An identified disease has raided some parts of the Southern Region, particularly Thyolo and Mulanje districts, destroying fields of pigeon peas, leaving farmers and agriculturalists clueless.
The development prompted the Ministry of Agriculture to dispatch plant disease experts from Bvumbwe Research Station to assess the situation.
The strange disease comes few months after some cassava fields were also heavily attacked by a viral disease known as brown streak.
| Lucky Mkandawire
According to farmers, the disease has put them at risk of food insecurity as it has significantly reduced both the yield and quality of the crop.
Some farmers claim that the strange disease has come from farms across in Mozambique.
The ministry’s director of land resources conservation Getrude Kambauwa confirmed, in an interview last week, that experts from Blantyre Agricultural Development Division and the ministry’s Department of Agriculture Research were carrying out examinations.
“Specialists already collected samples and made analysis, so, once that is done they will be producing a report to inform us of the next steps and the name of the disease,” she said.
Thyolo District Council director of agricultural services Jackson Mvula disclosed that they were encouraging farmers to uproot the affected crops to stop further spread of the disease.
Mvula, who could not confirm reports of the origins of the disease, also said farmers were being encouraged not to plant or share planting materials from the diseased crops.
“We are also restricting the movement of planting materials. We engaged entomologists and other specialists who already collected the samples to substantiate whether they are mere pests or it is a specific disease, because it is a new thing to us,” he explained.
But Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Luanar) agricultural economist Henry Kankwamba said the disease could be “Fusarium udum, also known as Fusarium wilt. It could also be Phytophtora, but it’s probably the wilt which is fungus-based”.
Thyolo’s Senior Chief Mphuka, whose area is among the most affected, lamented that his people would starve because several fields have been ravaged.
He said: “The prospects were really good because most gardens had encouraging crops but this has now put livelihoods of the households at risk of food shortage.”
One of the affected farmers Iness Gulupa, 49, from Village Head Mwanapwa told Weekend Nation that they first noticed the strange disease in June this year, after a heavy downpour.
“We had non-stop rains for three days when we noticed strange growths and pests on our crops’ flowers. That was the beginning and as I speak, my entire garden has been destroyed,” she said.
Agricultural economist Steven Kayira advised authorities to prioritise rapid disease diagnosis, geo-map out affected areas, and restrict movement of plant materials (cassava cuttings and pigeon peas seeds).
He said much as cassava and pigeon peas were naturally resistant, they were susceptible to viral and fungal diseases resulting in sharp decline of yields and quality once infected.
“This outbreak calls for strengthened plant health surveillance, improved seed systems, and investment in climate smart agriculture,” he said.
But Kankwamba also noted considering that an average smallholder farmer owns about half a hectare, his estimate suggests about 10 000 hectares are already affected in terms of pigeon peas.
