An innovation by researchers in Nigeria could be a cure for the devastating Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW) - responsible for annual losses in excess of 500 million dollars of crop across East and Central Africa. But it has also fuelled debate on the genetic engineering of crops in Africa, writes Busani Bafana for IPS.
On Aug. 4 2010, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) based in Nigeria announced it had successfully engineered resistance of the African banana using genes from a green pepper.
Green pepper contains the plant ferredoxin-like amphipathic protein (Pflp) or hypersensitive response-assisting protein (Hrap) which are considered novel plant proteins that give crops enhanced resistance against deadly pathogens. A transformed banana, infused with Pflp or Hrap have shown strong resistance to BXW in the laboratory and screen houses, according to IITA.
"The Hrap and Pflp genes work by rapidly killing the cells that come into contact with the disease-spreading bacteria; essentially blocking it from spreading any further," said Dr Leena Tripathi, a biotechnologist with IITA."Furthermore, the mechanism - known as Hypersensitivity Response - also activates the defence of adjacent and even distant uninfected plants leading to a systematic acquired resistance."
But anti-GMO (genetically modified organisms) group, Friends of the Earth Nigeria said it was apparent that Africa has become the popular excuse for experimentation in modern biotechnology focusing on the so-called poor man's crops. Crops being targeted included cassava (a staple for over 20 million people in Africa and across the tropical world), cowpea, corn, cotton, banana and plantain.
"What Africa needs right now is a decisive stand to maintain seed as well as cultural diversities and defend staple crops," said Mariann Bassey from Friends of the Earth Nigeria.
Bassey, coordinator of the organisation’s Food Sovereignty and Agrofuels Programme, believes the biotech industry targets people's staple crops even when there is no need for GM varieties. "We believe this case in point (to genetically modify bananas in Uganda) is without any doubt a subtle means of colonising Uganda's local food," she said.
Bassey said during a recent visit to Uganda a local farmer told her that they produced banana in such large quantities that they faced problems with storage. Promoters of GM crops, she said, must not be allowed to use Ugandans as Guinea pigs.
"Ecological agriculture has fed Mankind over thousands of years and improvements have been achieved through knowledgeable handling of seeds - with due respect to cultural, social, spiritual and climatic environments," Bassey told IPS. "We do not want GMOs under any form or guise. Africa can feed itself."
But Triphathi, the lead author of a paper on the research published in the 2010 Molecular Plant Pathology journal, said although it was still a while before the transgenic bananas found their way into farmer’s fields, the breakthrough was a significant step in the fight against the deadly banana disease.
The feat could be a leap in the fight against BXW. If unstopped, scientists say, BXW spells doom for banana production and threatens food security in areas where it is a staple food and a potential high-earning export crop.
Friends of the Earth Nigeria said seed diversity and sustainable farming were key to meeting the world's food needs. The organisation argued that GMOs were a direct threat to the environment and negated the notion of food sovereignty and the pursuit of food security.
Despite opposition to genetic engineering, a transgenic banana could be what Africa needs. Scientific research has found estimated total banana yield loss as a result of BXW infection at between 30 to 52 percent, meaning a huge reduction in the amount of bananas harvested at household level.
The disease, first identified 40 years ago, is widespread in key banana-growing areas such as Uganda, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania. Signs of the disease include wilting and yellowing of leaves, with plants producing yellowish bacterial ooze, premature ripening of the bunch and rotting of the fruit.
Researchers from IITA, in partnership with the National Agricultural Research Organisation and the African Agricultural Technology Foundation, are now ready to evaluate these promising resistant lines under confined field trials after the National Biosafety Committee of Uganda recently approved the tests.
According to the IITA, presently there are no commercial chemicals, bio control agents or resistant varieties to help control the spread of BXW. Currently, the removal of the male bud, known as de-budding, has proved effective in preventing the occurrence of the disease as the male bud of the banana has been found to be the primary infection site. But de-budding is also labour intensive and some farmers are unable to cope.
Tripathi emphasised that even if a source of resistance was identified, developing a truly resistant banana would be extremely difficult given the sterile nature and long gestation period of the crop.
The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) has prioritised the role of research as promoting agricultural productivity. FARA executive director, Dr. Monty Jones, told participants at the 5th African Agricultural Science week held in Burkina Faso in July 2010 that there is no agricultural development without scientific research in Africa.
"I believe that research can do wonders for agriculture in Africa but no matter how outstanding the research products we cannot make an impact if we do not back that research with other packages such as infrastructural development," Jones said.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
The Real Heroes
As Zimbabwe commemorates Heroes Day, the official remembrance is again dominated by Zanu PF individuals. Every day we are bombarded with Zanu PF propaganda on the country's only television channel: big breasted, big bottomed women wriggling their bodies, waving their fists and singing endless refrains in praise of Zanu PF. We hear nothing of heroes from other political parties; nothing of the thousands who have died in the last decade in the struggle for good governance, democracy and new leadership in our country. We hear nothing of the ordinary Zimbabweans who who are the real heroes in 2010. This letter is for them, heroes of the last decade, writes Cathy Buckle.
The heroes are mothers and grandmothers who managed to keep homes together and families alive when shops were empty and there was no food to buy. Women who went to bed hungry, made meals from nothing and kept hope alive.
The heroes are our children who lost their childhood in the mayhem of ten years of political violence. Children who watched their families being torn apart as parents, siblings, aunts and uncles fled to the Diaspora to escape and to survive. Children who sat helpless, hopeless outside closed schools. Children who lost ten years of education and as a result are without qualifications and jobs.
The heroes are people in rural villages who have borne the brunt of political intimidation, harassment and violence. Knowing their every move is watched and recorded. Knowing that if their name is not on the "good" list of the village leaders they will not get food, seed, fertilizer. People who continue to endure the most primitive of conditions in homes which are still without piped water, plumbing or electricity 30 years after Independence.
The heroes are the professionals: doctors, nurses, teachers, and so many more who have held their heads high, worked in the most appalling circumstances for miniscule wages, determined to keep giving of their skills which have held Zimbabwe together.
The heroes are the ordinary workers who have toiled for the smallest of wages, wearing threadbare clothes, walking miles to work, struggling through endless power cuts, going for days, weeks and months without water and coping with years of not having garbage collected.
The heroes are the activists who have lost everything, and given everything, to bring freedom for us all. Activists who are not in this massive government we are groaning under; activists who are not driving government cars and earning government allowances but ordinary men and women who are brave, determined, driven.
The heroes are the countless men and women who have worked tirelessly from outside our borders. People who have given 10 years of their lives to exposing events in Zimbabwe, speaking out, lobbying governments, raising money for people in trouble, giving support, encouragement and hope.
Happy Heroes Day to all of us, whatever our race, colour, creed or political persuasion.
The heroes are mothers and grandmothers who managed to keep homes together and families alive when shops were empty and there was no food to buy. Women who went to bed hungry, made meals from nothing and kept hope alive.
The heroes are our children who lost their childhood in the mayhem of ten years of political violence. Children who watched their families being torn apart as parents, siblings, aunts and uncles fled to the Diaspora to escape and to survive. Children who sat helpless, hopeless outside closed schools. Children who lost ten years of education and as a result are without qualifications and jobs.
The heroes are people in rural villages who have borne the brunt of political intimidation, harassment and violence. Knowing their every move is watched and recorded. Knowing that if their name is not on the "good" list of the village leaders they will not get food, seed, fertilizer. People who continue to endure the most primitive of conditions in homes which are still without piped water, plumbing or electricity 30 years after Independence.
The heroes are the professionals: doctors, nurses, teachers, and so many more who have held their heads high, worked in the most appalling circumstances for miniscule wages, determined to keep giving of their skills which have held Zimbabwe together.
The heroes are the ordinary workers who have toiled for the smallest of wages, wearing threadbare clothes, walking miles to work, struggling through endless power cuts, going for days, weeks and months without water and coping with years of not having garbage collected.
The heroes are the activists who have lost everything, and given everything, to bring freedom for us all. Activists who are not in this massive government we are groaning under; activists who are not driving government cars and earning government allowances but ordinary men and women who are brave, determined, driven.
The heroes are the countless men and women who have worked tirelessly from outside our borders. People who have given 10 years of their lives to exposing events in Zimbabwe, speaking out, lobbying governments, raising money for people in trouble, giving support, encouragement and hope.
Happy Heroes Day to all of us, whatever our race, colour, creed or political persuasion.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
‘Tsvangirai can be crushed like a fly’
Newsday, Zimbabwe's privately owned daily tabloid has quoted War veterans’ leader Jabulani Sibanda equating the country's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to “a fly” that could “easily be eliminated” from the political scene if need be, as the Premier did not have the power to rule Zimbabwe.
Sibanda reportedly made the remarks while addressing hundreds of villagers at Mashoko business centre in Bikita West in Masvingo at the weekend where he is allegedly terrorising villagers with the help of a group of war veterans and Zanu-PF activists.
Zaka Central MP Harrison Mudzuri said the statements by Sibanda were worrying, coming at a time when several MDC-T legislators have been involved in suspicious “accidents”.
Sibanda addressed the rally unaware that two MDC-T MPs — Mudzuri and Masvingo Central MP Jefferson Chitando — were among the crowd.
The war veterans’ leader is alleged to have equated Tsvangirai to a fly saying that the Premier could be easily “eliminated” from the country’s political landscape.
“Tsvangirai is just like a fly in a kombi or a bus. The fly can sit on the driver’s seat but that does not make it the one in charge of the bus. He (Tsvangirai)can be eliminated in the political set-up anytime and life will go on,” Sibanda is quoted as telling villagers at the rally.
Mudzuri told NewsDay that the statements by Sibanda could be interpreted to mean that Tsvangirai is taken as an ineffectual partner in the inclusive government despite the country’s three main political parties agreeing to work together.
What Sibanda said can also mean that there is enough machinery in place to crush Tsvangirai both off the political landscape and off the face of the earth. The basis of the argument is the alleged attempt on his life last year that saw his wife perish in a typical ZANU PF inspired "hit" accident.
But Tsvangirai ever since tasting how it feels being at the helm albeit with little close to limited grip on the joy stick has been velvet cushion on Robert Mugabe's couch, firstly rubbishing the talk of an attempt on his life, then calling on the west to remove sanctions and later tell South Africa's Jacob Zuma not to pressure Zimbabwe into having elections.
Power corrupts and for Tsvangirai it goes on to blind one to see that its still the same ZANU PF that has run down the economy and caused multitudes to be maimed and killed by its life of brutality and violence.
Sibanda reportedly made the remarks while addressing hundreds of villagers at Mashoko business centre in Bikita West in Masvingo at the weekend where he is allegedly terrorising villagers with the help of a group of war veterans and Zanu-PF activists.
Zaka Central MP Harrison Mudzuri said the statements by Sibanda were worrying, coming at a time when several MDC-T legislators have been involved in suspicious “accidents”.
Sibanda addressed the rally unaware that two MDC-T MPs — Mudzuri and Masvingo Central MP Jefferson Chitando — were among the crowd.
The war veterans’ leader is alleged to have equated Tsvangirai to a fly saying that the Premier could be easily “eliminated” from the country’s political landscape.
“Tsvangirai is just like a fly in a kombi or a bus. The fly can sit on the driver’s seat but that does not make it the one in charge of the bus. He (Tsvangirai)can be eliminated in the political set-up anytime and life will go on,” Sibanda is quoted as telling villagers at the rally.
Mudzuri told NewsDay that the statements by Sibanda could be interpreted to mean that Tsvangirai is taken as an ineffectual partner in the inclusive government despite the country’s three main political parties agreeing to work together.
What Sibanda said can also mean that there is enough machinery in place to crush Tsvangirai both off the political landscape and off the face of the earth. The basis of the argument is the alleged attempt on his life last year that saw his wife perish in a typical ZANU PF inspired "hit" accident.
But Tsvangirai ever since tasting how it feels being at the helm albeit with little close to limited grip on the joy stick has been velvet cushion on Robert Mugabe's couch, firstly rubbishing the talk of an attempt on his life, then calling on the west to remove sanctions and later tell South Africa's Jacob Zuma not to pressure Zimbabwe into having elections.
Power corrupts and for Tsvangirai it goes on to blind one to see that its still the same ZANU PF that has run down the economy and caused multitudes to be maimed and killed by its life of brutality and violence.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Harare in row with Western diplomats
HARARE – The United States (US), Germany and European Union (EU) ambassadors on Tuesday rejected attempts by Zimbabwe to reprimand them for “disrespecting” President Robert Mugabe, in an escalating row between Harare and the Western diplomats.
Speaking moments after Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi summoned them for walking out of the burial of Mugabe’s sister last Sunday, the ambassadors insisted they were right to live the event after the veteran leader used the occasion to attack their governments.
Mugabe used the burial of his sister at the National Heroes Acre shrine in Harare to launch one of his habitual tirades against Western powers, accusing them of wanting to control Zimbabwe and rob the country of its resources and telling them to “go to hell”.
US ambassador Charles Ray, Germany’s Albrecht Conze and the EU charge de affaires Barbara Plinkert left the burial immediately after Mugabe had finished speaking, a gesture that did not go down well with their Harare hosts.
In a statement to the ambassadors, Mumbengegwi, who met the diplomats separately at his Munhumutapa offices, said: "I have summoned you to convey our concern and disappointment over your conduct on Sunday, during the burial of the late heroine, Sabina Mugabe.
"Your conduct was therefore very disrespectful to our National Heroes shrine, the heroine who was being honoured and His Excellency the President (Mugabe).
"We are disappointed that you chose such a bad occasion to show your disrespect for Zimbabwe, its leaders, its fallen heroes and its people. This kind of behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated."
But the ambassadors immediately hit back, insisting they equally felt wronged that Mumbengegwi was summoning them when they were the ones who were publicly humiliated and their governments denigrated by Mugabe.
“Honourable Minister, I have heard your statement. I regret that you have chosen to make matters worse by exacerbating a problem created by the Zimbabwean side, rather than attempting to put it behind us,” Ray said in his response to Mumbengegwi that he read out to journalists at the joint press conference held at the US embassy.
“I followed the invitation in order to pay my respects. I earned disrespect in return. It became clear to me during your President’s address that I was not welcome. I had to act accordingly,” the American diplomat said.
Asked by reporters if he would apologise, Germany’s Conze said: “No. No. No. I thought this was a closed chapter. I am not sure why someone decided to open it again. We need to concentrate on solving Zimbabwe’s problems.”
The ambassadors also insisted they had not disrespected Mugabe because they did not leave while he was speaking but waited until he had finished.
Mugabe, who had in recent times appeared to tone down his anti-Western rhetoric following his forming a power-sharing government with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai last year, was blistering against Europe and America last Sunday.
He accused the Western powers of maintaining sanctions against him and his inner circle in a bid to push him out of power.
“To hell with them (West). Whoever told them that they are above the people of Zimbabwe, that the decisions that should be made by the people of Zimbabwe are theirs to make?” said Mugabe.
“We should not allow colonial thieves to take our resources. The country is now in our hands and we should hold on unperturbed by unsolicited advice by those who abused us in the past,” he said.
Despite the formation of the unity government, the United States and the EU have remained critical of Mugabe’s rule, accusing the 86-year leader of stifling democracy and stalling on political and economic reforms.
Washington and Brussels have refused to lift sanctions or provide direct financial support to the Harare coalition demanding that it first speeds up democratic reforms and do more to uphold human rights and the rule of law.
However US and the EU remain the biggest providers of humanitarian support to Zimbabwe, which the United Nations said on Tuesday required US$478 million in assistance up from the $378 million that the world body had initially requested for the southern African country.
A revised Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) launched in Harare yesterday is meant to raise assistance to take Zimbabwe until the end of the year. UN officials said the CAP was initially meant to run until April but was being extended owing to increasing humanitarian requirements in the country.
– ZimOnline.
Speaking moments after Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi summoned them for walking out of the burial of Mugabe’s sister last Sunday, the ambassadors insisted they were right to live the event after the veteran leader used the occasion to attack their governments.
Mugabe used the burial of his sister at the National Heroes Acre shrine in Harare to launch one of his habitual tirades against Western powers, accusing them of wanting to control Zimbabwe and rob the country of its resources and telling them to “go to hell”.
US ambassador Charles Ray, Germany’s Albrecht Conze and the EU charge de affaires Barbara Plinkert left the burial immediately after Mugabe had finished speaking, a gesture that did not go down well with their Harare hosts.
In a statement to the ambassadors, Mumbengegwi, who met the diplomats separately at his Munhumutapa offices, said: "I have summoned you to convey our concern and disappointment over your conduct on Sunday, during the burial of the late heroine, Sabina Mugabe.
"Your conduct was therefore very disrespectful to our National Heroes shrine, the heroine who was being honoured and His Excellency the President (Mugabe).
"We are disappointed that you chose such a bad occasion to show your disrespect for Zimbabwe, its leaders, its fallen heroes and its people. This kind of behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated."
But the ambassadors immediately hit back, insisting they equally felt wronged that Mumbengegwi was summoning them when they were the ones who were publicly humiliated and their governments denigrated by Mugabe.
“Honourable Minister, I have heard your statement. I regret that you have chosen to make matters worse by exacerbating a problem created by the Zimbabwean side, rather than attempting to put it behind us,” Ray said in his response to Mumbengegwi that he read out to journalists at the joint press conference held at the US embassy.
“I followed the invitation in order to pay my respects. I earned disrespect in return. It became clear to me during your President’s address that I was not welcome. I had to act accordingly,” the American diplomat said.
Asked by reporters if he would apologise, Germany’s Conze said: “No. No. No. I thought this was a closed chapter. I am not sure why someone decided to open it again. We need to concentrate on solving Zimbabwe’s problems.”
The ambassadors also insisted they had not disrespected Mugabe because they did not leave while he was speaking but waited until he had finished.
Mugabe, who had in recent times appeared to tone down his anti-Western rhetoric following his forming a power-sharing government with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai last year, was blistering against Europe and America last Sunday.
He accused the Western powers of maintaining sanctions against him and his inner circle in a bid to push him out of power.
“To hell with them (West). Whoever told them that they are above the people of Zimbabwe, that the decisions that should be made by the people of Zimbabwe are theirs to make?” said Mugabe.
“We should not allow colonial thieves to take our resources. The country is now in our hands and we should hold on unperturbed by unsolicited advice by those who abused us in the past,” he said.
Despite the formation of the unity government, the United States and the EU have remained critical of Mugabe’s rule, accusing the 86-year leader of stifling democracy and stalling on political and economic reforms.
Washington and Brussels have refused to lift sanctions or provide direct financial support to the Harare coalition demanding that it first speeds up democratic reforms and do more to uphold human rights and the rule of law.
However US and the EU remain the biggest providers of humanitarian support to Zimbabwe, which the United Nations said on Tuesday required US$478 million in assistance up from the $378 million that the world body had initially requested for the southern African country.
A revised Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) launched in Harare yesterday is meant to raise assistance to take Zimbabwe until the end of the year. UN officials said the CAP was initially meant to run until April but was being extended owing to increasing humanitarian requirements in the country.
– ZimOnline.
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