ISPP Task Force on Global Food Security
REPORT
on
meeting in Bangkok, 13-16 September 1999
This report is also available as a
PDF
CONTENTS
-
Summary
-
Background
-
Formation of the Task Force
-
First meeting
- Working method
- Output
- Conclusions
- Acknowledgements
- Appendix 1
-
- Activity 1: Changing Public Policy and Opinions on Global Food Security
- Activity 2: Enhanced PhD training for plant pathology in developing
countries
- Activity 3: Quantification of the economic impact of some major diseases
- Activity 4: Farmer training in simple disease management: pilot project for
cassava in Ghana
- Activity 5: Development of the ISPP Website
-
- Appendix 2
-
- Members of the Task Force
SUMMARY
The
activities of this Task Force relate to the 7th International Congress of
Plant Pathology (ICPP98), held in the UK in 1998 under the auspices of the
International Society for Plant Pathology (ISPP). During ICPP98, a public
meeting was held on "Global Food Security: The Role for Plant Pathology".
The enormity of the problem of food security was outlined, and its link with
poverty, noting especially the needs of developing countries where rates of
population increase are highest. The determination of the World Food Summit
in Rome in 1996 to halve the number of hungry people by 2015 was noted.
The
impact of pests, diseases and weeds on food supply was highlighted, noting
estimates that they reduce production by at least one-third, and that
diseases alone reduce production by more than 10%. Options for managing crop
diseases to improve food security were addressed by five distinguished
scientists, including Nobel Peace Laureate Norman Borlaug.
During a public discussion of these issues, ISPP accepted the challenge to
form a Task Force on Global Food Security.
The
Executive Committee of ISPP, recognizing its limited resources, adopted the
principle that a small Task Force should focus its activities, and should
concentrate on delivering some tangible results of demonstrable value. In
consultation with ISPP Councillors, representing national plant pathology
societies, the Executive determined that the first activity would be to hold
a meeting of the Task Force in Bangkok, in September 1999, in association
with a meeting on "Food for the Billions: Sustainable agriculture - the
global issues" organized by APCPA and GFAR. Eleven plant pathologists were
identified to form the Task Force, representing many different regions and
disciplines, of whom seven met in Bangkok. The meeting was generously
financed by the British Society for Plant Pathology.
The
Task Force prepared for its first meeting by reading a series of papers,
including: ·
Papers from the World Food Summit, November 1996; ·
Papers related to plant pathology and food security, e.g. from ICPP98, and
from the APS/CPS 1999 meeting; ·
Papers on population growth and poverty, including links with plants; ·
Material proposed by Task Force Members themselves.
At
its meeting the Task Force elected to: •
Focus on what ISPP can do to deliver tangible results;
•
Identify changes that ISPP may bring about; •
Evaluate the likelihood of achieving changes, given ISPP’s
status as an international scientific society with limited resources; •
Develop a workplan, with timetable and budget for 3 years, focusing on a small
number of achievable objectives.
Six
areas were addressed in which ISPP might reasonably expect to be able to
effect useful change: •
Policy changes; •
Education changes; •
R & D changes; •
Farmer-practice changes; •
Public opinion changes; •
Information changes.
One
member of the Task Force adopted each of these topics, as indicated in the
list above, and prepared a short paper during the meeting, summarizing areas
where change might be sought. These papers were then debated by the Task
Force, with a view to prioritizing a smaller number of areas which offered
the best probability of change being successfully effected by ISPP. As part
of the process, the six topics were shared with representatives of National
Programmes in Asia, FAO and other bodies represented at the APCPA and GFAR
meetings, who joined the Task Force for one of its sessions. Other input
came from participation by Task Force members in the APCPA and GFAR
meetings.
These
papers and resources were used as input in the preparation of proposals for
five Activities. Each is
presented, with: •
Rationale; •
Objectives; •
Activities plan; •
Anticipated outputs; •
Resource requirements (including proposals for sources).
1.
Establish an ISPP
Policy Group
With
a programme to inform policy makers of the importance of plant diseases in
food insecurity
2.
Study PhD training for
plant pathologists in developing countries, with a view to enhancement
To
assist decision making by donors, national agricultural research services,
and universities in developing and developed countries
3.
Quantify economic
impact of some major diseases
To
provide a record of major
examples of the consequences of diseases for food security, pointing to the
need for support for continuing research
4.
Develop a pilot project for
farmer training in simple disease
management
Focused on basic knowledge of cassava diseases in Ghana, to help in
diagnosis and management, as a starting point for further knowledge transfer
5.
Develop the ISPP Website as a means of improved communication
To
provide information about ISPP, plant pathology, and the work of the Task
Force
The
first of these is an overarching activity which may need to be projected
forward indefinitely. the last is a piece of infrastructure for the others,
and for ISPP's entire programme. The middle three are specific and varied in
their aims - respectively in education, economics and extension - each being
focused on an objective for which ISPP has access to the necessary skills
for its completion.
All
the proposed Activities are considered to be: ·
Appropriate to the status of ISPP; ·
Achievable within a time frame of 3 years; ·
Capable of being resourced; ·
Likely to deliver tangible results that will effect useful change.
Obviously these outputs are a beginning rather than an end. They are
presented by the Task Force to the Executive and Councillors of ISPP, and
through them to the membership, as a proposed basis for action and - in due
course - for delivery of tangible results through effecting change in the
chosen areas.
Subject to the agreement of ISPP Executive Committee, work will start
immediately on these activities and on securing the resources necessary for
their completion.
Chrys
Akem, Mike Jeger, Hajime Kato, Jill Lenné, Emmanuel Moses, Peter Scott, Paul
Teng
For
ISPP Task Force on Global Food
Security
October 1999
BACKGROUND
At
the 7th International Congress of Plant Pathology (ICPP98), Edinburgh,
August 1998, a Special Public Meeting was convened on
Global Food Security: The Role for
Plant Pathology. The Organizer, W. Clive James, provided the following
background brief:
The
enormity of the problem
During the World Food Summit in Rome in 1996, Heads of States agreed to
halve the number of hungry people by 2015. Today there are 800 million,
almost all of them in developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin
America.
Hunger and poverty are inextricably linked and the solution does not rely on
one factor, but on an interrelated complex of factors that includes
population, technology, policy and social changes.
What
are the facts about Global Food Security?
- World
population is 5.8 billion
- 80%
live in developing countries, where the population increases 1.9% per year
- More
than 800 million people do not have adequate food
- 1.3
billion live on less than $1 a day
- 50%
of poor people live in Asia, 25% in Africa, 12% in Latin America
- Most
poor people live in areas where the land is marginal and ecosystems are
fragile
- Global food production is 5 billion tons per annum
Why
do diseases and pests of crops matter?
- Crop
diseases, pests and weeds reduce production by at least one-third, despite
the use of pesticides worth $32 billion
- Crop
diseases alone reduce production by more than 10%
- For
example, potato blight, the disease that caused the Irish famine in 1845, is
again becoming prevalent
What
are the options for managing crop diseases to improve food security?
To
address this question, five distinguished scientists addressed different
aspects of the issue:
- Clive
James
(Chairman, International Service for
the Acquisition of Agribiotech Applications)
- Global Food Security
- Norman Borlaug
(Nobel Peace Laureate, Mexico)
- Food
security, plant pathology and quarantine
-
- Cyrus
Ndiritu
(Director, Kenyan Agricultural
Research Institute)
- Human
capital investment in plant pathology: a view from the South
-
- Robert Williams
(Deputy Director General, CAB
International)
- Public-private sector partnerships in plant pathology that will contribute
to food security
-
- Paul
Teng (International
Rice Research Institute, Philippines)
- Practising plant pathology in changing agricultural systems
Abstracts have been archived at:
http://www.bspp.org.uk/icpp98/abstracts/toc_global.html
These
presentations were followed by a public discussion, during which
Paul Teng (International
Rice Research Institute, Philippines) and
David Thurston (Cornell
University, USA) issued the challenge to the International Society for
Plant Pathology (ISPP) to establish
an ISPP Task Force on Global Food Security.
FORMATION OF THE TASK FORCE
The
Executive Committee of ISPP took up this challenge and formed a Task Force
on Global Food Security. Its function was potentially so demanding and
open-ended that its activities needed to be sharply focused if tangible
results were to be achieved by an organization with limited resources such
as ISPP. ISPP Executive therefore adopted the following principles:
- A
small Task Force will address initially the nature of the global food
security problem, and the principles and modalities whereby plant
pathologists may realistically tackle it.
- Attention will be focused on delivering tangible results of demonstrable
benefit to global food security.
- A
programme will be chosen that can benefit from ISPP's facilitating or
coordinating role in relation to existing or planned programmes in plant
pathology, rather than from initiation of new work.
- Achievable results are likely to derive from coordinating existing research
programmes, or through surveying incidence of damage, or through supporting
extension or outreach programmes.
- ISPP's own funds are very limited, so fundraising in support of such action
is likely to be one objective.
- The
first activity of the Task Force will be to convene a meeting in 1999, to
agree a work programme for the following 3 years, with a budget and time
schedule.
- The
work of the Task Force will be monitored by ISPP Executive Committee and
reported to the Membership through Councillors. Feedback from the Membership
will be encouraged, to guide the future programme.
ISPP
Councillors, representing the national plant pathology societies within the
membership of ISPP, were informed of the plans for the Task Force and their
views invited. They were also invited to participate in a new ISPP e-mail
ListServe through which they could readily send open e-mail messages on ISPP
matters to one another.
FIRST
MEETING
The
Board of the British Society for Plant Pathology (BSPP) undertook to support
ISPP's Task Force initiative, by providing funding for an initial meeting of
the Task Force. The context selected was a Roundtable meeting on:
Food
for the Billions: Sustainable agriculture - the global issues.
This
was convened in Bangkok in September 1999 by the Asia Pacific Crop
Protection Association (APCPA, an industry-sponsored group) and the Global
Forum for Agricultural Research (GFAR, a group sponsored by the World Bank
and FAO). GFAR specifically convened a session on networking including
public-sector / private-sector partnerships.
ISPP
Executive appointed the following to be the initial members of the Task
Force (contact details are in Appendix 2):
Chrys
Akem,
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA),
Aleppo, Syria
Mike
Jeger,
British Society for Plant Pathology (BSPP), Wageningen, Netherlands
Hajime Kato,
Kobe, Japan
Jill
Lenné,
Natural Resources International Ltd, Chatham, UK
Emmanuel Moses,
Crops Research Institute, Kumasi, Ghana
Chris
Mundt,
Oregon State University, USA *
Rebecca Nelson,
International Potato Center, Lima, Peru *
Peter
Scott,
International Society for Plant Pathology (ISPP), Oxford, UK
CY
Shen,
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Bangkok,
Thailand *
Paul
Teng,
Monsanto, Manila, Philippines
Nollie Vera Cruz,
International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Philippines *
* Not
available for the Bangkok meeting.
The
schedule for the Task Force was:
Monday 13 September
am -
Task Force meets and plans initial strategy
Tuesday 14 September
am/pm
- Task Force participates in APCPA/GFAR Round Table
Wednesday 15 September
am -
Task Force participates in GFAR Workshop
pm -
Task Force meets, with representatives of National Programmes
Thursday 16 September
am -
Task Force prepares its Report
WORKING METHOD
Before meeting, Task Force members had read a series of papers including:
- Papers from the World Food Summit, November 1996:
- Proposals by Jim Cook of ISPP for inclusion in the ISPP submission to the
Summit
- Antonio Graniti's report on the Summit to ISPP
- The
"Rome Declaration" and "World Food Summit Plan of Action"
- Material related to plant pathology and food security:
- Background and abstracts from the Public Forum on Global Food Security: the
Role for Plant Pathology, ICPP98, Edinburgh, August 1998
- Background and abstracts from the World Food Crisis Symposium, APS/CPS
meeting, Montreal, August 1999
- Article on "The Need for Plant Pathology" from the Scottish Crop Research
Institute
- Three
recent general publications:
- Lloyd
Evans on "The imperative of further increase in yield" from
Feeding the Ten Billion: Plants and
population growth, 1998
- The
Times
on "Indian births set to burst billion barrier", August 1999
- Jeffrey Sachs on "Helping the world's poorest" from
The Economist, August 1999
- Material provided by Task Force
members
- Jill
Lenné's 1999 lecture on
Conservation of Agrobiodiversity and Global Food Security
- Topics for discussion proposed by Task Force members and ISPP officers
-
The
Task Force, led by Peter Scott and Paul Teng, elected to:
- Focus on what ISPP can do to
deliver tangible results
- Identify changes that ISPP may
bring about
- Evaluate the likelihood of achieving
changes, given ISPP’s status as an international scientific society with
limited resources
- Develop a workplan, with
timetable and budget for 3 years, focusing on a small number of achievable
objectives.
Six
areas were addressed in which ISPP might reasonably expect to be able to
effect useful change:
- Policy changes (Jill Lenné)
- Education changes (Mike Jeger)
- R & D
changes (Chrys Akem)
- Farmer-practice changes (Emmanuel Moses)
- Public opinion changes (Jim Kato)
- Information changes (Peter Scott)
One
member of the Task Force adopted each of these topics, as indicated in the
list above, and prepared a short paper during the meeting, summarizing areas
where change might be sought. These papers were then debated by the Task
Force, with a view to prioritizing a smaller number of areas which offered
the best probability of change being successfully effected by ISPP.
As
part of the process, the six topics were shared with representatives of
National Programmes in Asia, FAO and other bodies represented at the APCPA
and GFAR meetings, who joined the Task Force for one of its sessions. Those
involved were:
FAO
Prem
Nath,
Assistant Director General and Regional Representative, FAO, Bangkok
P.K.
Saha,
FAO-RAP, Bangkok
Bangladesh
M.A.
Bakr,
Research Director, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute
Indonesia
S.
Kartaatmadja,
Head, Research Planning and Coordination, Central Research Institute for
Food Crops
Korea
Republic
Sok-Dong Kim,
Research Planning Division, RDA
Malaysia
Md
Sharif Ahmad,
Director General, Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute
Philippines
Betty
P. del Rosario,
Deputy Executive Director, Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and
Natural Resources Research and Development
R.
Hautea,
Director, International Service for the Acquisition of Agribiotech
Applications
Sri
Lanka
L.
Nugaliyadde,
Entomologist, Rice Research Institute
G.
Balasuriya,
Socio-Economic and Planning Centre, Department of Agriculture
OUTPUT
The
results of discussion among Task Force members were strengthened and
extended by the discussions with FAO and National Programme representatives.
Other valuable input came from participation by the Task Force in the APCPA
Roundtable on Food for the Billions,
and the GFAR Session on networking including public-sector / private-sector
partnerships. Input from these sources contributed to the process that
followed, from which specific outputs were derived as described below.
The
six papers mentioned above were used as working documents to identify five
specific activities for which workplans would be developed. The activities
that emerged were:
1.
Establishment of an ISPP Policy Group (Paul Teng), initially to prepare science-based
position papers designed to effect change in public policy and opinions on:
- the
significance of plant pathology to sustainable agriculture
- the
potential of transgenic crops in relation to plant pathology
2.
Optimization of postgraduate training in plant pathology for developing countries (Mike
Jeger)
3.
Quantification of the economic impact of some major diseases (Jill Lenné and Jim Kato)
4.
Development of a pilot project for
farmer training in simple disease
management in tuber crops in West Africa, focusing on healthy planting
material (Emmanuel Moses and Chrys Akem)
5.
Development of the ISPP Website as a means of improved communication (Peter Scott)
Papers on each of these activities are appended.
The
Task Force believes that these activities present the basis for an
appropriate and achievable programme for ISPP in relation to global food
security for the next 3 years. They aim to deliver specific and tangible
outputs, rather than to be comprehensive in coverage.
- The
first is an overarching activity which may need be projected forward
indefinitely, since policy issues are never static.
- The
last is a piece of infrastructure for the others, and for ISPP's entire
programme .
- The
middle three are specific and varied in their aims - respectively in
education, economics and extension - each being focused on an objective for
which ISPP has access to the necessary skills for its completion.
Obviously these outputs are a beginning rather than an end. They are
presented by the Task Force to the Executive and Councillors of ISPP, and
through them to the membership, as a proposed basis for action and - in due
course - for delivery of tangible results through effecting change in the
chosen areas.
CONCLUSIONS
ISPP,
in its role as an international scientific society, representing the
national plant pathology societies of the world, has an important
responsibility to present the significance of plant pathology effectively to
policy makers and the public. Special importance attaches to this function
in the context of global food security.
ISPP's Task Force on Global Food Security has selected a small number of
activities that are considered:
- Appropriate to the status of ISPP
- Achievable within a time frame of 3 years
- Capable of being resourced
- Likely to deliver tangible results that will effect useful change.
Five
papers appended to this Report propose five activities (summarized above in
"Output"), which the Task Force recommends for adoption by ISPP. Each
includes:
- Rationale
- Objectives
- Activities plan
- Anticipated outputs
- Resource requirements.
Clearly these proposals are a minor contribution to the enormous global
challenge of food security. Nevertheless, they are commended for action
because they can be expected to yield results that will make a difference,
and their scale is in line with what ISPP can expect to achieve.
Subject to the agreement of ISPP Executive Committee, work will start
immediately on these activities and on securing the resources necessary for
their completion.
Progress will be reported to ISPP Membership through Councillors. Feedback
from the Membership will be encouraged, to guide the programme as it
develops.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Members of the Task Force express their appreciation to those at the 7th
International Congress of Plant Pathology who challenged ISPP to take this
initiative relating to global food security.
Thanks are also due to ISPP Executive Committee who have supported the Task
Force initiative, and especially the British Society for Plant Pathology who
provided the resources to enable this first meeting to take place.
Chrys
Akem, Mike Jeger, Hajime Kato, Jill Lenné, Emmanuel Moses, Peter Scott, Paul
Teng
For
ISPP Task Force on Global Food
Security
October 1999
APPENDIX 1
Papers on the five Activities
ACTIVITY 1
Changing Public Policy and Opinions on Global Food Security
Rationale
- There
is currently much ignorance about and apathy towards the importance that
plant diseases play in causing food insecurity through outbreaks and chronic
yield gaps of 30-70%.
- Most
plant pathologists agree that modern R & D technologies are required to
manage crop diseases to ensure increases in production and productivity,
especially in the farming systems of the developing world that produce
surpluses to feed urban populations.
It is also generally agreed that new technologies are urgently needed
to increase productivity of the marginal lands where most resource-poor
farmers reside.
- Public opinion on the role of modern R & D technology to develop crops with
improved resistance or tolerance to diseases, and techniques for disease
management, mostly ranges from opposition to apathy, often based on
misinformation or no information.
- There
is an urgent need to rally public support behind the use of technology in
agricultural research to ameliorate the problems of poverty-associated
hunger in the developing world.
There is an equally urgent need to inform the public about the magnitude of
the food problem.
- An
important instrument in shaping public support for technological approaches
is enlightened policy based on sound science.
- ISPP,
as the international mouthpiece for the world’s plant pathologists, and as a
member of other international
scientific organizations, is in a unique position to help shape policy and
public opinion on the critical role that modern technology plays in ensuring
food security, since many desired plant traits in the crop cultivars to be
developed are related to improved disease tolerance.
Objectives
1.
Formation of an ad hoc
or standing ISPP Policy Group, charged with identifying the relevant issues,
developing the appropriate supporting papers, determining the target
forum(s) and most effective mechanisms for influencing policy, and
2.
Formulation of a program of action to inform key stakeholders
about the role of modern technology in agricultural R & D and specifically
on the role it plays in reducing crop losses caused by diseases which
destabilize food supply.
Activities plan
This
proposal assumes that Year 1 (Y1) starts on October 1 1999.
Formation of and generation of support for ISPP Policy Group
- Proposal of activity to ISPP Council for endorsement and action (Q1, Year 1)
- Contact with potential group members (Q1, Y1)
- First
meeting of group (Q1, Y1 – coincide with Brighton Conference, Nov 15 1999)
to finalize two-year workplan.
Development of position papers
- Scoping, resourcing, writing and finalization of first position paper on
"Plant pathology and sustainable agriculture", to include the role of
technological innovations, the impact
of diseases on society, the relationship between cropping system
intensification and diseases, and smallholder disease management
(Y1)
- Scoping, resourcing, writing and finalization of second position paper on
"The role of biotechnology to produce GM crops with improved disease
resistance as a means of reducing crop losses and increasing food
availability" (Y1)
- Scoping, resourcing, writing and finalization of third position paper on
"Review of Biosafety in field tests of GM crops with new disease traits"
(Y2).
Communication to policy forums
- Presentation of GMO position paper at Biodiversity Convention/Biosafety
Protocol meetings (Y1)
- Presentation of position paper at Annual Meeting of Third World Academy of
Sciences (Q4, Y1)
- Presentation of position paper at FAO Council meeting, Year 2000 (Y2).
Communication to policy groups
- Presentation to EU science and technology commission on ISPP positions on
food security
- Presentation to ASEAN science and technology committees on importance of
plant pathology in sustainability
- Presentation to CGIAR Mid Term Meeting, May 2000, on ISPP and ISPP positions
on food security, crop losses, and modern R & D technologies.
Communication to public groups
- Media
workshop at Beijing Asian Plant Pathology Conference, to inform agricultural
journalists from Asian Region (Q3, Y1)
- Media
workshop at a Pan-African scientific meeting (Q3-4, Y1)
- Media
workshop at GFAR meeting in Dresden, May 2000 (Q3, Y1).
Anticipated outputs
- Focal
point created - in the form of a policy group - within ISPP for
international concern by plant pathologists about food security, the role of
diseases, and the roles that technology and plant pathologists can play
- Improved profile for ISPP, and for plant pathology, in selected policy
platforms
- Changes in policy on plant pathology related topics effected by ISPP
position papers on key issues
- Changes in media articles on plant pathology related topics effected by ISPP
workshops
- Increased public awareness of diseases, crop losses and the need for modern
R & D technologies, effected in two geographic regions (Sub-Saharan Africa,
S.E. Asia)
| Resource requirements (per annum)
|
USD |
| 0.2 PY student assistant |
3000 |
| |
|
| Contribution in kind from group chair (to be elected or appointed) |
15,000 |
| Meetings of policy group |
|
| |
|
| Potential resourcing from BSPP, ECPA, GFCP |
5000 |
| Development of position
papers |
|
| |
|
| Potential resourcing: ISAAA, APCPA |
|
| Communication to policy forums |
9000 |
| |
|
| Potential resourcing: ISAAA |
|
| Communication to public groups (USD 20,000 per workshop)
|
60,000
|
| |
|
| Potential resourcing: APCPA,
ISAAA |
|
| |
|
| Total |
92,000 |
| |
|
ACTIVITY 2
Enhanced PhD training for plant pathology in developing countries
Rationale
Many
developed (northern) countries offer schemes for training of PhD researchers
from developing (southern) countries. These range from placements in the
north for the full period of the PhD (3-4 years) to 'sandwich' arrangements
in which only short periods are spent in the north (6 months to 1 year) with
the bulk of research being done in the south at the researcher’s home
institution.
The
full-time placement arrangement has been criticised for:
- Not
being related to national needs and priorities
- Choice of crop/disease not being relevant in a southern context
- Removing the PhD researcher from the immediate environment of the home
institution
- Not
recognising the cultural environment and background of the south
- Creating problems upon completion of the PhD when the researcher does (or
does not) return to the home country.
The
major advantage of the full-time arrangement, it has been claimed, is that
only by working in a 'high-tech' laboratory in the north can a southern PhD
researcher hope to keep up scientifically and strengthen national capability
upon return.
The
advantages of the 'sandwich' arrangement are that continuity is ensured,
especially when the PhD is project-related with the funding for in-country
research provided by the home institution. It is also likely that the
presence of the researcher will raise the profile of the discipline (in this
case plant pathology) in the home country. This is particularly relevant
with regard to the observation that few potential PhD researchers choose
plant pathology as their discipline of choice for a PhD.
Objectives
It is
thus timely for the ISPP to sponsor a study of the relevance and impact of
PhD training in plant pathology for southern countries in terms of
sustainable development and its ultimate contribution to global food
security.
The
aims of the study are to:
1.
Assist aid donors (bilateral/multilateral) and national
agricultural research services in making decisions on PhD training
2.
Inform northern universities and national plant pathology
societies of the options and arrangements possible.
It is
anticipated that, as a consequence, novel and flexible arrangements for PhD
research and training will emerge. Donors and national societies of the ISPP
will be approached to support the activities proposed.
Activities plan
1.
Commission a study that will survey, analyse, and summarize
the effectiveness of different forms of PhD research training sponsored by
the north. Effectiveness will be defined in terms of personal career
development of individual PhD researchers, contribution to home institution
capacity building, and contribution to the status of plant pathology in the
south.
2.
The study will make specific recommendations on the sandwich
construction as a model for effective PhD training and suggest ways in which
novel and flexible arrangements can be made.
3.
The study should involve at least two 'academic' plant
pathologists from northern universities with an equivalent number of
counterparts from the south. National member societies of the ISPP should be
involved in the survey activities. To provide focus, two or three case
studies should be analysed in depth.
4.
The output of the study should be timed to correspond with an
international plant pathology event, such as the Asian Plant Pathology
Congress in Beijing in 2000 and be made available as an ISPP report under
the aegis of the Task Force.
Anticipated outputs
It is
anticipated that, as a consequence of the activities:
- Novel
and flexible arrangements for PhD research and training will emerge
- Donors and national plant pathology societies affiliated to ISPP will
benefit from an improved basis for decision making in supporting PhD
training
- A
contribution will be made to sustainable development and ultimately to
global food security.
| Resource requirements
|
USD |
| Travel |
8000 |
| Honoraria |
12,000 |
| Secretarial/incidentals |
4000 |
| Publicity |
4000 |
| Circulation |
2000 |
| Total |
30,000 |
| |
|
Potential resourcing: National plant pathology societies; educational
foundations.
ACTIVITY 3
Quantification of the economic impact of some major diseases
Rationale
- There
is a worrying lack of awareness
among the general public of the effects of major plant diseases in reducing
crop yields, and, as a result, threatening global food security. Serious
plant diseases not only cause acute food shortages but also can cause
far-reaching and long-term changes in cropping systems and societies.
- There
is an urgent need to make policy-makers and the wider public more aware of
the importance of major plant diseases to global food insecurity and the
contribution of plant pathology research in resolving some of these
problems, especially in the past 50 years. The continuing need for support
for plant pathology research to make an ongoing contribution to global food
security should be reinforced by such actions.
- Quantification of the economic impact of plant diseases through key examples
will help to establish the importance of the issue.
Objectives
1.
To document dramatic examples of the immediate and longer-term
consequences of major plant diseases on important food crops and as a
consequence, society.
2.
To document impressive examples of successful plant
pathological interventions that have ameliorated major plant diseases.
3.
To emphasize the need for continuing support for plant
pathology research to further contribute to global food security.
Activities plan
Three
projects are proposed, for completion between Q4, Y1 and Q2, Y2:
1.
Compile an historical account of the immediate and longer-term
consequences of major plant disease epidemics on society.
2.
Compile a list of examples where successful interventions have
been supported by sound plant pathological research and development.
3.
Compile a small database of key reference material.
Project 1
Compile an historical account of the immediate and longer term consequences
of major plant disease epidemics on society.
Examples will include:
- wheat
rust epidemics graphically described in the bible
- wheat
rust epidemics contributing to major famines in India (1850-1950)
- potato late blight epidemic in Europe in 1845 which resulted in the Irish
potato famine
- rice
brown spot epidemic in West Bengal in 1941 which contributed to the Bengal
rice famine
- southern corn leaf blight in the USA in 1971
- coffee rust in Sri Lanka in 1880s
- groundnut rosette epidemics in Nigeria in 1975-6 and Southern Africa in
1994-5
- African cassava mosaic virus disease in Uganda 1994-1998
- sorghum ergot in Latin America in 1997-9
- maize
gray spot in southern Africa in 1998-9
- coconut lethal yellowing in Ghana in 1997-8
- and
many others.
Where
known, causes of epidemics will also be documented (e.g. new race evolved;
severe climatic conditions; changes in cropping systems; changes in
varieties grown; new vector biotype evolved etc.)
Project 2
Compile a list of examples where successful interventions have been
supported by sound plant pathological research and development.
Examples will include:
- contributions of plant breeding especially for rice, wheat and maize (backed
up by sound economic data)
- contributions to the understanding of epidemiology and biology of plant
pathogens (including the application of modern tools such as biochemical and
molecular tools)
- contributions of indigenous practices (e.g. varietal mixtures; cultural
practices etc.).
Project 3
Compile a small database of key reference material.
Key
reference material both published and unpublished will be developed as a
database.
Anticipated outputs
1.
A well referenced historical account of the immediate and
longer-term consequences of major plant disease epidemics on society and
examples of successful interventions through sound plant pathological
research as a document for:
- further distribution as an ISPP Task Force Report
- a
possible journal publication
- inclusion on the ISPP Website
- use
by the ISPP Policy Group.
1.
A small database of key reference material for inclusion on
the ISPP Website.
Resource requirements
No
additional requirements are anticipated. Information will be compiled as
part of on-going activities for the Crop Protection Programme of the UK's
Department for International Development.
ACTIVITY 4
Farmer training in simple disease management:
pilot
project for cassava in Ghana
Rationale
In most parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, farming activities are largely carried
out by peasant farmers whose activities are mainly for subsistence. The
majority of farmers in this region depend on traditional farming practices
to produce food crops on small pieces of farmland, usually of less than 0.5
ha. The concept of such farming is typically that the farmer produces enough
food from a small piece of land to meet the food requirements of his family.
These farmers are generally ignorant of plant diseases and are hardly aware
of yield losses caused by plant pathogens. This is important because in most
countries within the region food security is a critical issue.
Roots and tubers, principally cassava, are the major staples in Africa.
Cassava for example is the most important food crop in Africa and it is the
principal source of carbohydrate for more than 500 million people in the
developing world (Lozano, 1986; Fauquet and Fargette, 1990). It is a very
hardy crop and will often thrive in poor soils where other food crops will
not grow at all. The cassava tuber can be processed into many products
including "gari" and cassava chips and stored for years without the products
losing their food values. These processed food products are used in meal
preparations by people living in West and Central Africa. The leaves of
cassava are used in salads and soup preparations. The crop is eating in
Eastern, Central and Southern Africa as well. The qualities of cassava makes
it one of the most important food crops in terms of food security in most
Sub-Saharan African countries. Every effort made to improve production of
cassava in this part of the world will go a long way to improve the poor
food security situation in the region.
Diseases are a major constraint to production of cassava. The major diseases
of the crop include Africa Cassava Mosaic Virus (ACMV), Cassava Bacterial
Blight (CBB) and Cassava Anthracnose Disease (CAD). A number of new diseases
have also been identified as causing losses.
ACMV alone causes an estimated 50% yield loss. CBB caused starvation
and food shortages in Zaire and Nigeria in the 1970s (Lozano, 1986; Williams
et al., 1973). CBB is capable of causing 100% yield loss. Farmer practices
have been identified as major contributory factor promoting the spread and
persistence of these diseases, as infected planting materials are used for
propagation through ignorance. The problem is compounded when extension
staff also lack knowledge of diseases, which often is the case in most parts
of Africa.
Every effort exercised to control diseases of cassava will go a long way to
improve food security on the African continent. Farmer practices require
improvement, so that the effects of diseases on crop yield can be reduced.
Objectives
1.
To train farmers, extension staff and NGOs to acquire basic knowledge of
diseases that affect cassava production.
2.
To help farmers, extension staff and NGOs to develop simple skills in
diagnostic methods that can help in disease identification.
3.
To help farmers select healthy planting materials for cultivation.
4.
To help farmers develop practices that reduce the effects of diseases on
yield.
Activities plan
Year 1
- Simple pictorial guides and facts sheets on diseases in English and local
languages will be produced.
- Thirty farmers, five extension staff and five representatives of NGOs will
be selected from one major cassava-producing district in the Ashanti region
of Ghana to begin the programme.
- A two-day workshop on diseases affecting cassava production will be
organized at least one month before the beginning of the major farming
season. Activities will include using the guides in disease identification
and selection of healthy planting material in planned field work. Plant
pathologists, agronomists, social scientists and senior extension staff will
function as resource persons.
- Extension staff will distribute guides and knowledge acquired at the
workshop to farmers in their districts as part of their routine activities.
- Farmers will participate in the selection of healthy planting materials from
Planting Materials Multiplication Sites (established under the National Root
and Tuber Improvement Programme of Ghana) for field establishment in the new
season.
- Extension staff will offer advice to farmers during field establishment.
- A team of research and extension staff will monitor farmers' fields at
intervals of 3 months to reinforce improved farmer practices.
- Incidence and severity of cassava diseases in selected farmers' fields will
be documented and compared with that of the entire district.
- Farmers will be encouraged to quantify yield and compare with previous
years.
Year 2
- A Workshop on diseases affecting cassava production will be organized for 20
extension staff and five NGO representatives (different group) drawn from
the districts of the Ashanti region of Ghana before the major farming
season.
- Extension officers will lead a training programme with guides and fact
sheets for their various districts, to give practical advice on diseases to
farmers at the on-farm level. Emphasis will be placed on the selection of
healthy planting materials for cultivation.
- Extension staff will repeat the first-year activities with the 30 selected
farmers, who will now be encouraged to act as trainers of other farmers in
their communities.
- Incidence and severity of cassava diseases documented 6 months into the
farming season will be compared with existing figures for the region.
Year 3
- Activities in the second year will be repeated in the third year with 20
different extension officers.
- The success of the programme will be evaluated using disease incidence and
severity as indicators. Yield figures compiled over the period in the
districts and the region will help in the evaluation.
- A seminar or farmers' forum will be organized to discuss achievements and
mechanisms to improve farmers' practices at the end of the third year.
Anticipated outputs
- Farmers' awareness of diseases will be improved.
- Farmers will be able to identify diseases on their farms.
- Farmers will select healthy planting materials.
- Farmers will appreciate the importance of diseases and therefore, make
conscious efforts to control them.
- Crop yield will increase as effects of diseases are reduced.
- Results obtained from this project will be extended to cover other
cassava-growing regions of Ghana.
- Transfer of knowledge from this project into other cassava-growing countries
in Sub-Saharan Africa is the ultimate goal of the programme.
| Resource requirements |
USD |
| Year 1 |
|
| Computer and accessories for data storage and processing |
2500 |
| Fuel for vehicles and maintenance of vehicles for project
|
3200 |
| Publication of Field Guides and Fact Sheets |
11,000 |
|
(2500 laminated sheets: 5 diseases, 500 sheets per disease)
|
|
| Stationery |
500 |
| Correspondence |
500 |
| Workshop costs |
4000 |
| (including travel and accommodation for 50 participants for 2 days) |
|
| On-farm work and monitoring |
7300 |
| Total |
29,000 |
| |
|
| Year 2 |
|
| Total |
< 10,000 |
| |
|
| Year 3 |
|
| Total (approx.) |
15,000 |
| |
|
| Total |
54,000 |
| |
|
Potential resourcing: Crop
Protection Programme of the UK's Department for International Development.
A successful first and second year's activities will help attract additional
funding from national (Ghana) and international sources.
References
Fauquet C. and Fargette D. 1990. African cassava mosaic virus: etiology,
epidemiology and control. Plant
Disease 74, 404-411.
Lozano, J.C. 1986. Cassava bacterial blight: a manageable disease.
Plant Disease 70, 1089-1093.
Williams, R.J., Agboola, S.D. and Schneider, R.W. 1973. Bacterial wilt in
Nigeria. Plant Disease Reporter 57, 824-827.
ACTIVITY 5
Development of the ISPP Website
Rationale
The
ISPP's Website provides a core of information about the Society and about
some aspects of plant pathology. It has considerable potential for
development as an improved means of communication, through which change can
be effected in line with the priorities identified.
Objectives
Develop the ISPP Website to have the following functions:
1.
Provide members and other visitors with information about the Society
2.
Provide information about plant pathology, why it is important, and
what needs to be done about it
3.
Present the outcomes of the ISPP Task Force on Global Food Security
Provide an improved means of communication between those with offices and
functional roles in ISPP.
Activities plan
1.
Provide information about the Society, including:
- Objectives
- Activities
- Structures
- Executive Committee, with contact details
- Affiliated Societies, with contact details and links to web sites
- Councillors, with contact details
- Subject Matter Committees, with contact details
- Subject Matter Committee web pages
- Task
Force on Global Food Security, with contact details
- Links
to other sites
2.
Provide information about plant pathology, including:
- Newsletter
- Links
to relevant sites
- Coming events
- World
Directory of Plant Pathologists
- Report and recommendations of Task Force on Global Food Security
- Details of individual recommendations and actions, with contact details and
links to relevant sites
- Link
to ProMed Plant (reports of outbreaks)
- Names
of plant pathogenic bacteria
- Links
to other sites
3.
Present outcomes of ISPP Task Force on Global Food Security
4.
Alongside development of the Website, establish a ListServ to provide
for open e-mail communications between those with offices and functional
roles in ISPP.
These
activities will be addressed as follows:
- Register new URL (if possible www.ispp.org), Q4, Y1
- Establish ISPP-LIST ListServ, Q4, Y1
- Confirm arrangements for Webmaster's management of (a) content, (b) design,
Q4, Y1
- Publish material from Task Force, Q4, Y1
- Introduce new structure and design, Q1, Y2
- Extend information about ISPP (1) and about plant pathology (2) to match
specifications above, Q1, Y2
- Continue to extend and improve Website and its linkages, making it more
responsive and a better vehicle for carrying information designed to effect
change.
Anticipated outputs
A
means of communication within ISPP, and between ISPP and those who need
information about plant pathology, to enhance awareness of the significance
of plant diseases and their relevance to global food security. These outputs
link closely with those of the Policy Group (Activity 1).
| Resource requirements |
USD |
| Registration of new URL |
100 |
| Set-up charges for ListServ |
250 |
| |
|
| [Remaining costs are per annum] |
|
| Fee to host server |
1000 |
| Honorarium to Webmaster * |
2000 |
| Equipment, supplies etc. |
200 |
| Travel |
800 |
| Total |
4,350 |
| |
|
| *
Or 1 senior professional (FEC), 2 months @ USD9600
|
19,200 |
| |
|
Website development and maintenance should be a cost on the core ISPP
budget.
Fundraising for ISPP will be needed to accommodate all its core budgeted
functions. Appropriate sources include crop protection companies,
publishers, development assistance agencies.
