Agriculture Report - Diseases Attack Cassava Crops in East and Central Africa

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Cassava	May	crops	earn	expecting	had	heads	impact	in	is
million	of	producer	research	says	stop	streak	study
to	years

is a very important crop in many countries. More than 160 people across Africa depend on the plant for food or to money. The continent produces 60 percent of the world's cassava. In , the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reported that cassava production increased by 60 percent worldwide since 2000. Agriculture experts had been world cassava production to grow even more during the next 10 . But those expectations have been crushed. Plant diseases are attacking cassava in East and Central Africa. Two diseases are the cassava brown virus and the cassava mosaic virus. The Food and Agriculture Organization brown streak disease does more damage, since it affects the root the crop. Luca Alinovi is the acting director of the FAO East and Central Africa. He says the agency has taken steps improve the situation, but the problem is not getting better. He decisions on how to handle the problem will have a huge on the food security of people in Central Africa. Dominique Davoux the European Union Rural Development and Agricultural program in Kenya. She the cassava diseases have changed over the years. She says early slowed the disease but the disease changed form and new research needed. The FAO says at least $100 million is needed to the diseases and support clean farm production. Experts say failure to the disease means cassava disease will likely invade Nigeria, the biggest of cassava in Africa. For VOA Learning English, I'm Carolyn Presutti.

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