World’s cassava experts to wage war against cassava viruses; introduction into Nigeria, the largest cassava producer in the world, could result in drastic food shortages in this part of Africa
Cassava experts are reporting new outbreaks and the increased spread of Cassava Brown Streak Disease or CBSD, warning that the rapidly proliferating plant virus could cause a 50 percent drop in production of a crop that provides a significant source of food and income for 300 million Africans.
The “pandemic” of CBSD now underway is particularly worrisome because agriculture experts have been looking to the otherwise resilient cassava plant—which is also used to produce starch, flour, biofuel and even beer—as the perfect crop for helping to feed a continent where growing conditions in many regions are deteriorating in the face of climate change.
“Cassava is already incredibly important for Africa and is poised to play an even bigger role in the future, which is why we need to move quickly to contain and eliminate this plague,” said Claude Fauquet, a scientist at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (known by its Spanish acronym CIAT) who heads the Global Cassava Partnership for the 21st Century (GCP21). “We are particularly concerned that the disease could spread to West Africa and particularly Nigeria—the world’s largest producer and consumer of cassava—because Nigeria would provide a gateway for an invasion of West Africa where about 150 million people depend on the crop.”
Fauquet and his colleagues in the GCP21—an alliance of scientists, developers, donors and industry representatives—are gathering at the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center in Italy this week for a conference dedicated to “declaring war on cassava viruses in Africa.”
A “Silent Killer” Emerges: CBSD on Warpath from East to West
First identified in 1935 in East Africa and little-known until about ten years ago, CBSD has emerged as the most serious threat among the various cassava viruses. Infections can claim 100 percent of a farmer’s harvest without the farmer’s knowledge. The leaves of infected plants can look healthy even as the roots, cassava’s most prized asset, are being ravaged underground. The tell-tale signs of the disease are brown streaks in the root’s flesh that, when healthy, provides a rich source of dietary carbohydrates and industrial starchy products.
There have been recent reports of new outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo—the world’s third largest cassava producer—and Angola, where production has boomed in recent years. The spread of the disease to West Africa and particularly Nigeria is a major cause for concern, experts say, because the country now produces 50 million tons of cassava each year and has made a big bet on cassava for its agricultural and industrial development in the near future.
Nigeria is the first African country to massively invest in the potential of cassava to meet the rapidly growing global demand for industrial starches, which are used in everything from food products to textiles, plywood and paper. Nigeria hopes to mimic the success of countries in Southeast Asia, where a cassava-driven starch industry now generates US$5 billion per year and employs millions of smallholder farmers and numerous small-scale processors.
CMD—a Scourge for Cassava on the African Continent
Scientists at the conference will also consider options for dealing with another devastating virus—the Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD). CMD has plagued the whole African continent for over a century, each year removing a minimum of 50 million tons of cassava from the harvest.
The disease is caused by several viruses and the African continent witnessed several major CMD epidemics over the past decades, the most recent and devastating of which occurred in the 1990s in East and Central Africa. Great success was achieved in combating the CMD pandemic through developing and disseminating varieties that were resistant to CMD. In fact, by the mid-2000s, half of all cassava farmers were benefiting from these varieties in large parts of East and Central Africa. But by a cruel twist of nature, both improved and local varieties all succumbed to the ‘new’ pandemic of CBSD.
Unexpected Plot Twist: Whiteflies Ambush a Climate-Resilient Crop
Interest in cassava has intensified across Africa as rising temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns caused by climate change threaten the future viability of food staples such as maize and wheat. Cassava has been called the “Rambo root” for its extraordinary ability to survive high temperatures and tolerate poor soils. But rising temperatures now pose a threat to cassava because they appear to be one of several factors causing an explosion in whiteflies, which carry the viruses that cause CMD and CBSD and pass it along as they feed on the plant’s sap.
Compounding the effects of rising temperatures, scientists also think that genetic changes have led to the emergence of “super” whiteflies. This toxic mix of circumstances affecting a tiny fly threatens to shoot down the “Rambo root,” bringing the misery of food insecurity to vast swathes of Africa.
“We used to see only three or four whiteflies per plant; now we’re seeing thousands,” said James Legg, a leading cassava expert at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). “You literally have a situation where human beings are competing for food—with whiteflies.”
Farmers also help spread the disease by planting new fields with infected stem cuttings. Scientists note that while it would take several years for the disease to spread across the continent via whiteflies alone, infected stem cuttings could spark outbreaks in new areas overnight.
The Latest Bing News on:
Brown Streak Disease
- Tubakia and Bur Oak Blighton January 22, 2021 at 7:45 am
Oak leaf with irregularly shaped Tubakia leaf spots and veinal necrosis. Leaf spots appear in mid to late summer (July –August) as small circular to irregular tan, red-brown, to dark brown spots ...
- Sonoma songbirds under siegeon January 21, 2021 at 5:19 pm
A bacterial infection that is deadly to a songbird species is ripping through Sonoma County, and has at least one animal welfare organization asking residents to help stop the outbreak by taking down ...
- Your Diagnosis Please: Severe Diarrhea and Shockon January 18, 2021 at 4:00 pm
She reported up to 30 watery yellow-brown bowel movements per day, some with streaks of blood ... maternal grandmother with inflammatory bowel disease. She lived in Chicago and was a junior ...
- Nathan Chen wins fifth straight US Figure Skating titleon January 18, 2021 at 4:03 am
Not since Button won each title from 1946-52 has any American man had such a streak of success ... and lots of positives as well.” Jason Brown, the final competitor at these fan-less nationals ...
- Memory care admins await news of when vulnerable residents, staff can receive vaccineon January 11, 2021 at 6:02 am
Alpine View Lodge and Stellar Care in the College Area are two of many long-term care facilities in the county signed up for vaccination through the partnership between the Centers for Disease ...
- Bladder cancer symptoms: Is your pee brown? You could be at risk of the deadly diseaseon January 8, 2021 at 1:39 pm
"You may notice streaks of blood in your urine or the blood may turn your urine brown," explains the NHS ... of your urine could pinpoint the deadly disease Sign up for FREE now and never miss ...
- Don't Ignore These 4 Serious Urinary Health Symptomson January 6, 2021 at 9:38 am
Sometimes, it may have a pink or brown appearance, or it may be tinged with blood streaks or droplets ... damage to the bladder and even chronic kidney disease. In many cases, simple urine ...
- Here is the latest Ohio and West Virginia sports news from The Associated Presson December 27, 2020 at 7:34 pm
Jaylen Brown matched his career high with 34 points ... The Blue Jackets had their winning streak snapped at five. Columbus got a goal by rookie Jakob Lilja to extend its point streak to nine ...
- The Latest: Steelers get AFC berth, Packers clinch NFC Northon December 13, 2020 at 5:07 pm
But the Saints snapped a nine-game winning streak that was the NFL’s longest ... 6:45 p.m. Keenan Allen has passed Antonio Brown with the most receptions in a player’s first 100 games during ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Brown Streak Disease
The Latest Bing News on:
Cassava
- PODCAST: What Will It Take For Hawaii To Grow More Of Its Own Food?on January 27, 2021 at 2:39 am
“To get a loan, you have to prove you don’t need it … to get a grant, you have to have beautiful writing and lots of time,” said Alan Hoeft, who runs Island Manaia Cassava Plantation with his wife, ...
- NASC, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, others launch IMAGE to provide farmers quality seedson January 27, 2021 at 2:34 am
NASC, in collaboration with Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation, and Content Global Development, Tuesday, launched Institutionalizing Monitoring of Crop Variety ...
- West Akim municipality uses technology to support cassava farmerson January 26, 2021 at 4:55 am
Cassava farmers have been urged to engage the services of agricultural extension officers to support them with technical-know-how in cultivating the crop. A senior agric officer in charge of extension ...
- Cassava Sciences (NASDAQ:SAVA) Stock Price Up 21.8%on January 26, 2021 at 3:33 am
Cassava Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAVA) rose 21.8% on Monday . The company traded as high as $15.80 and last traded at $15.68. Approximately 4,240,805 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an ...
- Mozambique: More cassava, sweet potatoes grown than cereals 2015-2019 – statisticson January 26, 2021 at 2:41 am
Per capita' cereal production in Mozambique has remained below what is necessary to ensure food security, in contrast to cassava and sweet ...
- Cassava subsidiaries Maisha & Vaya join forces to deliver medicationon January 22, 2021 at 6:28 am
Cassava Smartech's Vaya and Maisha Health have joined forces to deliver medication to Zimbabweans during the second wave of the pandemic ...
- Changing cassava from ‘poor man’s diet’ to industrial cropon January 19, 2021 at 6:01 pm
A farmers' group in Busia county is seeking to raise the esteem of the cassava crop, long derided as a poor man’s diet. The Tangakona Commercial Village actually thrives on account of the hardy ...
- ‘Robust’ new cassava policy aims to diversify farming and boost exportson January 14, 2021 at 5:29 pm
Cambodian farmers creating cassava chips. A new policy aims to boost and diversify use of the crop to increase exports and improve the livelihoods of rural workers. KT/Chor Sokunthea The launch of ...
- Gov’t announces policy support for cassava industryon January 14, 2021 at 7:39 am
The Kingdom has officially launched a “National Cassava Policy” (NCP) to boost domestic production, processing and commercialisation for export to international markets in line with the government’s ...