News brief

Pesticide use covered by international law

Management and use of hazardous pesticides will soon be covered by international law when the Rotterdam Convention comes into force in February 2004. Armenia became the 50th country to ratify the treaty in November last year, thus triggering a 90-day countdown to the treaty entering into force.

The new regime offers member governments, particularly in developing countries, the tools required to clean up obsolete stockpiles of pesticides and strengthen their chemical management, explained Klaus Toepfer, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme. Twenty-seven chemicals are currently covered by the convention, but five more pesticides have been flagged for inclusion and many more are likely to be added in the future.

Malaria linked with deforestation

Destruction of the Amazon rainforest is leading to increased populations of malaria-bearing mosquitoes, researchers have warned. According to a report in the journal Nature, the team collected 15,000 mosquitoes from an area in north-east Peru to determine the proportion of Anopheles darlingi, the local species which transmits malaria. These figures were then correlated to the level of deforestation. The research team from the John Hopkins University, USA, concluded that for every one per cent increase in deforestation the number of A.darlingi increases by eight per cent. The malaria-bearing species may come to dominate other species because it thrives in open, sunlit ponds.

Pigeonpea vs podborers: a new line of defence

Scientists in India believe they could have found an answer to the legume pod borer (Helicoverpa armigera) which is responsible for 50 per cent of all pest-induced losses for all crops in the country. By introducing the synthetic Bt Cry1Ab gene to pigeonpea, the team from ICRISAT-Pantancheru believes that heavy insecticide use is no longer necessary to control the pest, as the crop will be resistant to lepidopteram insect pests like the pod borer. After an initial contained field trial, the transgenic pigeonpea crop will go through a second season of contained trials to generate more data on biosafety. The scientists will then collaborate with its national partners to implement open field trials.

Zimbabwe's evicted farmers take to the courts

Commercial farmers evicted from their farms in Zimbabwe over the past three years are planning a lawsuit to force the government to pay them compensation. They are demanding an estimated £4billion (ZIM$36 trillion) which is more than four times Zimbabwe's 2004 national budget. Government budget for agriculture (ZIM$1 trillion) for 2004, includes ZIM$20 billion earmarked for compensation for the estimated 4,000 evicted families. According to Justice for Agriculture (JAG), which is leading the lawsuit the allocated amount does not suffice to pay compensation for even 30 farmers.

Mixed reports for food security in Africa

Insecurity and drought are threatening food security in 23 sub-Saharan African countries, according to the FAO's Global Information and Early Warning System Africa Report, published in December. Successive droughts in southeastern Ethiopia and parts of Somalia have devastated crop harvests and livestock numbers; in Somalia's Sool plateau an estimated 93,000 people are already in need of food and humanitarian assistance. Insecurity has hampered food production in eastern Uganda, the Central African Republic, DRC and Burundi, while in southern Africa Zimbabwe is also threatened by food shortage, due to scarcity of basic farm inputs, including seed and fertiliser. However, harvest predictions are in many cases better than for previous years. The Sahel in particular, is expecting a bumper harvest, and eastern Africa should also see an improvement in its cereal yields compared with last year's depleted harvests. Southern Africa is predicted to have 'normal' weather patterns in the current growing season, following successive years of drought in many areas.

Tanzanian parliament blocks government on GM imports

Members of parliament in Tanzania have blocked plans by the government to allow genetically modified seeds and crops to be imported, on the grounds that they are not needed and could be environmentally damaging.
The decision came after a report by a parliamentary committee, which stated that "experience from India and America shows that GMOs are very harmful to natural vegetation". The government had previously announced that it would accept GM grain, providing it had been milled first to prevent it being sown.

HIV/AIDS a major threat to Zimbabwe agriculture

Forty three per cent of people in Zimbabwe's farming areas have HIV/AIDS according to a new report by the United Nations Relief and Recovery Unit (RRU). This compares to a national infection level of 24.6 per cent, with the highest number of HIV-positive people in the 15 to 23 age range, "the core of the agricultural labour force".
The research, conducted on behalf of the UNDP, found that 23 per cent of labour losses among farming communities were due to HIV/AIDS. This has led to a 39 per cent drop in the total area being cropped. According to the RRU, crop yield has declined by 59 per cent, and marketed output declines of 66 per cent could be experienced in Zimbabwe's agricultural sector due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Labour quantity and quality have been compromised, the report says. This included the "loss of agricultural extension workers through death, illness and discharge on medical grounds," while a significant amount of man-hours have been lost through increased absenteeism due to illness, caring for the sick or attending funerals.
The RRU warned that with this threat to the agricultural sector at a time when food security is already a major cause for concern, urgent short and medium term initiatives in the HIV/AIDS sector were required.

Tagging scheme for EU sheep

All sheep and goats in the European Union will have to be tagged individually from mid-2005 under plans to prevent renewed epidemics of FMD. Under current EU law, sheep and goats are tracked as a flock or herd, but the new initiative will make it possible to rapidly determine where individual animals are coming from and where they have been, making it possible to trace the movements of infected animals. Britain, which was at the centre of the FMD problems, welcomed the decision although its farmers have been tagging sheep individually since 2001. The EU ministers will allow the UK to continue with its Sheep ID System, but the government may have to make some changes to this existing scheme. For example, while the current UK scheme requires the ear tag to be in place before the sheep leaves the holding, the new EU rules say this must happen within six months of birth.

Moringa - an answer to malnutrition?

An international NGO is promoting Moringa, a fast-growing, drought-resistant plant, as a way of reducing malnutrition in Mauritania. Moringa (or Moringa oleifera) is a slender perennial tree that is rich in nutrients and vitamins such as vitamins A and C, calcium, magnesium and iron. It is already cultivated in India, Mexico, and Mauritius where its leaves are pounded into powder and added to meals. In early 2003, the NGO (World Vision) carried out tests on 50 pregnant women and 50 infants. Half were given Moringa powder, the other half iron tablets. Those using the powder showed a drop in anaemia rates and gained weight.

Due to a lack of scientific data, World Vision is not using Moringa in feeding programmes, explained Beth Doerr, National Agricultural Progamme (NAP) coordinator. "But [we are] teaching women farmers how to grow the trees, prepare and use its by-products as nutritional supplements to improves their children's health." Other uses include livestock feed (leaves and branches) and a substitute for horseradish (the roots). A non-drying oil known as Ben oil, can also be made from its seeds.

First livestock census in Afghanistan

The number of livestock in Afghanistan has plummeted after suffering many years of war and drought. A recent livestock census - the first of its kind in Afghanistan - revealed that the average number of farm animals per family is 1.22 cattle and 2.9 sheep, a significant drop from the 3.7 cattle and 21.9 sheep per family as indicated in a small-scale survey in 1995. According to the FAO who carried out the census with funding from the Italian government, livestock was a major source of income and food for farming families in Afghanistan. For some, such as the Kuchi nomads, livestock was their only source of income. But they had been particularly badly hit by drought with about 60 per cent of Kuchi households losing all their livestock. The regeneration of herds would require healthy, well-fed animals and sufficient numbers of adequate breeding males for artificial insemination explained FAO information and liaison officer Etienne Careme. And with the animals being imported from neighbouring countries, he warned that adequate veterinary control to prevent spread of disease, was also essential.

'Agriculture is a political priority in Zambia'

Zambia's President Levy Mwanawasa has announced measures to boost the country's agricultural sector. These include sourcing "cheap foreign currency" for long-term agricultural sector financing, zero-rating tax on imported farming equipment and keeping power tariffs low. The plans also include moves to revive co-operative banks (which fell by the wayside during the presidency of Mwanawasa's predessesor Frederick Chiluba) to offer affordable credit and subsidised maize seed and fertiliser to 150,000 farmers. "My administration wants to make agriculture a priority," said President Mwanawasa. "We are sure that with long-term financing, more Zambians shall engage in agriculture, create jobs, earn foreign exchange and improve food production. We want to see an increase in food production and food security, so that we can stop importing food.

Uzbek Prime Minister replaced by agriculturist

Uzbekistan's long serving Prime Minister, Otkir Sultanov, has been sacked and replaced by an agricultural specialist, following the country's worst ever cotton harvest. Uzbekistan is the world's second largest cotton exporter, and the crop is vital to the struggling economy, accounting for over 40 per cent of its principal exports. But production fell by 11 per cent in 2003, the reduced yields blamed on bad weather and poor restructuring in the sector. Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov, justified his decision to parliament on the grounds that Mr. Sultanov lacked experience in the agricultural sector, which contributes 30 per cent of the country's GDP.

It comes after criticism of the Uzbek government for its reaction to the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the southern and eastern provinces. The disease is now fairly widespread, but the government is refusing to acknowledge the problem. Uzbek law prohibits publishing or broadcasting information on livestock diseases, but could result in an epidemic capable of devastating the rural economy. During the FMD crises in Europe in 2001, the government declared the country free of the disease, which it says, was last detected in 1990.

credit: DEFRA

Potato ring rot hits the UK

The UK has experienced its first case of potato ring rot with an outbreak on a farm in Wales in November 2003. The infection was identified during checks carried out by government's Rural Affairs Plant Health Unit as part of its annual survey for ring rot, and was contained within the originating farm. The source of contamination is believed to be infected seed from Holland, which has led to some farmers groups calling for a ban on imported seed. The farmer at the centre of the outbreak will not be receiving compensation from the government for the losses from the disease, which are expected to reach £400,000. Instead, he is considering legal action against the vendors of the infected seed.

Chinese crop breeder honoured by science academy

The Third World Academy of Sciences has announced that Fu Ting Dong of China has won its 2003 Prize in Agricultural Sciences. Fu, of Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, is most widely recognised for his discovery of Polima cytoplasmic male sterility (Pol cms) of oilseed rape (Brassica napus) in 1972. The presence of Pol cms in a breeding line causes abnormal anther - and therefore pollen - development. As these flowers must be cross-pollinated, seed producers can carefully control the genetics make-up of the hybrid, to produce higher yielding seeds demanded by farmers. Overall, hybrid rapeseed varieties bred by Fu make up 20 per cent of China's 3 million hectares of oilseed rape.

The Pol cms system has also been transferred to other brassica crops, including Chinese cabbage and pakchoi. In addition, the genetic system is widely used elsewhere in the world, with an estimated 60 per cent of the United State's oilseed rape crop being planted to three Pol cms hybrid varieties. More recently, Fu has been developing new rape varieties for use as forage crops, which allows farmers in northwest China to use make use of fields traditionally left fallow for the winter.

Fu is one of eight award winners recognized for their achievements in different scientific fields by the Third World Academy of Sciences. Based in Trieste, Italy, the Academy was founded in 1983 by Nobel Prize-winning Pakistani physicist Abdus Salam.

1^st January 2004