tag:theconversation.com,2011:/institutions/mikocheni-agricultural-research-institute-2358/articlesMikocheni Agricultural Research Institute2016-03-01T05:38:35Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/555112016-03-01T05:38:35Z2016-03-01T05:38:35ZSécurité alimentaire : les enseignements de l’épidémie d’Ebola<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113283/original/image-20160229-4096-14juedh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Le manioc, une ressource indispensable pour des millions d’Africains. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Quand le virus Ebola a frappé <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ebola-outbreak-highlights-shortcomings-in-disease-surveillance-and-response-and-where-we-can-do-better-40885">l’Afrique de l’Ouest</a> l’an passé, il est devenu évident que la région manquait <a href="http://www.who.int/csr/disease/ebola/one-year-report/factors/en/">d’outils</a> permettant un diagnostic rapide pour identifier les personnes contaminées et ainsi mieux contenir l’épidémie. Alors que la communauté internationale se mettait en ordre de marche pour faire face à l’urgence, un élément crucial pour combattre l’expansion de l’épidémie fut la fourniture de sacs à dos contenant des <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-small-backpack-for-fast-genomic-sequencing-is-helping-combat-ebola-41863">ordinateurs de séquençage génétique</a> – une technologie absente dans les pays exposés au virus.</p>
<p>En quoi cela a-t-il un rapport avec la protection des cultures et plus généralement le combat contre la faim dans le monde, hormis le fait que la santé et la sécurité alimentaire figurent sur la liste des objectifs pour le développement durable des <a href="http://www.undp.org/content/undp/fr/home/sdgoverview/post-2015-development-agenda.html">Nations unies</a> ?</p>
<p>C’est simple : si nous pouvions bénéficier du même type de technologie pour combattre les maladies végétales que celles affectant les humains, nous pourrions bien éradiquer la faim – même si cette dernière constitue un problème mois dramatiquement médiatique et plus lancinant que l’épidémie Ebola, mais tellement plus meurtrier.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111411/original/image-20160214-29172-5x91b3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111411/original/image-20160214-29172-5x91b3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111411/original/image-20160214-29172-5x91b3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111411/original/image-20160214-29172-5x91b3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111411/original/image-20160214-29172-5x91b3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111411/original/image-20160214-29172-5x91b3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111411/original/image-20160214-29172-5x91b3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111411/original/image-20160214-29172-5x91b3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Avec les fermiers locaux pour travailler à la protection des cultures.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Nos recherches se sont concentrées sur le manioc, un élément de base pour près de 800 millions d’Africains de l’Ouest, qualifiée par Bill Gates comme l’un des <a href="http://www.gatesnotes.com/Development/The-Worlds-Most-Interesting-Vegetable">légumes</a> les plus intéressants au monde. L’une des menaces les plus graves pour le manioc et ceux qui le cultivent, ce sont les aleurodes, ou mouches blanches, vecteurs de virus mortels qui causent la pourriture de la plante. Ces virus de la bigarrure peuvent détruire la totalité des cultures. Mais les agriculteurs ne sont pas en mesure de repérer ces dégâts avant le moment de la récolte. Notre équipe a d’autre part trouvé qu’il existe <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0139321">davantage d’espèces</a> de ce virus que précédemment envisagé, de nouvelles pouvant très bien être découvertes.</p>
<p>À l’heure actuelle, pour être en mesure d’identifier les espèces de virus qui attaquent le manioc, il faut adresser des échantillons à des laboratoires spécialisés qui peuvent se situer très loin des zones touchées, souvent dans un autre pays, voire même un autre continent.</p>
<p>C’est ici que la génomique de terrain entre en jeu. En ayant accès à un séquençage rapide, du même type que celui utilisé pour stopper l’épidémie d’Ebola, les agriculteurs pourraient savoir avant de les planter si leurs boutures de manioc sont ou non infectées. De cette manière, ils pourraient combattre très efficacement les risques de famine.</p>
<h2>Des super-ordinateurs contre la famine</h2>
<p>Dans la lutte pour éradiquer la faim dans le monde, la protection du manioc constitue un élément crucial. Soit, mais comment s’y prendre ?</p>
<p>Au cours <a href="http://www.solutions-summit.org">d’un sommet de l’ONU</a> qui s’est tenu peu après l’adoption des objectifs du développement durable, nous figurerions parmi les <a href="https://medium.com/@WhiteHouse/it-takes-a-network-9e7831333906">14 innovateurs</a> sélectionnés pour présenter nos solutions à ces 17 objectifs. Voici donc ce que nous avons proposé pour la protection du manioc en Afrique de l’Ouest.</p>
<p>Il nous faut trouver des financements pour permettre aux laboratoires de la région de s’équiper en <a href="http://www.cray.com/sites/default/files/CS-Cray-Pawsey-XC40-Whitefly.pdf">super-ordinateurs</a> et aussi assurer la formation des équipes concernées auprès de spécialistes du calcul ; faire émerger de jeunes scientifiques capables d’utiliser de telles machines est également crucial.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/98724/original/image-20151017-25142-1hj8iuv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/98724/original/image-20151017-25142-1hj8iuv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/98724/original/image-20151017-25142-1hj8iuv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98724/original/image-20151017-25142-1hj8iuv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98724/original/image-20151017-25142-1hj8iuv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98724/original/image-20151017-25142-1hj8iuv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98724/original/image-20151017-25142-1hj8iuv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98724/original/image-20151017-25142-1hj8iuv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Joseph Ndunguru devant un super-ordinateur utilisé pour les analyses des génomes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>À plus long terme, il faut prévoir la mise en place d’un réseau de laboratoires de diagnostic ambulants pour les cultivateurs de manioc, à la manière de ce qui a été déployé pour l’épidémie d’Ebola. Les agriculteurs doivent pouvoir identifier les plantes malades ainsi que les virus responsables des maladies végétales de leurs cultures.</p>
<p>Si nous pouvons sécuriser les cultures de manioc, alors le séquençage génétique, les super-ordinateurs et autres outils utiles à cette fin pourront être déployés dans bien d’autres pays qui se battent contre les nuisibles et les maladies qui menacent leurs cultures.</p>
<p><br>
<em>Les chefs d’équipe des différents pays impliqués dans le <a href="http://cassavam.blogspot.com">Cassava Diagnostic Team</a> ont contribué aux travaux et idées présentes ici.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/55511/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joseph Ndunguru receives funding from the Tanzanian Ministry of Agriculture and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Sseruwagi is affiliated with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK Department for International Development.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Boykin et Monica Kehoe ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur poste universitaire.</span></em></p>Le séquençage génétique rapide utilisé pour combattre l’épidémie d’Ebola en Afrique de l’Ouest pourrait aussi permettre de protéger les cultures de la région.Laura Boykin, TED Fellow | Research Fellow | School of Chemistry and Biochemistry | ARC CoE Plant Energy Biology, The University of Western AustraliaJoseph Ndunguru, Molecular Plant Virologist, Mikocheni Agricultural Research InstituteMonica Kehoe, Research officer, Department of Agriculture and Food - Western AustraliaPeter Sseruwagi, Researcher, Mikocheni Agricultural Research InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/492182016-02-18T19:18:48Z2016-02-18T19:18:48ZWorld hunger: what the Ebola virus can teach us about saving crops<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111453/original/image-20160215-22563-vxeucu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Cassava feeds 800 million people - keeping it disease-free is a must.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When the deadly Ebola virus <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ebola-outbreak-highlights-shortcomings-in-disease-surveillance-and-response-and-where-we-can-do-better-40885">struck West Africa</a> last year, one thing that became clear was that the region lacked access to <a href="http://www.who.int/csr/disease/ebola/one-year-report/factors/en/">quick diagnostic tools</a> that could help identify those infected and help contain the virus’s spread.</p>
<p>As the world swung into action to combat the emergency, one crucial factor that helped to curb the epidemic was the arrival of backpacks containing <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-small-backpack-for-fast-genomic-sequencing-is-helping-combat-ebola-41863">portable genetic sequencing computers</a> – a technology not readily available in the affected countries.</p>
<p>What has that story got to do with world hunger, beyond the fact that both hunger and disease are featured in the United Nations’ <a href="http://www.globalgoals.org">Sustainable Development Goals</a>?</p>
<p>If we can bring the same technologies to bear against crop diseases as well as human ones, we can help eradicate hunger – a less newsworthy and more slow-burning problem than Ebola, but far more deadly in terms of the human toll.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111411/original/image-20160214-29172-5x91b3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111411/original/image-20160214-29172-5x91b3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111411/original/image-20160214-29172-5x91b3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111411/original/image-20160214-29172-5x91b3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111411/original/image-20160214-29172-5x91b3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111411/original/image-20160214-29172-5x91b3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111411/original/image-20160214-29172-5x91b3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111411/original/image-20160214-29172-5x91b3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Working with local farmers to protect their crops.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our research focuses on cassava, a staple food for some 800 million people in East Africa (and described by philanthropist Bill Gates as <a href="http://www.gatesnotes.com/Development/The-Worlds-Most-Interesting-Vegetable">the world’s most interesting vegetable</a>). </p>
<p>One of the biggest threats to cassava and the farmers who grow it are whiteflies, which transmit deadly plant viruses that cause the edible cassava roots to rot from the inside.</p>
<p>These “Cassava Brown Streak Viruses” can destroy entire crops. But typically the farmer does not realise the crop is lost until harvest time. </p>
<p>Our team has <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0139321">found</a> that there are more species of these viruses than first thought, and possibly more still to be found. </p>
<p>Right now, to identify the virus species that are infecting an individual cassava plant, samples have to be transported to specialised laboratories across considerable distances – often to another country, or even another continent. </p>
<p>This is where rapid field genomics comes in. With access to fast genetic sequencing, similar to that used to stop the spread of Ebola, farmers can find out whether their cassava cuttings are infected before they are planted. Then they won’t have to worry if the cassava is healthy or not when it is time to eat them and ward off the hunger season.</p>
<h2>Fighting off hunger</h2>
<p>If we are going to get to zero world hunger, saving the cassava will be crucial. So how do we do it?</p>
<p>At a <a href="http://www.solutions-summit.org">UN Solutions Summit</a> held the day after the goals were adopted, we were among <a href="https://medium.com/@WhiteHouse/it-takes-a-network-9e7831333906">14 innovators</a> chosen to discuss our proposed solutions to the 17 global goals. Here’s what we suggest for protecting cassava in East Africa.</p>
<p>We need funding to help equip labs in East Africa with <a href="http://www.cray.com/sites/default/files/CS-Cray-Pawsey-XC40-Whitefly.pdf">supercomputing</a> (even if they are small clusters) and travel funding for me to take a crew of really awesome computational scientists to put on workshops for collaborators in the region.</p>
<p>Before that, we also need to increase funding for PhD student scholarships for East African scientists – so that these countries have people with the expertise needed to operate the computers.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/98724/original/image-20151017-25142-1hj8iuv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/98724/original/image-20151017-25142-1hj8iuv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/98724/original/image-20151017-25142-1hj8iuv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98724/original/image-20151017-25142-1hj8iuv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98724/original/image-20151017-25142-1hj8iuv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98724/original/image-20151017-25142-1hj8iuv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98724/original/image-20151017-25142-1hj8iuv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98724/original/image-20151017-25142-1hj8iuv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Joseph Ndunguru with a supercomputer used for genomic analysis.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the longer term, a network of mobile diagnostic labs for cassava whitefly disease needs to be rolled out to farmers throughout the region, much like the response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. These farmers need diagnostics to see if their plants are sick, and identify the specific virus and whitefly in their field and region.</p>
<p>If we can save the cassava, then genomic sequencing, supercomputers and other tools used to do it could potentially be used to fight similar outbreaks in countries all over the world that are struggling with pests and disease that threaten their food supplies. </p>
<p>Bringing the strongest women on the planet, the smallholder farmers in East Africa, into the light will only help the fight to ensure that people have enough food right around the globe.</p>
<p><em>Country team leaders on the <a href="http://cassavam.blogspot.com">Cassava Diagnostic Team</a> contributed to the research and ideas presented here.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/49218/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joseph Ndunguru receives funding from the Tanzanian Ministry of Agriculture and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Sseruwagi is affiliated with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK Department for International Development.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Boykin and Monica Kehoe do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Rapid genetic disease screening will be the key to saving East Africa’s crops - just as it was during West Africa’s ebola crisis.Laura Boykin, TED Fellow | Research Fellow | School of Chemistry and Biochemistry | ARC CoE Plant Energy Biology, The University of Western AustraliaJoseph Ndunguru, Molecular Plant Virologist, Mikocheni Agricultural Research InstituteMonica Kehoe, Research officer, Department of Agriculture and Food - Western AustraliaPeter Sseruwagi, Researcher, Mikocheni Agricultural Research InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.