Cassava Virus Spreading in East Africa
November 18, 2011| |
Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD) is on the verge of becoming an epidemic in East Africa. Experts of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) say that the disease has been found in previously unaffected areas particularly where cassava is a major food crop. People in Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda depend on the crop for food.
"None of the cassava varieties currently being distributed to farmers seem to be tolerant to the effects of CBSD. 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," said Jan Helsen, leader of FAO's European Union-funded Regional Cassava Initiative in Eastern and Central Africa.
Helsen says National Cassava Steering Committees have been set up to manage the response to the disease."Thanks to the foresight of, and the scientific support from, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), efforts are underway to understand the epidemiology of the disease, but more support will be needed for this work, and to select and bring on CBSD-tolerant varieties," Helsen added.
The FAO media release is at http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/94313/icode/.
| |
Biotech Updates is a weekly newsletter of ISAAA, a not-for-profit organization. It is distributed for free to over 22,000 subscribers worldwide to inform them about the key developments in biosciences, especially in biotechnology. Your support will help us in our mission to feed the world with knowledge. You can help by donating as little as $10.
-
See more articles:
-
News from Around the World
- Global Commission on Sustainable Agriculture Forwards Recommendations
- Scientists Sequence Genome of Medicago
- FAO: Traditional Crops Need Protection from Climate Change
- New Global Research Collaborations Announced at the ICG-6
- BASF and Cargill Partner on GM Plant Omega-3 Project
- Argentina: 67th Signatory of the Nagoya Protocol
- Cassava Virus Spreading in East Africa
- Research Brief on Use of Radio in Biotech Communication
- APHIS to Improve GE Petition and Risk Assessment Processes
- EMBRAPA Enhances Biosafety Communication Capacity of Journalists
- Domestication of Soybean Started Earlier than Thought
- Corn and Wheat Prices Up
- USEPA Approves Genuity® VT Double PRO® RIB Complete™
- Biotech Communication Challenges in Australia, China, and India
- Vitamin A Maize for Southern China
- A Rapid PCR-Based Detection Method of Black Leaf Streak Disease in Indonesian Banana Crops
- Scientists Develop New Product to Boost Kiwifruit Vine Disease Immunity
- Position Paper on Food Security and Safety
- Agrifood Clusters Form the European Food Alliance
- EU Court of Justice Directive on Honey Containing Pollen Derived from GMO
-
Research Highlights
- Scientists Study Tritrophic Interactions Among Bt Maize
- Transformation of Cabbage Using Bt cry1Ba3
- Coloring GM Soybean Grains By Suppression of ANR1 and ANR2
-
Beyond Crop Biotech
- Purdue Scientists to Improve Biosensors Using Carbon Nanotubes
- Stop Signal Discovered for Skin Cancer
-
Announcements
- 7th International Congress on Nitrogen Fixation
- Biotech Risk Assessment Research Grants Program
-
Read the latest: - Biotech Updates (December 4, 2024)
- Gene Editing Supplement (November 27, 2024)
- Gene Drive Supplement (February 22, 2023)
-
Subscribe to BU: - Share
- Tweet