Plant Health Archives - Page 4 of 15

Scaling readiness: An approach to enhance R4D impact

Research to improve society can go to waste if these interventions are not made available to the beneficiaries. Murat Sartas, Marc Schut, Claudio Prioietti, Graham Thiele, and Cees Leeuwi—in a published journal paper titled Scaling readiness: Science and practice of an approach to enhance impact of research for development—charged researchers who aim to implement R4D…

New potato varieties introduced to combat potato cyst nematode

Scientists from NemAfrica, the nematology unit at CGIAR-IITA, and the International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) are currently assessing new potato varieties that are resistant to the potato cyst nematode (PCN) pest. These damaging pests significantly reduce yields and tuber sizes and consequently impact farmers’ income and food security in Kenya and the…

IITA and regional grains body to work towards producing aflatoxin-free grain for health and trade

CGIAR-IITA and the Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work together to tackle aflatoxin contamination of grain in the region. Achieving this will ensure that grains are safe for human and livestock consumption and meet export standards. Aflatoxin, a highly poisonous chemical produced by a naturally occurring fungus known as Aspergillus flavus, poses a severe health threat to both humans and animals. Acute…

New disease-resistant cassava varieties introduced in Rwanda

Rwandan farmers lack improved cassava varieties resistant to the main cassava diseases; Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD) and Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD). The diseases have affected cassava productivity, threatening the income and food security in the country. “There are two main diseases that attack cassava in Rwanda and the region, CMD and CBSD. The latter…

Project’s screen house at Rubona station

New disease-resistant cassava varieties introduced in Rwanda

Rwandan farmers have lacked improved cassava varieties resistant to the main cassava diseases, namely Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD) and Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD). The diseases have since 2014/15 affected cassava productivity, hence threatening the incomes and food security of many people in the country. “There are two main diseases that attack cassava in Rwanda…

Project to develop Aflasafe technology that controls deadly aflatoxin in Uganda launched

Kampala, Uganda – The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the National Agriculture Research Organisation (NARO) will collaborate to finalize the development of Aflasafe—a safe and effective natural product for the integrated management of aflatoxin in the maize, sorghum, and groundnut value chains in Uganda. This is through a four-year project, funded by aBi Development Ltd….

IITA hosts One-Health kick-off webinar under CGIAR’s Two Degree Initiative

As part of CGIAR’s Two Degree Initiative (2DI) for Food and Agriculture, CGIAR-IITACGIAR-IITA hosted a kick-off webinar on the “One-Health platform for climate-driven pests and diseases in West Africa” on 30 June. The One-Health platform is Regional Grand Challenge 1 (RGC1), one of eight grand challenges under the 2DI, which comes from a need to…

Science-based policies can unlock Africa’s access to genome-edited crop varieties

CGIAR-IITA head of plant biotechnology Leena Tripathi has made an impassioned plea for genome editing and its potential. She made the call in a recently published paper titled, CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing of banana for disease resistance. Tripathi and her Kenya-based team are using gene editing to develop disease-resistant banana varieties. “To boost the use of…

IITA releases 10-year strategy for managing invasive species in Africa

Prevention, early detection and control make up the three-pronged approach that Africa is taking on to manage the menace of invasive species on the continent. As the climate continues to change, invasive species also continue to increase and spread globally. Countries cannot wave off a global challenge individually hence the need for a continent-wide strategy. This…

Project to build sustainable cassava seed system in Africa gets new phase

Ibadan, Nigeria: To improve their yields and incomes, African cassava farmers need regular and reliable access to high quality planting materials of the newest and best varieties. Access to such cassava stems, however, is often a problem. Agrodealers don’t sell them, and free distributions by NGOs and government programs are sporadic and unreliable. Consequently, many…