News brief

Half Zimbabwean cattle for slaugter	Farmers suffer heavy losses in Colombia's drugs war
Blight resistant potato	Closing doors on Corridor disease
No bread without water	Meeting executive need with know-how
Earlier and disease resistant mungbeans	Endangered sheep follows Dolly's lead
Potato starch for disposable packaging	Poultry breeds take flight
Accra's snacks get a health warning	Improving utilization of phosphate rock
Bluetongue - licking at the Mediterranean basin	Perspectives on Pests
Fatal attraction for termites	Ugandan flowers show good growth
Vaccine project for Vietnamese pigs

Half Zimbabwean cattle for slaughter

In Zimbabwe, the burning of thousands of acres of grassland by supporters of President Mugabe's land reform programme is now having serious consequences for the commercial beef industry. Following extensive pasture burning by 'war veterans', farmers are unable to find sufficient grazing. As a consequence, up to half of the country's prime breeding stock have been sent for slaughter, and abattoirs are reported to be fully booked until late November. The industry also suffered from an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in August. Control of cattle movements has been hampered by looting and damage to fences; meanwhile, beef exports have been suspended.

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Blight resistant potato

credit: Stuart Outterside (North News & Pictures)

Potato blight, Phytopthora infestans, which both kills leaves and causes infected tubers to rot in storage, may have met its match in a commercial potato variety developed in Hungary and grown and tested in northern England. While it has been known that certain wild potatoes have blight resistance, the characteristic has not before been transferred to a viable commercial variety, and growers have had to depend on copper-based and other fungicides for protection against blight. The new variety, bred by the Sarpo family and named after them, has purple skinned tubers but white flesh. Researchers from the University of Newcastle, who have tested seven strains of Sarpo, have found that while the plants undoubtedly contract the fungus (evidenced by tiny lesions on the leaves) the tubers underground do not show any signs of infection or damage. The first to be attracted to Sarpo will undoubtedly be growers of organic potatoes, who can now dispense with fungicides.
Email: press.office@ncl.ac.uk

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No bread without water

China's 'breadbasket', the North China Plain, which produces half of China's wheat and a third of its maize (corn), is fast depleting water resources on which it depends. A survey released in Beijing mid-August, reveals that the water situation is more serious than realized, reports Lester Brown in Eco-Economy Update. Over extraction has largely exhausted the shallow aquifer, reducing the amount that is available for pumping to what is replenished by precipitation. Exploitation of the region's deeper aquifer will be a short-term measure since it is not replenishable. Anecdotal evidence quoted in a World Bank report suggests that deep wells around Beijing now have to reach down 1000 meters for water, and the report forecasts "catastrophic consequences for future generations" unless water use and supply can be quickly brought back into balance.
Email: epi@earth-policy.org

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Earlier and disease resistant mungbeans

credit: AVRDC

Mungbeans, a major source of food and income in the most populous parts of Asia, has long been subject to a disease that can reduce yields by up to 85%--Mungbean Yellow Mosaic Virus (MYMV). Now, a breakthrough in breeding at the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVRDC) in Taiwan has produced varieties that tolerate the virus. Three new AVRDC virus tolerant varieties have been grown by many hundreds of farmers in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan and two additional varieties are showing promise in regions where MYMV is not a problem, such as Bhutan and Sri Lanka. In on-farm trials, these five varieties yielded 2t/ha within 56-65 days, a significant improvement over older varieties, which averaged only 600-700kg/ha and took 80-85 days to harvest. The new varieties also mature uniformly, so reducing labour at harvest, and they are large-seeded, which is preferred for export markets.
Email: avrdcbox@netra.avrdc.org.tw

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Potato starch for disposable packaging

Disposable packaging, containers and plates for convenience foods are almost always based on plastic or polystyrene, neither bio-degradable. As a consequence, litter has become a major eyesore in many towns and landfill sites are rapidly filling with what has been termed 'white pollution'. China recently banned the use of these products on the railways because of trackside pollution. An alternative, developed by a UK based company, uses potato starch to make a range of plates and food and drink containers, which are 100% bio-degradable, compostable and non toxic. Starch is reclaimed from potato chipping plants and from potatoes that are too small, misshapen or damaged for processing or sale and would otherwise be waste tubers. The process and the product offer an environmentally acceptable option for utilising all the starch produced by potato crops, while meeting the growing demand for containers for fast food, freezer storage and microwave cooking. Potato plates can be overprinted and they do not leak, as can plates made from paper.
Email: tobym@tesco.net

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Accra's snacks get a health warning

Eating street food in Ghana could seriously damage your health, according to recent research by the UK Department for International Development's Crop Post-Harvest Research Programme. A one year survey of the quality, safety and economics of the street food industry in the capital Accra revealed that many foods are contaminated by heavy metals, pesticides and contain high bacteria counts. Waakye, a popular local snack of rice and cowpeas, came out particularly badly in the survey. Samples were found to contain lead, which can enter foods from cooking pots and water tanks. Even small quantities of lead can damage children's ability to learn and cause behavioural changes. The samples also contained significant levels of Chloropyrifos pesticide, which causes dizziness and confusion in low doses, and can be fatal at higher concentrations. Bacteria were also a common problem; many street foods are cooked in the morning and stored without any refrigeration throughout the day.

The findings of the study have resulted in considerable media coverage, and generated much public discussion. The Ghanaian authorities have now begun to implement measures to make the street food industry, which is a key source of income for over 60,000 people in Accra alone, safe as well as profitable.
Email: Tim Donaldson

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Bluetongue - licking at the Mediterranean basin

credit: FAO

Within the last few weeks, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has announced that it has detected bluetongue, a deadly viral disease of sheep, which causes swelling of the tongue and face. It can also be carried by cattle. This latest outbreak adds to concerns that the pattern of disease events in the Mediterranean basin is changing, possibly as a result of global warming.

Until the last three years, the occurrence of bluetongue in the eastern part of the Mediterranean basin was explained by sporadic introductions of infected Culicoides midge vectors from the endemic areas of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. But outbreaks in Turkey, mainland Greece and Bulgaria in 2000, and again in August/September 2001, raise concerns that the virus could have overwintered, now constituting a reservoir of infection for onward transmission. The area affected is also increasing. Clinical bluetongue disease has been detected for the second year running on the French island of Corsica in the western Mediterranean and outbreaks were reported in September 2001 from the neighbouring island of Sardinia and from the mainland of southern Italy.

Bluetongue is one of many fatal diseases of livestock for which vigilance will be required outside its normal range of infection because global warming, as well as global trade, will favour the spread of animal diseases.
For further information email: empres@fao.org

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Fatal attraction for termites

In parts of Uganda, termites often devastate maize crops. Local farmers try to 'poison' the pests by placing animal intestines on their mounds but new research suggests that the offal really works by attracting ants - the termites' predators.

In a series of trials and on-farm experiments over three growing seasons, scientists from the UK University of Greenwich and the Namulonge Research Institute near Kampala have shown that sugar-rich baits, such as molasses, painted onto the base of the maize stems (the point most susceptible to termite attack) quickly attracted ants. However, after the first 24 hours, their numbers start to decline. In contrast, when protein-based baits such as fish-meal (as used in poultry feed) or Nile perch bones were used, one species of ant in particular (Lepisiota) moved into the plots. In fact, if the fish-meal was covered with decaying maize stalks before being lightly buried, then the Lepisiota ants built hundreds of nests in the plots. In one trial, using fish-meal bait significantly improved yields by 35 per cent, and significant yield increases were observed in each of the three growing seasons. It is hoped that the research will be continued by focussing on the effects on ant baits in inter-cropping systems.

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Vaccine project for Vietnamese pigs

Despite routine vaccinations, outbreaks of highly contagious swine fever still occur among Vietnam's 20 million pigs. It is thought that the vaccine is not being used correctly so a new Australian-funded project aims to provide advice to farmers and commercial piggery managers on efficient storage and handling techniques for the vaccine. In addition, current vaccine production methods in Vietnam rely on the use of animals, but using funds from the Australian agency for international development (AusAID), Chris Morrissy and colleagues from Australia's national research institute, the CSIRO, hope to teach Vietnamese researchers how to produce the vaccine from cell cultures. These efforts will also be backed up by a series of trials. According to Mr. Morrissy, "Farmers tend to vaccinate their piglets within just a few days or weeks of being born. In fact, we believe that farmers will get the best results if they wait until their pigs are about six weeks of age."

Staff at the Vietnamese Department of Animal Health and National Veterinary Company/Veterinary Research Centre Researchers will also receive advice and training in disease investigation and diagnosis from CSIRO's Australian Animal Health Laboratory. Although Australia is currently free of swine fever, Mr. Morrissey believes that the project will provide Australian scientists with valuable experience in the field, which will help to improve Australia's preparedness to deal with an any potential outbreak of the disease.
Email: Emma Homes

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Farmers suffer heavy losses in Colombia's drugs war

Colombia's anti-drugs aerial spraying campaign has come under attack from human rights monitors, following widespread reports of damage to food crops, livestock and human health in the sprayed areas. Over 40,000 hectares of land in the southern region of Putumayo has been sprayed since December 2000, using the broad-spectrum herbicide product 'Roundup'. Farmers have reported that crops of plantain, cassava and maize have been destroyed, and pasture land has also been affected. According to hospital staff there has been a rise in cases of skin and eye irritation and serious respiratory problems.

Roundup, which is being used to kill coca and poppy plants, contains the active ingredient glyphosate. Laboratory tests on rats indicate that glyphosate is not of major risk to health, but some scientists are expressing concern about some of the other constituents of Roundup, which could pose a greater threat, and about the concentration of chemicals used in the herbicide. Colombia's Human Rights Ombudsman has called for a suspension of spraying until a full health and environmental assessment has been made.

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Closing doors on Corridor disease

Credit: FAO

The curiously named 'corridor disease' affecting cattle in southern Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa, has long been known to be caused by the protozoan parasite Theileria lawrencei, related to T. parva, which causes the more widely occurring East Coast Fever (ECF). Carried by ticks that infest wild buffalo, which are immune to the disease, T. lawrencei causes very similar symptoms to ECF-high fever, swelling of lymph nodes, emaciation and high mortality. Isolation from buffalo and dipping have been the preventative measures recommended, but isolation is difficult where buffalo range widely and dipping is becoming problematic because of cost and inconvenience. An alternative may be a vaccine, developed by the ASVEZA project in the Southern Province of Zambia, which is claimed to have shown promising results. Prepared from a locally isolated strain of the parasite, the Chitongo vaccine is said to be inexpensive and so far 15,000 young animals have been immunised using it in the Southern Province alone.

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Meeting executive need with know-how

Credit: BESO

The British Executive Service Overseas (BESO) celebrates its 30th anniversary in January 2002, and is confidently planning its future volunteer programmes, having established a core funding agreement with Britain's Department for International Development. The five year Partnership Programme Agreement reflects the increasing emphasis on partnership in international volunteering, both in the nature of programmes, and methods of securing funds. As part of its publicity strategy, BESO is now working with Rotary International in the UK, in taking its 'Meeting Need with Know How' exhibition around the country.

More than 500 BESO volunteers are working overseas, in a great variety of fields from water quality and conservation work in China, and horse-based ploughing technology in Bolivia, to accounting systems for craft manufacturers in Thailand, and hygienic production of mushrooms in South Africa.
Email: team@beso.org

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Endangered sheep follows Dolly's lead

An Italian team has successfully cloned an endangered species, the mouflon, a wild sheep found on the Mediterranean islands of Corsica, Sardinia and Cyprus. This is a 'first' and provides encouragement for those who believe species could be saved from extinction by cloning technology. The Italian scientists injected mouflon DNA into domestic sheep eggs, and the resultant embryos were implanted in domestic ewes. One of these ewes has since given birth to a healthy mouflon lamb, now living at a wildlife sanctuary in Sardinia. The technology used was the same as that which produced the first cloned sheep, Dolly, in Scotland.

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Poultry breeds take flight

The poultry industry worldwide seems unaware of the rapid disappearance of poultry breeds, and thus the inevitable depletion of genetic resources for future breed development. According to the "Worldwatch List for Domestic Animal Diversity", jointly published by FAO and UNEP, the accelerated erosion of the poultry gene pool is alarming: throughout the world, avian breeds in danger of extinction increased from 51% in 1995 to 63% in 1999. The avian species included cassowary, chicken, duck, emu, guinea fowl, Muscovy duck, ostrich, partridge pheasant, pigeon, quail and turkey. The wide range of poultry species demonstrates their important contribution to human nutrition, including in very marginal areas. Since conserving rare breeds is seldom commercially attractive, it has been suggested that governments should provide breeders with the incentive of tax relief on any part of their enterprise involved with conservation.
Email: Beate Scherf

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Improving utilization of phosphate rock

Research and on-farm trials in East Africa reveal a relatively simple and low-tech approach to making better use of the low grade phosphate rock and mining waste that occurs in many parts of Africa. Unfortunately, many naturally occurring phosphatic rocks are of limited nutrient value as fertilizer because the phosphorus that they contain is insoluble and therefore remains largely unavailable to plants. Meanwhile, refined superphosphate is too expensive to import and transport to most phosphorus deficient areas of Africa. Research in Zimbabwe, Kenya and Uganda, funded by Canada's IDRC, the Rockefeller Foundation, Africa 2000 and ICRAF, has demonstrated that small amounts of triple superphosphate mixed with rock phosphate or phosphate mine waste can release the normally unavailable phosphorus. A low-tech machine, first developed and built in Zimbabwe, can turn the rock dust/fertilizer mixture into cleaner and more easily handled pellets. When shown pictures of the machine, artisans in Kenya and Uganda readily replicated it for about US$200. The technology is now being transferred to Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal and other West African countries.
Email: mag@idrc.ca and refer to IDRC Project 055136

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Perspectives on Pests

Perspectives on Pests, a new publication from the Department for International Development brings together the highlights from four years of work by the Crop Protection Programme. The programme works with small-scale farmers in developing countries, helping them to minimise the damage done to their crops by pests and diseases. Generally projects aim to reduce the use of pesticides, which not only tend to be expensive, but can also pose risks to environmental and human health. Instead a lot of work has gone into Integrated Pest Management, often building on current practices and knowledge to develop strategies that are less dependent on external inputs and more accessible to the poor. Projects featured in the publication are drawn from Africa, Asia and South America, and cover a wide spectrum of management techniques, crops and pests. The publication is available as a pdf document and can be viewed at www.nrinternational.co.uk/cpppersp.pdf (file size 3.8 mb).

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Ugandan flowers show good growth

In Uganda, flower production capacity has increased by 25% in the last six months, welcome and encouraging news both for the growers and for the Uganda Flower Exporters Association (UFEA), which supports the industry in research, training and promotion. Eight new varieties of rose are currently under trial at the UFEA's Nsimbe Estate, varieties which are able to flourish in Ugandan soils and climate. Flowers from the country are becoming respected in European markets for their quality, particularly the smaller, sweetheart roses and medium sized, intermediate varieties, favoured by flower-buyers for their long vase life. Foreign exchange earnings are expected to be US$24 in 2002, but could reach double this level, according to Steve New, USAID's horticultural advisor in the country, if Uganda's flower growers continue to co-operate, improve and expand.

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