Banana fungus risk for food security in Africa

Professor of plant pathology Gert Kema of Wageningen University & Research (WUR) is therefore sounding the alarm on the WUR website. Fusarium wilt is on the rise in Mozambique. Banana farmers are not only affected by this fungus there, reports WUR. From Asia, the disease has spread to South America and Africa over the past decade. After the first messages from Mozambique in 2013, it remained silent for years. Kema: 'The disease seemed to be under control in Africa, but we now know that this is unfortunately not the case.' This is confirmed by Anouk van Westerhoven, PhD student at Kema. 'The spread of the disease continues, even among small farmers and people with a banana plant in their garden. They probably don't recognize that disease and can therefore not fight it.' staple foods Van Westerhoven expects that the banana fungus will also reach other African countries. 'Bananas are a staple food for millions of people in countries such as Tanzania, Malawi, Uganda and Rwanda. They ...