Banana Bunchy Top Disease Alliance – Page 2 – Banana Bunchy Top Disease Alliance

Alliance to control the escalating threat of banana bunchy top disease in Africa

The ‘alliance’ is a multinational, multi-stakeholder, interdisciplinary team formed under the framework of the CGIAR Roots, Tubers and Banana (CRP-RTB) program, to mount a coordinated action to halt the expansion of banana bunchy top disease and recover banana production in the disease affected areas, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Banana bunchy top disease (BBTD) is an invasive virus disease seriously threatening banana and plantain production in Africa. This disease caused by the Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) renders plants unproductive, eventually killing them. Extensive disease spread into new production areas was observed during the last two decades. The Alliance aims to conduct and coordinate R4D efforts to:

Understand the bunchy top disease epidemiology and ecology for a better knowledge on factors driving the disease spread
Develop appropriate management packages to delay the spread and manage the disease in endemic areas
Develop and distribute sensitive diagnostic tools, and develop capacity for disease recognition and knowledge of control options.
Augment host resistance to the virus and explore biocontrol options to manage aphid vector
Establish location-specific clean banana production and distribution systems, and train farmers and entrepreneurs in producing clean planting material
Train African scientists to continue surveillance on the extent of disease incidence to update the spatial distribution map of BBTV spread in SSA
Exert efforts to mobilize the resources necessary for a sustained and long-term initiative to achieve this mission

Alliance is coordinated by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Bioversity International, together with FAO and several national agricultural research systems (Bénin, Cameroon, Congo Brazzaville, DRC, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, and Zambia) and several research partners from Australia, Asia, Europe, India, Kenya, New Zealand, and USA.

Video guide: How to identify and control Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV)

17th February 2025 17th February 2025Blog 0

IITA, MAAIF, NARO, and ASARECA Join Forces to Sensitize Farmers on Combatting BBTV

9th December 2024 9th December 2024Blog 0

By Genevieve Apio Kasese District, Uganda – A pivotal two-day farmers’ study tour focusing on tackling the Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) was held in Kasese District, Uganda. The tour, organized by the Ukama Ustawi (UU) Learning Alliance, a CGIAR-led initiative supported by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural…

Strengthening the preparedness of West and Central Africa to control banana bunch top virus and banana Fusarium wilt

25th October 2024 25th October 2024Blog 0

Lomé – Across Africa, bananas are a vital crop for millions of smallholder farmers, but the spread of transboundary plant diseases like banana bunchy top disease (BBTD) and Fusarium wilt Tropical Race 4 (TR4) poses a serious threat to economic growth and sustainable development on the continent. The Central and Western African…

Awareness creation meeting on BBTD: presentation of response plan against BBTD

14th August 2024 14th August 2024Blog, blog post 0

Plantain is one of the most important food crops, contributing 16% of farmers’ incomes and 4.5% to agricultural GDP in Cameroon. It is one of the priority crops included in Cameroon’s development strategy (SND30) for increasing production and reducing importation. However, plantain cultivation faces banana bunchy top disease (BBTD) caused…

Defending East Africa against banana bunchy top disease

3rd June 2024 3rd June 2024Blog 0

With recent outbreaks in Tanzania and Uganda, banana bunchy top disease (BBTD) emerged as a significant threat to banana crops in East Africa. The disease, caused by the banana bunchy top virus (BBTV), can lead to yield losses of 70 to 90% in the first season, with subsequent seasons seeing…

Joint comprehensive strategies to combat banana bunchy top outbreak in East Africa

25th April 2024 30th April 2024Blog 0

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…