It is a pretty big business in these parts. I understand Thailand is one of the biggest producers of the crop in the world.
During harvesting season (Feb through Apr), rural roads will be clogged with both sugar cane trucks and cassova trucks. It is a very labor-intensive product to harvest. They bring in a lot of labor from either Myanmar or Cambodia (depending on the part of the country) to help with the harvest. The workers are really highly paid 🤣🤣 -- getting about $10-$15 per day of work.🤔🤔
They use the crop in a lot of desserts as well as the iconic bubbles for bubble tea. They also will use tapioca flour as an alternative to rice flour for noodles and dumplings used in making entrees.
ONE BIG CAUTION: while you can buy a cassava root in grocery stores, you need to be very careful in preparation on it. Soak for a long period (1 day+) before using it as there are chemicals in it that will break down into hydrogen cyanide if they aren't properly leached out before use. Look up and follow instructions. (To my knowledge, unless you are a total glutton, it's not enough to kill you, but definitely enough to make you pretty sick)
Enjoy!