Climate-related diseases: Prevention should precede cure

In 2011, a viral maize disease hit Kenya’s breadbasket, Rift Valley, and depressed yields within months. Farmers woke up to barren lands, wilted maize and dried stalks. Scientists blamed a host of factors, including poor seeds, for the spread of the disease, which was christened maize lethal necrosis (MLN).

In 2012 alone, when the spread of the disease reached epidemic proportions, farmers in Rift Valley lost 697,000 bags of maize worth Sh2.1 billion after MLN affected 26,000 hectares.

But even as scientists and agricultural pundits scratch their heads looking for a permanent solution to the disease, another pest from South America has hit the country. The pest, targeting tomatoes and dubbed Tuta absoluta, wipes out up to 100 per cent of yields within days. Farmers reported huge losses, sending shock waves all around due to the importance of tomatoes, which are valued at Sh14 billion annually, and grown on 23,000 hectares.

What is coming out of the unprecedented attacks on crops is how flatfooted the Government found itself. While scientists and agricultural officers eventually manage to find a solution, the damage done between the period when a disease strikes and a cure is found has been catastrophic, robbing farmers of an income and putting millions in danger of starvation.

When MLN struck, over four million Kenyans struggled to get food; the ripple effects of a maize shortage are well known.

Now the Government is battling to find a quick solution to Tuta absoluta as the damage from the pest continues unabated.

Loss of income

At a conference organised by a research institution, I spoke to a horticultural farmer from one of the areas most ravaged by the pest. He has been in tomato farming for many years, and although there have been pockets of disease and pest attacks, he has never experienced something on the scale of Tuta absoluta. In one season, he lost yields worth Sh1 million.

It was not just the loss of income at play, but also the number of workers at his farm who stood to lose their jobs as he struggled to come to terms with the loss. He has, however, devised his own solution while a cure for the pest remains out of sight.

The Government’s role as far as agriculture is concerned cannot be to provide scientists to look for solutions whenever a disease emerges. Numerous studies by respected global agricultural bodies have indicated that as climate change continues, we should brace ourselves for new diseases and pests that will defy conventional control methods. The Government, therefore, needs to be proactive and work with all industry players to find preventive rather than curative measures. Some of these diseases can be tamed through simple methods like improving seed varieties.

While the Government may be understaffed and lack requisite resources to come up with modern techniques of dealing with traditional and emerging threats to crop production, it could partner with better equipped private players to contain these threats.

At Elgon Kenya, for example, we delved into extensive research in collaboration with other agricultural players to find a maize variety resistant to MLN. From these efforts, Elgon Prestige Maize 2 was born and has been trialled in areas where MLN was prevalent, with farmers recording zero attacks on the maize variety, whose traits include increased yields.

In another example of how partnerships are delivering a win-win, we, together with global chemical firm Du Pont, have delivered Coragen, a pesticide against Tuta absoluta. Farmers using the product have reported halting the spread of the pest within days.

While we cannot predict what other crops will be attacked by pests or disease as weather vagaries continue, our saving grace will be to be prepared with products that can counter emerging attacks. One way to do this is by the Government partnering with private players in the agriculture sector and creating a facilitative and enabling environment for such entities to come up with modern agricultural mechanisms.

The writer is communications manager, Elgon Kenya. [email protected]