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Call for action to stop the spread of two deadly banana diseases in Africa |
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Last August, experts gathered in Arusha, Tanzania, stressed the need for urgent action to tackle the threats posed by bunchy top disease and Xanthomonas wilt in Africa.
October 2009
Participants issued a statement calling for large-scale campaigns to raise awareness on the diseases as well as more training in sampling and field recognition of disease, among other measures to contain the spread of the diseases. They also recommended that in affected countries clean planting material be provided on a sufficient scale to encourage farmers to replace diseased plants, whereas in disease-free, but threatened countries, vigilance should be increased to destroy infected bananas as soon as they appear.
They also stressed the need for local and national governments, and sub-regional organizations, to provide support at the community level where actions are most needed, and for strengthening information sharing and monitoring systems to encourage the use of appropriate management practices and evaluate their impact. While Xanthomonas wilt is currently confined to East Africa, bunchy top disease has been observed in 11 African countries, from Cameroun in the west to Rwanda in the east and Zambia in the south.
The full statement is available at http://www.bananadiseasesframework.org/. The workshop was convened by the Southern African Development Council (SADC), with support from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and Bioversity International.
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