Nigerian Farmers, Govt Brace up as New Banana Disease Hits Africa

                            

Shocked by the outbreak of a new strain of banana disease in Africa, farmers in Nigeria and regulators of the agricultural sector are bracing up to prevent and combat the possible attack of the nation’s plantain-banana producers by the scourge.

Special Assistant to the minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Olukayode Oyeleye, said the ministry has its eyes on the development, which he said was not yet a threat to Nigeria at the moment.

He however noted that the minister was in touch with experts and research institutes both locally and internationally, and a system to cage the scourge and prevent it from harming Nigeria’s plantain and banana production is being put in place.

The destructive strain of banana wilt disease, which was discovered on Cavendish bananas in Mozambique, has begun to spread to other African nations. The disease, widely known as Foc TR4, is a form of Fusarium wilt or Panama disease, caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Tropical Race 4. This fungus has devastated banana plantations in Asia over the past two decades.

The African outbreak was discovered on a commercial farm in northern Mozambique earlier in 2013 with support from UEM (Universidade Eduardo Mondlane), and the responsible fungus subsequently identified at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. The Ministry of Agriculture in Mozambique has announced this outbreak via the IPPC (International Plant Protection Convention) portal.

Head of Mozambique's national plant protection organisation (NPPO), Dr. Serafina Mangana, said “the outbreak is limited to a few fields on the farm”. All sites where the disease was found have now been isolated, the affected plants destroyed, and appropriate phytosanitary measures have been implemented to prevent the disease from spreading.

Mozambique government officials have visited the farm, and have introduced in-country measures to contain and prevent spread to other parts of the country. A stakeholder consultation meeting to explain the outbreak was held in Maputo in November 2013, and will be followed by similar meetings in neighboring countries to raise awareness, heighten surveillance and put in place an emergency response plan.

A consortium of partners, including the Mozambique Department of Agriculture, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Stellenbosch University, Bioversity International, FAO, National Agricultural Research and Regulatory Organisations and government officials throughout Africa are being mobilised to address the outbreak, monitor plantations and raise awareness in Mozambique, the region and continent.

The expertise in this consortium of producers, national authorities, quarantine services, banana agronomists, banana pathologists and breeders will resolve the current situation in Mozambique and prepare countries across the continent for any future incursions of this potentially deadly disease.