The livelihood of millions of farmers in Africa is being threatened by two fast-spreading diseases that attack banana crops. The diseases also threaten food supplies in countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania, where banana is a staple food. Scientists from all over the world met last week in Arusha, Tanzania to come up with strategies to control the rapid spread of the diseases.

One disease, caused by the banana bunchy top virus, was found by scientists to have already taken root in 12 countries. The disease was first noted in Malawi in 1994 where it completely wiped out the Mkhotakota Cavendish banana variety. A study conducted by researchers at the Nigeria-based International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) found the disease to be well established in Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Congo Brazzaville, and Northern Angola. Farmers in these countries are well acquainted with the disease, likening it to AIDS, and calling it "witches broom."

The other, caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas, is wreaking havoc in Uganda and DRC. It has also been found in neighboring Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda. Banana plants infected with the bacterium exhibit a variety of symptoms, including leaf yellowing and wilting, and premature fruit ripening, rotting and subsequently plant death. Jerome Kubiriba, an expert from Uganda's National Agricultural Research Organization, said that Uganda, the number one producer and consumer of bananas, loses up to USD 200 million every year to Xanthomonas wilt.

Patrick Mobambo, a scientist from Bioversity International, said that the two diseases have caused losses of up to 90 per cent in some of the areas under attack, "increasing the poverty levels of a people recovering from the effects of many years of war." He also pointed out that in some villages, the diseases have forced people to switch to cassava.

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