disease – B4FA http://theb4fa.org Biosciences For Farming in Africa Tue, 10 Dec 2019 12:07:00 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 Ghana: post-harvest losses in cereals: US$141m lost in 2018 http://theb4fa.org/ghana-post-harvest-losses-in-cereals-us141m-lost-in-2018/ http://theb4fa.org/ghana-post-harvest-losses-in-cereals-us141m-lost-in-2018/#respond Tue, 10 Dec 2019 12:04:48 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=18329 Ghana loses more than one tenth of its top four cereals produce to post-harvest losses (PHL) every year due to impediments along the entire value chain.

In 2014, the combined losses in rice, maize, millet and sorghum from the point of harvest to their retail/wholesale points at market centres were estimated ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/ghana-post-harvest-losses-in-cereals-us141m-lost-in-2018/feed/ 0 Why China’s swine fever scourge should worry you http://theb4fa.org/why-chinas-swine-fever-scourge-should-worry-you/ http://theb4fa.org/why-chinas-swine-fever-scourge-should-worry-you/#respond Tue, 10 Dec 2019 11:59:32 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=18326 The last time we discussed African swine fever (ASF) was 2018. In the article, we highlighted the devastation the disease had done on various farms.

At around the same time, unbeknown to most farmers, their Chinese counterparts had just begun experiencing the same problem. 

It was the first emergence of the disease ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/why-chinas-swine-fever-scourge-should-worry-you/feed/ 0 VIDEO: CRISPR Technology and Its Potential to Transform Agriculture http://theb4fa.org/video-crispr-technology-and-its-potential-to-transform-agriculture/ http://theb4fa.org/video-crispr-technology-and-its-potential-to-transform-agriculture/#respond Fri, 15 Nov 2019 17:31:54 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=18172 Genetic tools like CRISPR can help reduce pesticide use, pollution and boost food production without employing more land and water, natural resources increasingly strained by the growing food demand of expanding populations in the developing world. View video of the panel ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/video-crispr-technology-and-its-potential-to-transform-agriculture/feed/ 0 China’s pork crisis is bigger than you think http://theb4fa.org/chinas-pork-crisis-is-bigger-than-you-think/ http://theb4fa.org/chinas-pork-crisis-is-bigger-than-you-think/#respond Wed, 13 Nov 2019 18:08:41 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=18151 One doesn’t appreciate the magnitude and importance of the role pork plays in the Chinese diet until you spend a bit of time here. The meat is so widely consumed, and such an integral part of so many beloved Chinese dishes, that one begins to take for granted that the ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/chinas-pork-crisis-is-bigger-than-you-think/feed/ 0 #WhiteAlert: All you need to know about aflatoxins http://theb4fa.org/whitealert-all-you-need-to-know-about-aflatoxins/ http://theb4fa.org/whitealert-all-you-need-to-know-about-aflatoxins/#respond Wed, 13 Nov 2019 18:00:22 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=18147 In Summary

Aflatoxin-producing fungi can contaminate crops in the field, at harvest, and during storage.Aflatoxins are odourless, tasteless and colourless, making them silent but lethal poisons.These fungi are also associated with both acute and chronic toxicity in animals and humans, including acute liver damage, liver cirrhosis and liver cancers. Read more ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/whitealert-all-you-need-to-know-about-aflatoxins/feed/ 0 Quarter of world’s pig population ‘to die due to African swine fever’ http://theb4fa.org/quarter-of-worlds-pig-population-to-die-due-to-african-swine-fever/ http://theb4fa.org/quarter-of-worlds-pig-population-to-die-due-to-african-swine-fever/#respond Fri, 01 Nov 2019 11:55:39 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=18093 About a quarter of the global pig population is expected to die as a result of an epidemic of African swine fever (ASF), according to the intergovernmental organisation responsible for coordinating animal disease control.

In the last year the spread of the disease has taken policymakers by surprise, and has been ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/quarter-of-worlds-pig-population-to-die-due-to-african-swine-fever/feed/ 0 CRISPR pigs can survive deadly disease, but regulatory uncertainty slows development http://theb4fa.org/crispr-pigs-can-survive-deadly-disease-but-regulatory-uncertainty-slows-development/ http://theb4fa.org/crispr-pigs-can-survive-deadly-disease-but-regulatory-uncertainty-slows-development/#respond Tue, 15 Oct 2019 11:25:31 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=18051 Cutting-edge gene-editing techniques such as Crispr-Cas9 will enable scientists to make precise genetic changes to pig physiology, they say, leading to animals impervious to common maladies such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, a virus that costs the U.S. pork industry hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

“It has the ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/crispr-pigs-can-survive-deadly-disease-but-regulatory-uncertainty-slows-development/feed/ 0 IAEA, FAO help develop bananas resistant to major fungal disease http://theb4fa.org/iaea-fao-help-develop-bananas-resistant-to-major-fungal-disease/ http://theb4fa.org/iaea-fao-help-develop-bananas-resistant-to-major-fungal-disease/#respond Tue, 01 Oct 2019 10:41:05 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=17985 Bananas may be the world’s favourite fruit, but plantations worldwide are increasingly under threat from a new fungus, which destroys banana plants threatening farmers’ livelihoods and the industry.

Confined to Southeast Asia for decades, the Fusarium wilt Tropical Race 4 (TR4) was spotted for the first time in Africa recently and ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/iaea-fao-help-develop-bananas-resistant-to-major-fungal-disease/feed/ 0 CRISPR might be the banana’s only hope against a deadly fungus http://theb4fa.org/crispr-might-be-the-bananas-only-hope-against-a-deadly-fungus/ http://theb4fa.org/crispr-might-be-the-bananas-only-hope-against-a-deadly-fungus/#respond Wed, 25 Sep 2019 11:40:59 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=17936 The race to engineer the next-generation banana is on. The Colombian government confirmed last month that a banana-killing fungus has invaded the Americas — the source of much of the world’s banana supply. The invasion has given new urgency to efforts to create fruit that can withstand the scourge.

Scientists are ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/crispr-might-be-the-bananas-only-hope-against-a-deadly-fungus/feed/ 0 The mega-pests of Africa and their economic effect http://theb4fa.org/the-mega-pests-of-africa-and-their-economic-effect/ http://theb4fa.org/the-mega-pests-of-africa-and-their-economic-effect/#respond Mon, 23 Sep 2019 10:37:37 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=17907 Typical to agrarian economies, the African economy is heavily dependent on agriculture.

One may wonder; “with over 50% of its population involved in agriculture, why the agricultural economic results are so low?”

In a previous article, I had already addressed the fundamental reasons that cerate’s the agricultural pest control difficulties in Africa ...

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