Banana Bunchy Top Disease Alliance – Page 3 – 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.

Remote-sensing models to enhance Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) surveillance in Africa

16th January 2023 28th July 2023Blog 0

The IITA–CGIAR team has published a method using drones and satellite imager-based remote sensing approaches for mapping banana farms to guide surveillance for the detection and mapping of the banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) spread and support data-informed decision-making on BBTV containment strategies in sub-Saharan Africa. The study, Banana Mapping in Heterogenous Smallholder Farming Systems…

IITA trains ministry officials on eradicating Banana bunchy top virus in Tanzania

21st December 2022 28th July 2023Blog 0

As part of efforts to curb the spread of the invasive Banana Bunchy Top disease (BBTD) in Tanzania, IITA–CGIAR, in partnership with the Tanzanian Plant Health and Pesticide Authority (TPHPA) and Tanzania Agriculture Research Institute (TARI), convened a three-day workshop in the first week of November 2022 to train targeted key…

Bunchy top disease emerges as new threat to East African bananas

19th December 2022 28th July 2023Blog, News 0

Africa’s leading banana production region is threatened by the invasive spread of the banana bunchy top virus (BBTV). The virus occurrence in East African countries was recorded in 2021, and the virus spread is unabated in the region. Urgent regional action is required to halt the expansion of the most lethal banana…

Alliance for Banana Bunchy Top Disease Control in Africa

19th November 2021 28th July 2023Blog 0

The banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) has now spread to 16 African countries, threatening the livelihoods of 70 million banana farmers and imperiling the diversity of the varieties they grow. RTB has coordinated the Alliance for Banana Bunchy Top Disease (BBTD) Control in Africa. This unique initiative aligned international, multi-stakeholder…

International, multi-stakeholder alliance continue to tackle banana bunchy top disease in Africa

17th November 2021 28th July 2023Uncategorised 0

Up to 16 African countries have now experienced the banana bunchy top disease (BBTD), caused by the banana bunchy top virus (BBTV), which threatens the livelihoods of 70 million vulnerable banana farmers. The virus is also endangering the diversity of banana varieties grown by these farmers. The CGIAR Research Program on…

BBTV in Nigeria

12th August 2021 12th August 2021Uncategorised 0

Banana and plantain (Musa spp.) are important food and cash crop in Nigeria. Banana bunchy top disease (BBTD) is a severe threat to banana production and the most economically important viral disease of banana and plantain worldwide (Kumar et al., 2011). The disease is caused by the banana bunchy top virus (BBTV,…