NIGERIAN FARMERS TO REAP NEW BENEFITS IN 2010

Farmers in Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Kogi,
Nasarawa and Benue will receive
the improved cassava varieties.

Farmers in seven Nigerian states will benefit from the distribution of free improved cassava varieties, thanks to the IITA implemented project "Unleashing the Power of Cassava in Africa".

Richardson Okechukwu, the IITA-UPoCA Deputy Project Manager, said: “In Nigeria, we aim to empower 75,000 farms with improved varieties by the end of 2010. We also expect cassava yield in these areas to increase by at least 30%.”

But the distribution of improved cassava varieties is only one of a number of activities planned for 2010 by the project.

Researchers are also pushing improved processing and utilization technologies to create more markets for the crop.

Awareness building is also a top priority and at two Training of Trainers courses, farmers, processors, Women in Agriculture of Agricultural Development Programs, NGOs, and other private business firms were given special lessons on how to maximise their work.

Participants were taught how to process 21 food products and exposed to mechanized processing using motorized cassava graters and double screw presses both developed by IITA. The course also stressed the importance of packaging, marketing and labelling.

2010 is quickly shaping up to be the year for Nigerian cassava growers and processors. With the help of IITA they should see an increase in incomes and food security.

IITA’s UPoCA project, funded by US AID,
is also being implemented in Sierra Leone, Ghana,
Tanzania, Malawi, Democratic Republic of Congo,
and Mozambique.

CONTROLLING THE WHITEFLY

Researchers at IITA are intensifying efforts to find a sustainable and natural solution to control populations of the whitefly - Bemisia tabaci.

These tiny insects transmit the viruses that cause Cassava Mosaic Disease and Cassava Brown Streak Disease. Together these diseases are wreaking havoc with Africa’s cassava production, causing an estimated US$ 1 billion worth of damage annually.

In addition to transmitting viruses, whitefly also cause physical damage to the cassava plants. Studies conducted in Uganda showed that yield losses from whitefly damage alone can be as much as 50%.

IITA is investing in a two year project that will identify the most effective natural enemies of the whitefly so they can be deployed to reduce their populations. It will also explore cassava varieties, including wild relatives, with resistance to the pest. The project will be carried out in collaboration with the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture and the University of Tel Aviv in Israel and will target Nigeria, Cameroon, and Tanzania.

The whitefly has several parasitoid (parasitic wasps) enemies that develop within young whitefly larvae, eventually killing them. Although local parasitoids already take out up to half of all whitefly young, the new project aims to make this control even stronger by introducing exotic varieties.

Dr James Legg, an IITA entomologist who has been working on cassava diseases for over 10 years, said: “We have been studying the biological characteristics and genetics of this ‘super-abundant’ Bemisia whitefly and assessing its local natural enemies. With the new project, we will intensify our efforts to search for and test the effectiveness of these natural enemies as part of an integrated disease management strategy.”

In the past IITA has successfully implemented classical biocontrol programmes. With this new project it is hoped that by combining biocontrols in novel ways with host plant resistance greater strides can be made in tackling one of Africa’s most destructive pests.

Adult whitefly.

IITA HELPS THAILAND WITH A NASTY INFESTATION

The Government of Thailand, through its Department of Agriculture has requested the assistance of IITA to help in the biological control of the cassava mealybug, which has recently invaded the country and possibly Laos and Cambodia.

The cassava mealybug, Phenacoccus manihoti, is originally from South America. It sucks the sap out of plants causing abnormal growth, a sooty mould, wilting and discolouration. A severe attack can have devastating effects on cassava plantations. 

 The mealybug has already spread over 160,000 hectares across the East and North-eastern provinces of Thailand, where cassava is an important export crop. The bug was not immediately recognized because another closely related mealybug species common on cassava confused the situation.

To halt the spread of the mealybug a colony of wasps, the natural enemy of the pest, has been imported into Thailand from the IITA laboratories in Benin by Georg Goergen, an IITA Entomologist.

Anagyrus lopezi is a parasitoid wasp that also comes from South America. It lays its eggs on the cassava mealybug so that when its larvae are fully grown they can eat the bug. Using a biological control like this wasp negates the need for harmful chemicals.

The same mealybug caused widespread devastation and famine when it destroyed cassava in Africa in the late 1970s. IITA came to the rescue then too, when they led a group of institutions in a campaign to find, import, rear and distribute the wasps from South America. By 1981, the wasps were located in Paraguay and later in Brazil; then shipped to IITA where they were mass-reared and distributed. The campaign was one of the greatest recent successes in biological control.

The African success story means that experts are able to deal with infestations faster and at reduced costs because of the techniques learnt then. It is hoped that IITA’s involvement in the mealybug control project in Asia will produce similar positive results.

AFRICA UNITES FOR THE BANANA

Bananas infected with BXW.

A new battle in the war against deadly banana diseases begins next month, with seven African countries uniting to launch a Spatial Surveillance Programme.

IITA is to take the lead and focus on limiting the spread of Banana Bunchy Top Disease (BBTD) and Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW). Under the programme, researchers will use Geographic Positioning Systems (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to develop a visual record of the diseases distribution in an effort to curb their spread.

IITA began the two-year study into banana diseases last October, to examine, among other things, why BBTD has spread so rapidly in the past two decades.

The first meeting of policymakers and researchers from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia took place in January, when the staff were trained in disease surveillance and control methods. A second workshop in June will hone these surveillance skills.

The work is expected to provide a momentary reprieve for banana producers before creating sustainable long term solutions to tackle disease.

No banana varieties are resistant to BBTD or BXW and there is a danger that all familiar banana types will be wiped out if urgent action is not taken.

TEAMING UP TO TACKLE WEEDS

IITA and private multinationals in weed control, Syngenta and Dizengoff, are working together to tackle weeds in Africa. Thanks to US AID’s MARKETS project, which is seeking to expand and sustain the on-farm productivity and profitability of cassava, in selected Nigerian states.

Analysis by the FAO on the negative effects of weeds in agriculture indicated that weeds do more damage to crops than pathogens such as fungi or insect pests. By training farmers on efficient weed control practices in cassava cultivation it is hoped that higher yields will be achieved giving those in rural communities more income and food security.

The public/private sector collaboration seeks to link these resource-poor farmers with the weed control giants, thus guaranteeing the quality of herbicides supplied to farms. The two companies have agreed to ensure a steady supply of products at a discounted rate and provide training on the safe use of weed controls which will be facilitated by IITA.

Dr. Gbassey Tarawali, Project Manager for the IITA-MARKETS Cassava Value Chain Project, said: “This initiative will not only control weeds but will also create jobs in the rural communities and boost yields.”

Nigeria is the largest cassava producer
in the world, producing 46 million tonnes
of the crop on average each year.

Syngenta and Dizengoff welcomed the initiative and pledged their support to the scheme.

Mr. Goodluck Ogu, Syngenta’s National Sales Manager, said: “We are going to work with you and give you the necessary support.” He added: “Our involvement will guarantee quality supply of herbicides and check profiteering by middlemen.”

Dizengoff described the initiative as a revolution in agriculture. Patrick Ohaji, Manager of Crop Protection and Public Health at Dizengoff, said: “It is a dream come true and we will give you all the necessary support.”