Ugandan agriculture experts have warned that new pests and diseases are destroying most of the indigenous crop varieties in the country and plans are in place to develop disease resistant crops.
Titus Alicia, head of root crop research at Namulonge crop research institute said most of the country's indigenous breeds like cassava, maize, bananas, sweet potatoes, ground-nut and rice among other staple crops are under threat.
Some of the main causes of losses in the agricultural sector, Alicia said were caused by indigenous varieties that were not resistant to new diseases and pests. "Viruses that attack the crops have changed over time. The indigenous varieties cannot withstand the new disease strains," Alicia said.
Experts say Uganda loses over $80 million annually from crop diseases and pests. However, new studies and inventions in biotechnology targeting disease-resistant crops could help avert the huge losses registered each year in the agricultural sector.
According to the crop researcher, a number of crop breed varieties that are resistant to pests and other diseases have already been developed. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are being developed to replace indigenous breeds.
Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/
