Pest and Disease

From a FAO perspective, biosecurity is defined as “a strategic and integrated approach that encompasses the policy and regulatory frameworks for analysing and managing relevant risks of the sectors dealing with: human life and health (including food safety); animal life and health (including fish); plant life and health; environment (FAO, 2009 1 )”.

Despite the fact that coffee rust was first investigated scientifically more than a century ago, and that the disease is one of the major constraints to coffee production - constantly changing the socio-economic and historical landscape of the crop - critical aspects of the life cycle of the pathogen, Hemileia vastatrix, remain unclear. The asexual urediniospores are regarded as the only functional propagule: theoretically, making H. vastatrix a clonal species.

Cassava was imported from Latin America some 300 years ago, and colonial governments in Africa used it as a famine-reserve crop. Over time cassava spread to over 40 countries in Sub-Sahara Africa, and Nigeria is now the largest cassava producer in the world. At Africa’s independence in the 1960s, cassava mosaic disease was a major problem. In the 1970s, the cassava mealybug appeared and threatened to decimate the African cassava industry. Cassava mosaic and mealybug control programs were introduced in the 1970s to combat these two problems.

Humanity has made enormous progress in the past 50 years toward eliminating hunger and malnutrition. Some five billion people--more than 80 percent of the world's population--have enough food to live healthy, productive lives. Agricultural development has contributed significantly to these gains, while also fostering economic growth and poverty reduction in some of the world's poorest countries.

Farmers have confronted the scourge of rinderpest, or cattle plague, ever since cattle were domesticated some 10,000 years ago. For centuries, humankind has depended on livestock for draft power, milk, meat, skins, and manure. Rinderpest—which in its severest form can kill 95 percent or more of the animals it infects—has had devastating effects, blighting the lives of farmers throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe.

This course was developed by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) for staff and partners as one of the six course curriculum for the implementation of the Great Lakes Cassava Initiative (GLCI) project. The curriculum includes: Working with adult learners, Use of GPS, Farmer group management, Cassava pests and diseases, Cassava multiplication, and Cassava stem dissemination. All of the courses in the curriculum were originally published in an e-learning platform- Agilix Brain Honey (GoCourse) and were taken as e-courses by participating partner staff.

Document: 

01 - Cassava Pests and Diseases Course - en.pdf

The Invasive Species Compendium (ISC) is an encyclopedic resource that brings together a wide range of different types of science-based information to support decision-making in invasive species management worldwide. It comprises detailed datasheets that have been written by experts, edited by an independent scientific organization, peer reviewed, and enhanced with data from specialist organizations, images, and maps, a bibliographic database and full text articles.

Invasive species are those whose establishment and spread threaten their ecosystems, habitat or other species. These species may be alien or indigenous and the measure of invasiveness is usually nfluenced by environmental differences/changes. Increased international trade and travel associated with tourism have enhanced the movement of species from place to place thus increasing the risk of introductions and attendant challenges to national safeguarding systems.

Document: 

factsheet_Invasive_Species.pdf

This presentation was made ata regional workshop on Weather, Climate and Pests and Diseases and was hosted by the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, Barbados. The presentation detaails all the major crops and the corresponding pests and diseases that affect those crops for the following countries: Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago

Document: 

National_ Concerns.pdf

Countries spend large sums of money to eradicate and control animal and plant diseases and pests. Climate change is now creating favourable conditions for animal and plant pests and diseases in new areas as well as changing the way they are transmitted. 

Document: 

201106_g20_global_agricultural_monitoring_initiative.pdf