The Central and West African Virus Epidemiology (WAVE) for Root and Tuber Crops has launched an urgent biosecurity sensitisation campaign in the Tungar Noma community of Kebbi State to safeguard local farms against a highly destructive cassava mosaic virus variant. 

This important action has been taken because the East African Cassava Mosaic Disease–Uganda variant is spreading quickly to the west across Africa. Training smallholder farmers in early disease detection and reporting techniques this Tuesday, agricultural epidemiologists have moved to build a localised defence system capable of protecting Nigeria’s status as the world’s largest producer of the essential staple crop.

The awareness exercise, organised in direct partnership with the Abdullahi Fodio University of Science and Technology (AFUST), Aliero, focused heavily on educating the Argungu Local Government Area farming clusters. 

To reinforce these disease control efforts and improve regional crop yields, the collaboration has already established six strategic demonstration plots across the North-West and North-East geopolitical zones.

While standard strains of cassava mosaic disease are already present within Nigeria, experts warned that 11 highly virulent variations are currently decimating crops across East Africa and moving closer to the nation’s borders. 

The Country Director of the WAVE centre, Professor Ibrahim Muhammad, identified the Uganda variant as an apex threat to agrarian livelihoods, noting that its introduction into local ecosystems could result in total crop failure. 

“The disease is highly devastating because affected farmers may harvest nothing from their farms. It has already been reported in some West African countries, though not yet in Nigeria,” he explained.

The campaign distributed specialised flyers featuring clear visual reference photographs of infected root systems alongside emergency hotlines. 

Professor Muhammad emphasised that rapid reporting and early containment are the only viable shields against a national food security crisis, warning that the consequences of an unchecked outbreak would be catastrophic. 

The centre confirmed that the initiative is already yielding positive outcomes, with multiple Kebbi farmers successfully utilising the contact lines to report suspicious crop abnormalities for rapid scientific verification.

Source: Punch News
Image Credit: Channels TV