News brief

Food shortage crisis in southern Africa

A new Africa report recently published by the FAO states that, despite bumper harvests in South Africa in 2005, food insecurity within southern Africa remains a serious concern. Almost 12 million people, mainly in Zimbabwe and Malawi, are in need of emergency assistance. Delays in seasonal rains have disrupted sowing of major crops and with supplies running low, staple food prices are continuing to rise. The maize import requirement for the current marketing year for the whole of southern Africa, excluding South Africa, is 2.7 million tonnes, though as yet imports have reached only 1.6 million tonnes. There has been an exportable surplus of maize harvested in South Africa, reaching record levels of 4.66 million tonnes, though the majority of food aid pledged to southern Africa is yet to arrive. The World Food Programme has approved a further 446,000 tonnes of food aid to boost their existing relief programme. As the current drought continues, The UK's Department for International Development (DFID) has pledged additional money to Malawi to assist the Government's emergency feeding operation, buying pulses and oil to ensure that people get enough micro-nutrients and protein in their food rations. It will also support UN agencies and NGOs to identify and treat acute malnutrition in children under 5 years old.

Organic farming flourishing in China and India

Organic farming in China and India is expanding rapidly, and making significant contributions to rural economies, according to a study published by the International Fund for Agriculture and Development (IFAD). In China the value of organic exports has grown from less than US$1 million in the mid-1990s to an estimated US$200 million in 2004 with more than 1000 companies and farms having received organic certification. In India, there has also been remarkable growth, but primarily in the domestic markets, with about 2.5 million hectares now under organic certification and over 300 new certifications issued during 2004.

According to the study, Organic Agriculture and Poverty Reduction in Asia, nearly all those involved in the organic supply chain, from farmer to retailer, earn more than those involved in non-organic agriculture. Case studies suggest that organic agriculture has created new jobs in rural areas, and may help to reduce urban migration. However, the study reports that small-scale farmers still face many challenges, including lack of technical knowledge on production, inadequate market information, and complex certification processes for those wishing to become certified organic producers. It suggests that farmers organisations, which strengthen farmers' bargaining power, their economies of scale, and their learning potential will be key to helping a greater number of farmers achieve certification.

The power to resist powdery mildews

A recent study has revealed how plant genes team up to defend against powdery mildew, a fungal disease which affects more than 9,000 species including crops such as barley and wheat, and horticultural plants such as roses and cucumbers. Billions of dollars are spent each year in trying to prevent this fungal parasite from attacking crops and reducing yields. However, scientists at the US Carnegie Institution and Max Planck Institute in Germany have discovered how a combination of defense genes enables a crop to withstand attack from the disease.

Using Arabidopsis thaliana - a common laboratory plant related to mustard, the researchers were able to individually disable genes in order to understand the process by which the plant is able to resist the parasite. The plant cell wall is the primary barrier to invasion by the fungus and it has been found that one particular gene (PEN2) is able to prevent the fungus from penetrating plant cell walls. If this defense fails, a second set of three genes work together in a complex inside the infected cell to signal it to die. As a result, further infection may be prevented. While the complex of genes that signal cell death are relatively well-studied, very little has been previously known about the effect of PEN2. "The resistance mechanisms operating at the cell wall seem to be surprisingly simple," says scientist Shauna Somerville. "This suggests it might be possible to reverse engineer crops like wheat with Arabidopsis genes to help control powdery mildew and other destructive diseases."

Improving lives for a low cost - UNESCO unveils arsenic water filter

credit: J Holmes/ FAO

A simple and cost-effective device that will improve the lives and health of millions of people in developing countries by removing arsenic from their water has recently been launched by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). The filter, which was developed at the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education in the Netherlands, can remove arsenic from 100 litres of water a day, enough to supply the needs of about 20 people. Based on recycled sand-coated iron oxide (which is produced as a byproduct of water treatments worldwide), the filter is capable of removing arsenic from water for at least a year. It is also easy to use, requires no power and can be produced locally. Proper disposal of contaminated sand from filters that need to be replenished has also been addressed.

Tests for the 'family filter' (designed for household use in rural areas) have been conducted since 2004 in Bangladesh, where tens of millions of people have suffered long-term exposure to high levels of arsenic in the groundwater, which results in skin disease, cancer and other health problems (see Country Profile: Bangladesh 00-6). A larger 'industrial model' for use by water supply companies is currently being tested in Greece and Hungary. Groundwater arsenic is also a problem in Argentina, Chile, China, Ghana, India, Mexico and the United States. UNESCO will collaborate with Bangladeshi organisations to distribute and maintain the filters and provide information on how to use them. The project's director, Branislav Petrusevski has said that the first prototypes produced in Bangladesh have cost around US$35 per unit. During the launch, UNESCO called on donors to support its mass production.

Weevil-resistant GM pea causes allergic reactions

A ten year project to develop a weevil-resistant pea (Pisum sativum) through genetic modification has been abandoned after tests revealed that mice, which were fed on the peas, developed hypersensitive skin and lung damage. The work, carried out by researchers at CSIRO, involved transferring a gene from the common bean plant (Phaseolus vulgaris). The gene produces a protein which inhibits digestion in weevils. The genetically modified pea was found to be almost entirely resistant to pea weevils, which currently cause up to 30 per cent reductions in yields in Australia. However, mice fed on the peas developed antibodies specific to the protein and when later exposed to the purified protein, the allergic reactions were observed. A slight change in the structure of sugar chains in the protein when expressed in the pea, compared to its harmless expression in beans, is suspected to be the cause.

Paul Foster of the Australian National University in Canberra, who led the immunological work, believes the findings have strengthened the need for all new GM crops to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and for better screening requirements to be introduced.

Doing it right for animal health

The animal health company CEVA Santé Animale has recently launched a campaign in Africa to promote the correct use of its animal health products on the continent. The campaign, 'Do it right', is targeted at people who most commonly sell veterinary drugs to livestock keepers. As Martin Mitchell, Regional Director of CEVA in Africa explained: 'Very often it is not veterinarians or pharmacists or community animal health workers who provide information to livestock keepers but very poorly paid people in veterinary shops. Our initial 'Do it right' workshops conducted in Kenya with the owners and shop assistants underlined to us a massive thirst for better understanding and improved learning and we need to do more to fill this gap." Through the campaign, which uses manuals as well as more innovative approaches (including a 'wheel of fortune'-style game), it is hoped that better information can be provided to shop assistants so that they are no longer selling a product without understanding it.

DFID launches new agricultural policy paper

The Department for International Development (DFID) has launched a new agriculture policy paper, announced by the UK Secretary of State for International Development, Hilary Benn, on Wednesday December 7th 2005. The paper, entitled Growth and poverty reduction: the role of agriculture, outlines the need for more productive farming sectors in Africa, to aid economic growth in developing countries. Mr Benn commented: "reversing recent disappointing trends in agriculture's performance is critical if poor countries are to escape the trap of slow growth and poverty." He emphasised that realising agriculture's full potential is essential to achieve the UN goal of reducing the number of people living on less than $1 a day by 2015. Agriculture has been shown to create jobs, raise incomes and provide affordable food. In developing countries, 2.5 billion people depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, ranging from 45 per cent in East and South East Asia to 64 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa. Reducing extreme poverty, defined as earning less than $1 a day, is one of the eight UN Millennium Goals set in 2000. The report outlines principles and priorities of the approach DFID will use to support agricultural potential for economic growth and poverty reduction.

Enhancing the nutritional value of maize

The HarvestPlus Maize group, a team of scientists from the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), has reported progress in the hunt for more nutritious maize varieties. The group, which has set minimum targets for concentrations of zinc, iron and pro-vitamins A (chemicals the human body can convert into vitamin A), has screened hundreds of samples of maize germplasm to find maize types which meet these specifications. In the first two years of screening, the group has already identified maize with sufficient zinc levels to meet the minimum requirements. Researchers from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) have also found maize lines with 60 per cent of the required iron levels, and 75 per cent of the required pro-vitamins A. Project partners in the USA are reported to have identified lines with even higher levels.

Colombian biocontrol expert honoured

Colombian biological control expert, Alex Enrique Bustillo Pardey, has been awarded the 2005 Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS) Prize in Agricultural Sciences. Bustillo was honoured for his work on developing methods for the efficient mass production of Beauveria bassiana, a fungus that attacks insects. The fungus is used in control of the coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei), a serious pest of coffee in Colombia and worldwide. In addition, Bustillo is responsible for the introduction of three species of parasitoid wasp into Colombia. His optimised production methods are currently being used by 11 private companies in Colombia, and it is estimated that some 1,600 million wasps have now been released into Colombian coffee crops, becoming established in all areas where the coffee berry borer was endemic.

An indication of the impact of Bustillo's work is the estimation that, thanks to the sprays of the beneficial fungus and the release of the parasitoid wasps, coffee revenues in Colombia have increased by some US$120 million a year.
For additional information visit www.twas.org.

Genetic sequencing for beetle pest

credit:Peggy Greb/ARS

The red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, is the first agricultural pest and beetle to have its genome sequenced. Red flour beetles are capable of feeding on a wide range of foods and are responsible for causing millions of dollars of damage to crops and stored cereals annually. In an effort to understand more about this pest's habits, a team of researchers at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Grain Marketing and Production Research Center in Manhattan, Kansas have spent the last two years analysing the beetle's DNA. The first version of the genome sequence was released in January 2005 and it is hoped that the final version (including all 15,000 genes) will be available soon.

In sequencing the genetic material of the pest the scientists have been able to identify a number of important genes, which could be key to future methods of pest control, particularly as the beetle is becoming more widespread and is now resistant to a common pesticide, malathion. It is also hoped that the genetic information will inform other researchers working on other insects, pest and beneficial insects, such as fruit fly and honeybees.
www.ars.usda.gov

Top prize winners from the CGIAR annual science awards

The CGIAR's Alternatives to Slash-and-Burn (ASB) Program has been awarded the 2005 Science Award for Outstanding Partnership. Co-ordinated by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in Nairobi, the Program is a partnership of over 80 institutions including national research institutes in Brazil, Cameroon, Indonesia, Peru, the Philippines and Thailand. The program focuses on developing and promoting techniques for sustainable management of forest margins, and identifying policies that conserve the environmental functions of tropical forest margins, while increasing household income and food security.

credit: CIMMYT

The Award for Outstanding Scientist was given to Ravi Singh of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), for his development of 'slow rusting' wheat varieties with improved resistance to a wide range of diseases, including leaf rust and powdery mildew. The award for Promising Young Scientist went to Simon Paul Graham for research leading to the development of a sensitive and robust system for screening molecules that cause East Coast Fever, a serious disease of cattle in sub-Saharan Africa. Moatasim Sidahmed won the Regional Award for Outstanding Agricultural Technology for his development of a cutter-and-feeder mechanism for mechanical harvesting of lentils. The mechanism harvests pods close to the ground, while avoiding stones, thereby saving the need for labour-intensive hand-harvesting. See www.cgiar.org .

Ensuring quality: rodent management in South Africa

The government of South Africa has introduced new regulations for rodent control operators, in response to research highlighting poor performance in the sector. The research, carried out by a combined team from the South African Protection Research Institute, PPRI, and the UK-based Natural Resource Institute, NRI, found that many involved in rodent control have no training and are unaware of ecological approaches to rodent management. Under the new policy pest control operators have to be registered, and rodent controllers will have to pass a test before being awarded certification to operate. A course in rodent control is to be submitted to the South African Qualifications Authority, and the project team is keen that the course should also be included in the Department of Health's environmental health curriculum.

1^st January 2006