Within the framework of the implementation of the OIC-Ten Year Programme of Action in the area of poverty alleviation, particularly the preparations for undertaking the necessary studies to work out a special programme for Africa, SESRIC prepared, in February 2007, a preliminary report titled "Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Situation in the OIC Member Countries". The report reached some key recommendations for reducing poverty in OIC Member Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Among other things, the report concludes that increasing the productivity and the value added of the agricultural activities of the poor people in the rural areas is of an utmost importance in reducing poverty in most of these countries.

In the light of these results, SESRIC continued its research on the same subject and prepared, in July 2007, another report titled "Food Security and Poverty Alleviation Initiative in the OIC Member States of Sub-Saharan Africa: A Preamble to Cassava Integrated Project". The report introduced an initiative for food security project proposal for alleviating poverty based on increasing the productivity of Cassava and the potential of Cassava processing in some OIC Member Countries in sub-Saharan Africa, which could be used as a model in other Member Countries in the region. The pilot project proposal of this Initiative is called the "Cassava Integrated Project for Food Security & Poverty Alleviation in the OIC Member States of sub-Saharan Africa".