku Islands in the 16th century.
Cassava is often referred to as the “tree of a thousand benefits” because every part of the plant is useful to humans. The tubers are a staple food and processed into tapioca flour for various culinary products. The leaves are used as a vegetable, rich in vitamins A, B1, fats, protein, and carbohydrates. The stems are used as firewood, and the roots of cassava serve as a source of traditional medicine. Recently, cassava has also been innovatively used as an environmentally friendly material for plastics, made from cassava skins.