On 2 September, IITA organized a field day for farmers and extension workers in Idologun, Ogun State, as part of efforts to control the recent invasion of the Banana Bunchy Top Disease (BBTD) in Nigeria. The field day aimed to demonstrate and deploy control measures for the eradication of infected…
The BBTD Alliance partners – Bioversity, CIRAD and IITA – have organized a training course on ‘Banana virus diagnostics for clean seed production, safe germplasm exchange and surveillance of invasive bunchy top disease’ with a purpose to help develop diagnostics capacity of national systems in Africa. The course was held…
Members of the Alliance for Banana Bunchy Top Disease (BBTD) Control in Africa met at IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria, 9-14 March, to share progress made during the first year of pilot site implementation in eight countries in sub-Saharan Africa and to develop follow-up action. The meeting was attended by about 50…
More than 70 million people in 15 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa depend on banana for their livelihood and food supply. Their food security is being threatened by the arrival and spread of two devastating banana diseases – Banana Bunchy Top Disease and Banana Xanthomonas Wilt. An international meeting was convened…
Approximately 50 experts from 20 countries have gathered in Bujumbura, Burundi this week to coordinate an ambitious effort to contain the spread of Banana Bunchy Top Disease (BBTD) in Africa and help farmers to recover from the devastation that disease has wrought. BBTD has spread rapidly across Southern Africa in recent decades,…