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CONSTRAINT BBTD devastates banana production TECHNOLOGY TO RECOVER BANANA Due to unavailability of resistant cultivars, the multidisciplinary curative and preventive approaches have been used at community scale to recover and enhance banana production in stages (Figs 2 & 4). Community Mobilization: Baseline on cropping systems and gender roles, sucker flows, awareness and advocacy and strategies for clean planting material and mat eradication Eradication and Replanting: Establishment of disease-free nurseries for healthy planting material, coupled with disease exclusion using banana free-fallow period and aphid control to prevent reinfection. Development and deployment of improved survey and diagnostic tools: Used for mapping BBTD spread, certification of planting material and monitoring reinfections. TC plants Macro propagation Block 2 Poster 6 Recovering Banana Production from Bunchy Top Disease in sub-Saharan Africa Poster authors: Lava Kumar, Charles Staver, M.L. Iskra-Caruana, B.A. Omondi, R. Hanna, L. Nkengla, S. Ajambo, A. Rietveld, M. Soko, C. Niyongere, T. Oviasuyi, S. Ngatat, B. Ndemba, D. Ogunfunmilayo, P. Mobambo, B. Dheda, M. Tachin, S. Akinyemi, M. Andeime, A. Mvila, S. Sagnia, and R. Swennen SCALING STRATEGY Partnerships and Pilot Site approach Multistakeholder, RTB-led international partnership, BBTV ALLIANCE, formed to implement banana recover strategy (Figs 2 & 4) in eight pilot sites in Africa since 2014 (Fig 3). Banana bunchy top disease BBTD Bunch at the top Bunchy top “Production declined from truck load to cycle load” BBTV Fig 1. Banana bunchy top disease (BBTD) drastically reduced production (70 to 100%) within two seasons. Banana aphid transmits the causal virus, BBTV. Opportunities and constraints to banana recovery Replanting with healthy banana Gender and social analysis Alternative crops Targeted campaign Eradication of infected mats & exclusion zone Spatial BBTD distribution map Monitoring for vectors and reinfection Sensitization about disease Task force for BBTD control Gender framework Decentralized disease- free nurseries Micro / macro propagation Survey methods Community Mobilization Eradication and Replanting Virus-free planting material Mapping disease spared Recovery strategy Diagnostics tools Banana-free fallow Herbicide use/ Manual Advocacy to policy makers and regulators Fig 2. Main stages in banana production recovery Before intervention After intervention www.bbtvalliance.org Fig 4. Typical pilot site (Nkhatabay, Malawi): Community engagement by the RTB gender team Mapping and eradication of infected matts Multiplication of virus-free plants replanting after fallow period monitoring replanted fields. CRITICAL GAPS AND NEXT STEPS Low awareness on BBTD threat to banana. Weak commitment to exclusion and containment to reduce. Role of suckers in replanted fields. KEY PARTNERS FOR SCALING New scaling projects are being built on ‘ALLIANCE’ strategy and partnerships. To date, new funding grants realized from RTB (BA3.4), BMGF (Benin and Nigeria), MINADER (Cameroon) and FAO (Central Africa Plant Protection Office). NARES, private sector and youth groups will involve in scaling technologies. Eradication of mats to establish banana-free period and buffer Replant fields with clean planting material in banana-free zone Community mobilization Fig 3. Distribution of pilot sites BENEFICIARIES Smallholder farmers mobilize knowledge and practices to recover and maintain banana production in spite of BBTD with lower cost and lower risk to healthy seed supply. Researchers and extensionists manage BBTD more effectively with advance science technologies. Income generating opportunities to women and youth from planting material business. Better plant quarantine policies to limit the spread of BBTV
