KAMPALA (Commodity Online) : East Africa, Africa’s most fertile region to grow food crops is in danger of losing much of its crops to pest attacks and diseases, agri scientists warned.

However with increasing inter-state co-operation and dependence, there is need to devise ways of fighting diseases and pests that affect crops, animals and humans in the entire eastern African region.



It is with this in mind that scientists from countries in the eastern Africa came together to formulate a policy that will enable easier identification and handling of infectious diseases in the region.

According to Dr. Otim Nape, the chairman of Africa Innovations Institute, if the policy had been in place earlier, crop and animal diseases like the cassava mosaic, cassava brown streak, banana bacterial wilt and others would have been easily countered.

Scientists, scientists in human health, veterinary and the crop sectors gathered last week to discuss the formulation of this policy. They noted that Africa faces immense pressure from infectious diseases.

Dr. Otim said the regions' social and economic status was at stake: "These diseases are threatening our staple foods and will lead to poverty." He said, for example, most of Uganda's agricultural exports pass through Kenya and if nothing is done to harmonise the control of these diseases, exportation will become a problem.

He said a few years ago, Uganda could not export chicken or beef to Kenya because the Kenyans feared that the exports might aid the spread of diseases to their country. "It is a very big challenge but we should not run away from it. We have to come together and fight it," Otim said.

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