News on Crop Protection from Africa

With almost 10 billion people to feed by 2050 and food production threatened by declining resources, global food security faces an immense challenge that needs to be addressed.

Corteva Agriscience launched Zorvec Encantia, a new fungicide that specifically targets late blight, a detrimental pathogen currently compromising potato growth in South Africa. The solution, based on Zorvec active, is the first member of a novel class of fungicides.

With potato production in East Africa under increasing threat from the invasive and highly destructive potato cyst nematode (PCN) pest, an organic technology developed from banana plant waste material may well be the ultimate rescue.

The Wageningen Research Foundation (WR), being subsidised by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality in the context of the Policy Support 'Sustainable agricultural development in a food system approach' published a study on the potato value chain in Morocco.

The partnership targets to introduce new technologies and train smallholder farmers on how to improve potato yields through the use of quality seeds, resilient varieties, disease management and post-harvest management.

In Kenya, potatoes are a key staple food, second only to maize. Yet its potato value chain has been underdeveloped for decades also. This has been acknowledged by the Kenyan government.