cassava brown streak disease Archives

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…

Picture of Latifa Mrisho, A PhD student at IITA, giving a presentation on the app to potential partners in Tanzania

Exploring partnership to get AI app for disease diagnostics into farmers’ hands

“Nuru,” a Swahili word meaning “light”, is a smartphone app that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to diagnose, in real time, crop pests and diseases. It was developed by Pennsylvania State University (PSU), USA, in partnership with the plant pathology team at IITA-Tanzania led by James Legg. The app is able to…

Picture of IITA Country Representative, Nzola-Meso Mahungu (standing), presenting at the workshop

IITA-DRC holds third planning workshop for CBSD Project

IITA’s project “Action to control the Cassava Brown Streak Disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),” organized its annual review and planning meeting for 2018–2019 in Mbujimayi, the capital city of Kasai Oriental Province.

Picture of Dr Nzola Mahungu, IITA DRC Country Representative; Ir Augustin Kadima, delegate of USAID; Evariste Bushabu, General Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture; Clement Kandu, Coordinator of SENASEM

Workshop held on “Validation of the revised and harmonized standards for seed system in DRC”

IITA organized on 4 April a workshop on “Validation of the revised and harmonized standards for healthy cassava planting materials production, control, and certification,” within the framework of the project Action to control the Cassava Brown Streak in Democratic Republic of Congo (CBSD-DRC).

Picture of Dr Nzola Mahungu, Country Representative of IITA-DRC; Ir Augustin Kadima, delegate of USAID; Evariste Bushabu, General Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture; Clement Kandu, Coordinator of SENASEM, at the workshop on CBSD.

Workshop on ‘’Validation of the revised and harmonized standards for seed system in DRC’’

IITA organized a workshop on validation of the revised and harmonized standards for healthy cassava plant materials production, control, and certification.

CBSD Control Project in Rwanda and Burundi commended by partners

The IITA-led project to control Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD) and Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD) held its first Annual Review and Planning workshop in Bujumbura, Burundi and Kigali, Rwanda between 19 and 23 March.

Picture of Dr Nzola Mahungu, IITA DRC Country Representative, explaining the workshop objectives.

IITA conducts CBSD Project Planning Workshop

IITA organized a planning workshop for the 2017–2018 financial year for the project ‘‘Action to control the Cassava Brown Streak in the Democratic Republic of Congo’, 29–30 August, in Kisangani, Province of Tshopo’’.

Picture of Christopher Tocco (center) with other USAID delegates and event participants at the youth Agripreneurs exhibition center.

IITA, USAID Mission to jointly tackle cassava diseases in DR Congo

The USAID Mission in DR Congo has partnered with IITA to promote research in forestalling Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD), which has drastically reduced cassava production in the country since the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Picture of brown streak disease in cassava.

R4D Special: Spirited effort by IITA team to manage the viruses destroying cassava in Africa

From convincing communities to uproot all their cassava to replace with new clean planting materials, piloting a commercial system to supply disease-free planting materials, to developing new rapid methods to diagnose the viruses, the IITA Vector Entomology team in Eastern Africa has certainly been busy exploring all options to save the cassava in Eastern and parts of Central Africa.

Picture of participants at the CBSD Workshop, DR Congo.

IITA hosts workshop on CBSD

The project tagged “Preventive actions against the propagation and expansion of Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD) in the Democratic Republic of Congo”, has successfully organized a work plan development workshop on 20—21 April, at Mbanza-Ngungu, 150 km West of Kinshasa.