First report of lethal necrosis on maize in Kenya

Date:01-25-2013

The country is yet again staring at a food crisis. There are fears that maize production in some parts of South, Central, and Eastern Kenya could decline by as much as 60 percent. This follows the outbreak of a disease identified as maize lethal necrosis that is transmitted by insects. The disease was first reported in the South Rift before it spread. Its signs were also reported in the North Rift.
 
Indications are that the disease has now spread to most of the maize growing areas and is reported to have infested the grain basket and its environs. According to the Food Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), at least 64 000 hectares [about 158 000 acres] of the crop had been destroyed. It is estimated the country will face a shortfall of over one million bags of maize.
 
Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (Kari) recommended enforcement of quarantine procedures as a short-term strategy to reduce the impact of the disease. The Kenya Farmers Association reckons that the disease is far from over and advised farmers about the importance of crop rotation. But farmers have gone ahead to plant maize in the current season even after being advised against it.