FAO Calls for Global Fight Against Wheat Killer UG99

A new virulent strain of the wheat rust disease is on a global march, wreaking havoc along its way and threatening the global wheat supply. The strain, which was first identified in Uganda in 1999 (thus the name UG99), has made its way into the Arabic Peninsula. In late 2007, UG99 was detected in Iran. UG99 now threatens the nearby wheat mega-producing countries of Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and China.

Representatives from major wheat growing countries called for urgent coordinated action to prevent and control the wheat stem rust disease, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization says in a press release. In a declaration adopted by the International Conference on Wheat Stem Rust Ug99 in New Delhi, countries pledged upon the international community, donors and international organizations to increase assistance to national and global initiatives to combat the disease. FAO noted that affected countries and countries at risk should develop contingency plans to prevent rust epidemics that could result in devastating yield losses. “These countries should share surveillance information and a global early warning system should be immediately established.”

FAO says that as much as 80 percent of all wheat varieties planted in Asia and Africa are susceptible to UG99.

Read the news release at http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/8391/icode/