Responding
to a Persistent Villain: Cassava Brown Streak Virus set
to play havoc in Sub-Saharan Africa
|
| With cassava production
projected to grow at a steady 2.9 percent
per year, controlling the cassava brown streak
virus is critical for ensuring food and livelihood
security for millions in Sub-Saharan Africa. |
|
|
|
|
Cassava is vital source of food and livelihoods for millions
of people in Sub-Saharan Africa. A staple crop, it tolerates
drought and is able to thrive in marginal soils making
it one of Africa’s most reliable food crops.
Cassava production is projected to grow at a steady 2.9
percent per year, due to area and yield expansion. Current
African production is expected to double by 2020, with
major producers being the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Ghana, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda.
Direct consumption of cassava is expected to reach 85
million tons in the year 2005. Use in animal feed is also
expected to grow at an annual rate of 1.3 percent to the
year 2005, largely due to the expansion of the livestock
sector.
But there is a flip side to this rosy picture. A devastating
virus, responsible for causing the cassava brown streak
disease (CBSD) is gaining in severity, threatening food
and livelihood securities for millions of farmers and
cassava consumers in Sub-Saharan Africa. The virus belongs
to the family Potyviridae, genus Ipomovirus. CBSD causes
a dry necrotic rot in the storage roots, decimating yields,
or worse still, leading either to complete spoilage or
significant reductions in quality. Current estimates show
that CBSD causes economic losses in excess of $100 million
annually.
Recognizing the severity of the threat, IITA is beginning
a major, proactive emergency program to combat the disease
and stabilize production of this important food crop.
Activities will focus on developing diagnostic tools for
the virus, using conventional and genetic transformation
methods for developing high-yielding, CBSD-resistant varieties
of cassava, and developing an array of integrated pest
and crop management options suited for small-holder agriculture.
A campaign to obtain funding has been launched. IITA and
its partners (including NGOs, community-based organizations
and scientists in national agricultural systems and advanced
research institutions) hope to mitigate the pending disaster,
and do it in a manner that contributes to the stability
and growth of the food sector in a wide swath of countries
in Sub-Saharan Africa. While the impact of this poorly
understood disease is most devastating in the coastal
areas of East Africa (including Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique)
it is also a major problem in Malawi, Uganda and Zambia.
For more information, visit www.iita.org
|
|
