Partnerships in Agricultural Innovation Systems

National agricultural research systems (NARS) in African countries have evolved since independence was gained in the 1960s (Hazell et al., 2003). Structural adjustment in the 1980s and partnerships with institutions in the north and the south have guided further development. Within recent times, the NARS concept was expanded to the agricultural knowledge and information system (AKIS) and subsequently the agricultural innovations system (AIS) concepts (Table 1). Many African institutions have grappled with the change processes necessitated by this evolution and incentivised by muchneeded funding support (Lynam et al., 2004). The guiding principles influencing research funding were often crafted at global level, with the assumption of their relevance or adaptability for all African NAR

Assessing Occurrence and Distribution of Aflatoxins in Malawi

Malawi is a land-locked country in southern Africa with a total land area of 118,485 square kilometers (11.78 million hectares, of which 34% is arable). Agriculture contributes over 35% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimated at about $200 per capita. The majority of Malawi’s 13 million persons are smallholder farmers and Malawi is still classified as one of the poorest countries in SSA (Action Aid International, 2006). Infant mortality in 2002 was 113 per 1,000 persons (globalis.gvu.unu.edu/indicator_detail.cfm?IndicatorID=25) compared with an average of 92 for SSA. The country relies heavily on rain-fed agriculture increasing threats in the event of variations in rainfall as well as commodity price shocks. Between 1970 and 2006, Malawi experienced 40 weather-related disasters, many leading to famines affecting the most parts of the country (Action Aid International, 2006). Average life expectancy, standing at 37 years at birth, is declining due to the impact of HIV/AIDS, which in 1999 affected 16 percent of the adult population and 31 percent of women in ante-natal care (Clay et al., 2003). Close to one million adults and children in Malawi are living with HIV/AIDS, with women representing 56.8% of HIV positive adults (15 – 49yrs), one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the World (UNAIDS, 2004)

Aflatoxin management in northern Ghana: current prevalence and priority strategies in maize (Zea mays L)

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Reducing Aflatoxins in Groundnuts through Integrated Management and Biocontrol

The groundnut, or peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.), is an important food and fodder crop in the farming systems of developing countries. The seed is high in oil (close to 50 percent for many varieties) and protein (~26 percent) and an important source of vitamins and dietary fiber. Groundnuts, like all legumes, are also important due to their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen, a critical and often limiting nutrient for crops in degraded soils. Global groundnut production is concentrated in Africa (40 percent) and Asia (55 percent). As discussed in other briefs in this series, high aflatoxin levels pose human health risks and are also a barrier to expanding trade in and commercial use of groundnuts and other crops

Improving Food Security and Nutrition in Malawi and Tanzania through Research on Edible Legumes

This publication contains a series of papers presented during two stakeholder workshops on groundnut production held in Lilongwe Malawi, and Mtwara Tanzania 1-2 March, and 13 April, 2007. The workshops provided opportunity v for stakeholders to identify issues related to groundnut production and inform Project activities. The meetings, thus, hoped to identify issues and strategies that could be used to improve project workplans and design and ensure more sustainable outcomes as envisaged in the proposal

Developing a regional strategy to address the outbreak of banana Xanthomonas wilt in East and Central Africa: Proceedings of the banana Xanthomonas wilt regional preparedness and strategy development workshop held in Kampala, Uganda, 14-18 February 2005

Proceedings of a workshop to develop a coherent regional and international response for containing the spread of banana Xanthomonas wilt in East and Central Africa and mitigating its impact on rural livelihoods

Stability of sweet potato cultivars to Alternaria leaf and stem blight disease

Alternaria leaf petiole and stem blight is an economically important disease of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatus L.) in tropical and sub-tropical environments. Published research on cultivar resistance to the sweet potato disease is limited. To evaluate cultivar reaction and stability to the disease, multi-location and replicated experiments were established in 12 environments in Uganda. Disease severity (area under disease progress curves - AUDPC), and cultivar root yield were also assessed. Significant differences (P<0.001) in AUDPC were detected among cultivars. Mean AUDPC ranged from 46.3 (Araka Red) to 78.4 (New Kawogo) across locations and seasons and the genotypes Araka Red and Tanzania had the lowest disease values. The location and season effects accounted for 67.1% and 7.5% of the total variance of AUDPC recorded among cultivars. The ranking of cultivars based on predicted AUDPC from Additive Main Effect and Multiplicative Interactive model (AMMI) showed that the NASPOT 1, the susceptible check, and New Kawogo were most susceptible to the disease in 11 of the 12 environments. Low and stable disease was consistently recorded and predicted on NASPOT 3 and the landrace cultivars Tanzania, Dimbuca, and Araka Red across environments. These results suggest that landrace cultivars had relative stability to the disease and wide adaptation across environments. These results suggest that AMMI statistical model and other multivariate techniques can be utilized for prediction of Alternaria disease stability in these locations

Centennial of research on groundnut rosette disease: what is known and what still needs to be known to achieve effective control of this menace in Sub-Saharan Africa

Several economically important plant virus diseases involve synergistic interactions between causative viruses, wherein the presence of one virus facilitates the other virus deficits in some molecular function for survival and spread. Groundnut rosette disease (GRD), first reported in 1907 from Tanganyika (presently Tanzania), is the most fascinating example.....

A Century of Research on Groundnut Rosette Disease and its Management. Information Bulletin no. 75

Groundnut rosette is a major disease of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. The disease is restricted to the African continent and its offshore islands. It is responsible for annual groundnut yield loss worth over US$150 million. A complex of three agents is involved in rosette disease etiology: Groundnut rosette assistor virus (GRAV; Family, Luteoviridae), Groundnut rosette virus (GRV; Genus, Umbravirus) and a Satellite-RNA (SatRNA) associated with GRV. The disease is spread in nature by the aphid vector, Aphis craccivora Koch, and occurs in two predominant symptom forms, chlorotic rosette and green rosette. Past research has revealed that SatRNA is responsible for rosette disease symptoms. GRAV or GRV on their own cause mild mottle symptoms. GRV functions as helper for SatRNA replication, whereas GRAV functions as helper virus in vector transmission of GRV and SatRNA. Through over 30 years research experience on this disease, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and its partners have made significant contributions towards the understanding of rosette disease etiology, molecular characterization, virus-vector interactions and development of serological (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) and nucleic acid (dot-blot hybridization and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) based diagnostic assays. This knowledge has provided basis for development and utilization of groundnut cultivars with resistance to the groundnut rosette disease and impacted the lives of thousands of farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. This information bulletin provides an overview of the groundnut rosette disease, properties of the etiological agents, protocols for their detection, information on screening groundnut germplasm for resistance to the disease and resistant sources, and various management option