National disaster looms as... Lake Zone farmers lose entire cassava harvests to viral diseases

Two viral crop diseases the Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD) and Brown Streak Disease (CBSD) - have decimated virtually entire harvests in the Lake zone regions, destroying an estimated 90 percent of the crop last year, according to farmers and their leaders.

 

Cassava  literally forms the Lake zone’s underground food strategic reserve, where many farmers now don’t have food and income due, mainly, to a combined “siege” from other crop diseases such as Maize Lethal Nicrosis diseases and striga weeds  all of which have reduced farmers’ incomes by an estimated 70 percent.

 

The farmers told scientists from the Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH), Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa (OFAB  Tanzania chapter) and reporters that short of deliberate and concerted measures to smoke out the diseases, the nation faces an emergency yet unprecedented in the history of agriculture in the Lake zone  where severe hunger looms large. 

 

The scientists and reporters are visiting the farmers across the Lake zone to assess the effects caused by the diseases in efforts to raise awareness among the farmers and their leaders at village, ward, district and regional levels.

 

Anna Paulo, a farmer at Kisamwene village, Butuguri Ward in Butiama district said that she had planted cassava in her three-acre plot, but the entire crop had been ‘eaten up’ at the time of maturity.

 

“The cassava is already rotten on maturity … when uproot it, the tubers stink and smell like kerosene,” she said.

 

Another farmer, Kasimbi Ndyeti, a resident of Kisamwene village, Butuguri ward, in Butiama district, also said she would ‘nothing to eat’  this year  on account of viral infestation on her two-acre plot.

 

“I planted maize as an alternative crop … but this couldn’t work either … the short rains failed … and the diseases pests (maize lethal Nicrosis) finished off the remaining crop,” she narrated.Read More

 

Cassava disease puts Mara residents in peril

Farmers in Butiama district, Mara region are currently battling against cassava mosaic disease (CMD) and cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) which has affected almost the whole region. Our reporter GERALD KITABU who was in a tour of the regions with Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) and Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa (OFAB), Tanzania Chapter, interviewed Kiriba ward extension officer in Butima, David Malima on the effects of the diseases: Excerpts.

 

QUESTION: Briefly tell us about the cassava mosaic and cassava brown streak diseases.

 

ANSWER: The disease is believed to have started in early ’90 although at that particular moment the impact was minimal as compared to the current situation. Considering that cassava is a staple food for people of Kiriba ward and Butiama district as a whole,   the effects are big than one can imagine.  For example Kiriba ward has about 3,299 households and all depend on agriculture to make their living. The diseases have paralyzed individual and family incomes reducing many of them to starvation and hunger. 

 

Some household members have failed to maintain three meals per day. Currently the situation is bad and many poor families take only one meal per day as several others end up taking porridge in the morning and ugali during night. 

 

Today, people of this district are witnessing skyrocketing of food prices than any other period.  For example one sac of cassava flour of 80kg is sold at 50,000/- where as in early 2000’s the same bag was sold at 25,000/-.

 

Maize which is not produced here but produced from somewhere else like Geita region, is now sold at 75,000/- for every sac weighing 100kg.  Before the disease explosion people were not exporting food from other regions

 

Before cassava diseases invaded Kiriba ward, one acre of cassava used to produce up to 3.2 tones equivalent to 40 sacs but now one acre is likely to produce just 240kg equivalent to three sacs.

 

Another effects is that the devastation caused by the diseases is poor living standard because many families live ion hand to mouth economy as a result they cannot afford investing in other income generating projects due to lack of money.

 

The diseases have also compounded the situation due to eruption of frequent different diseases caused by insufficient and unbalanced diet. Some of the diseases includes kwashiorkor and malnutrition in children.Read More

Cassava joins list of Tanzania's main cash crops

Eating cassava was, until a decade or so back, a common phenomenon in most villages in Tanzania mainland-including the mountainous hillside of Pare.

In these places, where the main occupation for almost every household was farming in small scale, peasant farmers made it a rule to munch the food item, as part of breakfast before they set off for farming.

People in the rural areas ate it not because they liked it more than other food stuff, but mainly on grounds that there was no other alternative food. It is was in fact a life saving choice.

In other parts-for example on the coastal strip, the story was different; for whereas they also ate cassava , the food was cooked by use of coconuts-an important ingredient- even today.

It is a principal crop flourishing well in sandy loam soil where water easily penetrates to the ground and accordingly absorbed by the plant.

Notwithstanding its richness in carbohydrates, not many people regard it food of choice. They consider it a second class food stuff where there are no other alternatives, such as rice, maize, sorghum etc.

In some communities, people eat it only where the climate has been hostile. For example, during summer when they find their maize crop has been scotched by cruel sun-completely drying up. In such cases, failed crops are rendered useless; qualifying as food items for animals.

But for those growing cassava, whether in small or large scales, there is hope at the end of the tunnel. Now, cassava has diverted from being a mere security crop to a cash crop-joining a team of other cash earners – such as sisal, coffee, tea, cashew nuts etc. Read more

Authorities appeal for COSTECH intervention on crop diseases

Mara regional authorities have appealed to the Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) to find a remedy for cassava diseases that are plaguing the region threatening the very livelihood of peasants.

 

Mara regional commissioner, John Tupa, met with scientists from COSTECH mid this week and appealed to them for their much needed expertise in creating disease resistant varieties of the crop.

 

The scientists are in the region to assess the effects of the Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD) and Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD) which are reported to have paralyzed cassava production, reduced individual and family incomes and, caused major food insecurity in the region.

 

Tupa said almost every district in the region is hit by the diseases and in recent months the situation has been complicated by the emergence of the maize lethal necrosis (MLN) disease.

 

“The situation is bad. We have tried all means but failed. We cannot continue like this, our people have no food,” he lamented. 

 

“We request the government, through COSTECH, to deploy scientists and researchers to address the problem,” Tupa said.Read More

OFAB keen on biotech application

Ofab Tanzania is the Chapter of the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa (Ofab), which was established and launched in 2009 by the ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives as a platform to facilitate regular exchange of credible information among stakeholders.

Although biotechnology has been in use for years, there are still fears about its side effects. The Citizen Reporter, Sturmius Mtweve, had an interview with Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa (Ofab) country coordinator Philbert Nyinondi on the role, contribution and challenges of biotechnology use in Tanzania. Excerpts…

QUESTION: Briefly explain what Ofab is. Why is it here in Tanzania right now?

ANSWER: Ofab Tanzania is the Chapter of the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa (Ofab), which was established and launched in 2009 by the ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives as a platform to facilitate regular exchange of credible information among stakeholders.

It is a collaborative programme between the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) and the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (Costech), which is the host.

 Ofab Tanzania aims at identifying key biotech issues and stakeholders for effective outreach and informed engagement by enhancing knowledge sharing and awareness to raise understanding and appreciation of potential benefits of agricultural biotechnology and contribute to building an enabling environment for informed decision-making for both policy makers and members of the public.

The Chapter is managed by a programming committee, representing Costech, Tropical Pesticide research Institute (TPRI), Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute, a farmers’ representative, Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and technology, a media houses’ representative and the ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives. Read Q&A

Liability clause hurts Tanzania farming research

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania - The delay to remove a clause on strict liability for agricultural technology has been blamed by scientists for driving away donors, who are ready to fund research projects. 

Scientists say the clause may also negatively impact President Jakaya Kikwete’s call, for scientists to conduct research on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) so as to establish the practicality of the technology in the country.

The ongoing hurdles among scientists around the country over the delay to review and repeal of a clause that holds any liable to punitive sanction should anything go wrong in development of agricultural technology, the scientists said.The National Coordinator of Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB), Tanzania Chapter, Philbert Nyinondi said the strict liability is the legal responsibility for damages, or injury, even if the person found strictly liable was not at fault or negligent.

It has been applied to certain activities in tort, such as holding an employer absolutely liable for the torts of her employees, but today it is most commonly associated with defectively manufactured products.

However, Tanzanian scientists are optimistic that the government’s vow to fund tissue culture technology in the 2014/2015 national budget would assist farmers to battle vulnerabilities of their traditional crops.

A Senior Researcher of the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH), Dr Nicholas Nyange said if the application of the biotechnology would delay due to this clause, there is no need to worry because the government is willing to fund tissue culture.

 “As long as the government is able to fund tissue culture, this could also be used as a way of helping farmers to fight against diseases,” Dr Nyange told East African Business Week last week.MARI’s Head of Cashew Biotechnology, Dr Emmarold Mneney asked the government to transfer banana tissue culture to small-scale farmers so as to defeat challenges that contributes to the declines of the agriculture sector.“If the government wants to overcome the challenges that deteriorated the agriculture sector as well as boosting productivity and production, they have to transfer knowledge to smallholder farmers, who are many,” he said.Dr Mneney said tissue culture technology is the best option for them.Read more

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