19 April 2024

The invasion of banana bunchy top virus (BBTV), the causal agent of the lethal bunchy top disease of banana and plantain, threatens Africa's most crucial banana production region in East Africa. The virus spread, confirmed in the 2020s in Tanzania and Uganda, is expanding fast. For instance, the delimitation survey undertaken with the support of the USAID and CGIAR Plant Health Initiative in 2023 revealed BBTV occurrence in seven of Tanzania's ten major banana production regions.

Crop cultural practices, mainly the exchange of planting materials within the region, contribute to the virus's rapid spread. In addition, the ubiquitous banana aphid, Pentalonia nigronervosa, is also contributing to the spread of the virus. There is a concern that without strong counteraction, the virus would spread widely in East Africa, home to about 40% of the total banana and plantain production and a vital source of food, income, and jobs.

To address this pressing issue, a regional project titled "Combating banana bunchy top virus in East Africa" led by IITA with the support of the United States Department of Agriculture - Foreign Agricultural Services (USDA-FAS) and the USAID Regional Mission in East Africa was commissioned. The project aims to develop a harmonized regional strategy for combating BBTV, support a regional BBTV technical working group, create stakeholders' awareness, organize delimitation surveys, and strengthen BBTV detection and disease control capacity.

IITA Pathologist and Project Lead George Mahuku noted that diseases do not respect borders, and a regional approach is crucial for transboundary disease control. "Our borders are porous; people have families in different countries; they move freely, often carry planting material with them." He added that such actions lead to the inoculum being introduced into new locations for diseases like BBTV.

"The project reflects a recognition of the urgent need for a collective approach to combatting BBTV," noted Dr Robooni Tumuhimbise, a participant from the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO), Uganda. "I was shocked to see over 80% of the bananas wiped out by this disease. We urgently need to increase awareness along the value chain to curb the spread of the disease."

The emergence of BBTV in Uganda and Tanzania in 2021 has had a devastating impact on banana production. The virus causes 70-90% yield loss in the first season; subsequent seasons produce no bananas. Many farmers have been forced to abandon banana production, further exacerbating food insecurity and economic hardship.

Dr Wilfred Mushobozi, CEO of Crop Bioscience Tissue Culture Ltd., emphasized the need for immediate action to save the banana sector in Tanzania. He called for a multi-partner approach to sensitizing farmers, uprooting infected fields, and providing clean planting material.

Participants from Kenya were also involved in the meeting, where the disease is yet to be reported. Dr Benard Mukoye from KEPHIS highlighted the importance of joining forces and working with neighboring countries to learn from their experiences and develop pre-emptive measures to prevent the disease from reaching their country.

"I am saddened by what I have seen in the field," commented Junior Ndesanjo, USAID-Tanzania. He reinforced the USAID mission commitment to a joint action to control the BBTV spread in the East Africa region, bring hope to the smallholder farmers affected by BBTV, and protect unaffected farms through preventive measures. He expressed optimism about the positive impact of the project interventions in alleviating BBTV stress on banana production.

"The project will mobilize the multipronged approach of ALLIANCE Strategy to contain the spread of BBTV in Africa by channeling tactics to recover banana production in the virus-affected farms and preventive measures to contain the spread," added ALLIANCE lead and IITA Virologist Lava Kumar.

The project implementation planning workshop, which took place in March in Moshi, Tanzania, was attended by partners from Tanzania (TPHPA, TARI, and TAHA), Uganda (MAAIF and NARO), Kenya (KEHPHIS), and private sector organizations such as PlantVillage, Crop Bioscience, and Maua Mzuri. The priority actions finalized include:

• a delimitation survey in Uganda,
• a diagnostics survey in Kenya along the border regions, and
• deployment of banana production recovery in Tanzania.

By working together and implementing comprehensive strategies, stakeholders can safeguard banana production, protect livelihoods, and preserve banana biodiversity in the region.

Contributed by George Mahuku ([email protected]) and Lava Kumar ([email protected])

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