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UN agency: Urgent action needed to stem cassava virus threatening East Africa
16.11.2011 08:02 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) —
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is urging swift action to tackle a cassava virus that is affecting large parts of East Africa and threatening a staple food crop for much of the region.
The Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD), a new variant that is particularly affecting countries in the Great Lakes region, is on the verge of becoming an epidemic, according to a news release issued today by the Rome-based FAO.
The agency has called for an urgent increase in funding, research, training, surveillance and other measures to help farmers and breeders.
Cassava can account for as much as a third of the total calorie intake for people in countries such as Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
«We urgently need to get information on the extent and severity of the outbreak, and to support investments to identify disease-tolerant varieties and coping strategies for farmers.»
FAO noted that timely detection of the disease has been a challenge because it manifests itself in different ways depending on local conditions. An apparently healthy plant may be found to have spoiled roots only when harvested.
The agency is calling for short-term measures such as stepping up disease surveillance and conducting regular inspections increasing the sensitization of communities to the threat of CBSD and using hands-on training for farmers.
It is also recommending a ban on the distribution of infected plants between districts and zones, and, in the event of infection, using coping strategies such as the early harvest of cassava, before symptoms appear and significant damage can be done.
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