Diseases Threaten Banana Crops in Africa

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Two separate diseases are destroying banana and plantain crops in Africa. They could threaten food security for millions of Africans who depend on bananas as an important part of their diet.

Banana bacterial wilt was first reported in Ethiopia in the late nineteen sixties. In two thousand one it was found in Uganda. Since then it has spread to neighboring countries including Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The leaves of infected plants weaken and become yellow. They also leak a yellow liquid. The bananas ripen too quickly and begin to rot.

Farmers can unknowingly spread the infection with their cutting tools. Experts say by the time a farmer discovers that something is wrong, it is already too late. The crop must be destroyed.

Uganda is Africa's leading producer and consumer of bananas. The organization Biodiversity International reports losses of up to eighty percent in heavily affected areas of the country.

Farmers worry that a second disease could also spread to Uganda. Bunchy top disease causes all of the leaves to grow from the top of the banana plant. Infected plants produce small, abnormal fruit. Finally, they stop producing completely.

The International Institute for Tropical Agriculture says the disease is widely found in Gabon, Angola, Malawi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The institute's Rachid Hanna says farmers must destroy infected plants, normally by burning them. Bunchy top disease can spread from plant to plant and is also spread by aphids. These small insects must be destroyed. Rachid Hanna advises farmers to use biological controls such as natural enemies of the aphids.

He says bunchy top disease and banana bacterial wilt can both affect entire plantations. Not only are farm incomes affected, but so are local food supplies. Experts say more than thirty million people could be at risk of shortages unless a solution is found.

Scientists from around the world met in Tanzania last month to discuss the situation. Rachid Hanna says strong measures must be taken now to prevent a crisis in the future.

RACHID HANNA: "What is necessary in this case is a collective effort, not only by the researchers and the people on the ground, but also the donor community, because controlling those two diseases can go a long way in improving people's food security and livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa."

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms. I'm Steve Ember.

这里是VOA特别英语发展报道。

两种疾病正在危害非洲的香蕉和大蕉作物。这会威胁到以香蕉为部分主食的数百万非洲人的粮食安全。

上世纪60年代，埃塞俄比亚首次报告出现香蕉细菌性萎蔫病。2001年，乌干达也发现这种疾病。自那时起，这种疾病已经传播到邻近国家，包括肯尼亚，卢旺达，坦桑尼亚和刚果民主共和国。

受感染作物的叶片变弱变黄，同时会渗出黄色的液体。香蕉成熟过快，开始腐烂。

农民在使用切割工具时会不知不觉传播这种疾病。专家称，到农民发现事情不妙时，已经为时太晚了，作物已经被毁坏了。

乌干达是非洲主要的香蕉生产国和消费国。国际生物品种组织报告，乌干达严重感染地区减产高达80%。

农民担心另外一种疾病也会传播到乌干达。香蕉束顶病会导致作物所有叶子从植株顶部长出。感染作物的果实瘦小异常。最终会完全停产。

国际热带农业研究所称，这种疾病在加蓬，安哥拉，马拉威和刚果民主共和国大范围传播。

该研究所的Rachid Hanna表示，农民必须毁坏感染作物，通常用焚烧的方法。束顶病通常由植株向植株传播，也会由蚜虫传播。这些小昆虫也必须被消灭。Rachid Hanna建议农民用生物控制的方法来消灭蚜虫，比如蚜虫的天敌。

他说，束顶病和细菌性枯萎病都会影响到整个种植园。农民收入和当地粮食供应均会受到影响。专家称，除非找到解决方案，否则超过3000万人将面临食物短缺。

上月世界各地科学家在坦桑尼亚举行会议，寻找解决方法。Rachid Hanna表示，必须采取有利措施避免今后这类危机的再次发生。

Rachid Hanna：“在这场与疾病的战斗中需要集中的努力，不仅仅是当地的研究人员和农民，还有捐赠社会。因为控制这两种疾病对于改善撒哈拉以南非洲人民的粮食安全和生活水平大有帮助。”