Cassava Breeders Unite to Derail CBSD Spread

Cassava breeders from all across the sub-Saharan Africa met in Zanzibar to discuss the actions needed to stop the rapid spread of the virus-caused cassava brown streak disease (CBSD). CBSD has already caused a low-grade famine in northern Mozambique and is threatening cassava production in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi. CBSD causes the cassava roots to become corky and inedible. Yield loss of up to 100 percent has been recorded. The reason behind the recent spread of the disease remains unclear. The damage would be considerable if CBSD’s spread remains unabated, breeders said, as it is likely to compound the losses being caused by another disease, the cassava mosaic virus.

A number of CBSD-resistant varieties have already been developed, but breeders said that the problem lies in getting these varieties to farmers as African governments have stringent variety release rules that seriously delay the distribution of the new varieties. In addition to CBSD resistance, the breeders pointed out that the breeding strategies should also include ways to increase the yield and incorporate other traits like increased drought tolerance; otherwise farmers are unlikely to use the new varieties.

The meeting, attended by crop breeders, seed producers, and representatives of agriculture-related businesses and non-governmental organizations from eight countries, was jointly hosted by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and the Ministry of Agriculture of Tanzania.

Read more at http://www.agra-alliance.org/news/pr101807.html