Ongoing MLN initiatives: Activies on Maize Lethal Necrosis Diseases in Tanzania

Ministry of Agriculture Food Security and Cooperatives Plant Health Services

Ongoing MLN Initiatives Activities

on Maize Lethal Necrosis Diseases

in Tanzania

USAID-funded MLN Diagnostics and Management Project -- Annual Review and

Planning Meeting (October 18-19, 2016)


When the Disease was first Reported • Very little was Known about the disease

• Following the Report of the disease A Strategic Plan for

Management and Control of Maize MNLD was devised

by PHS in Collaboration DRD


Under that Action Plan the following strategies were prioritized ;

• Prevent the Introduction of the disease in Tanzania by strengthening the

border Inspectorate services

• Revisit of importation conditions for maize seeds into Tanzania

• Conduct a sensitization program by distributing Posters and Leaflets Maize

Producing Regions

• Creation of the plant protection (prevention and control of maize lethal

necrosis disease) rules

• Conduct country wide surveillance to Establish status

• Continue Monitoring the disease progress in the Outbreak Area


Implementations

20,000 posters and leaflets were distributed to 20 of

Tanzania mainland.

Sensitization program to create awareness to

District level December 2012 to February 2013

Proposal was submitted FAO to create extensive

awareness on the diseases

Joint Stakeholders meeting was convened to Arusha

in October 2013 to device a long term strategies to

alleviate MLND


FAO Sponsored Project

100 Extension Officers from Manyara, Arusha and

Kilimanjaro were trained on

• Identification

• Control and Management of MLND

• A training Manual English and Swahili on Id and Mgt of

MLND was developed and distributed

• Leaflets, Posters, a video documentary in both English

and Swahili has been Developed and distributed

• UVIMA Swahili Name for MLND has been officially

pronounced by BAKITA-The National Kiswahili Council


Prevention and Control of MLD Disease Rules

• Published Government Notice No.195

on 21/06/2013

• For the purpose of preventing the spread

of disease, any Inspector may declare any

area in which disease is reported to be

present, a quarantine area.

• Enforces an obligation to

report MNL Disease

infestation for any person incl.

farmers


Maize Seed Field Inspection Protocol

As a general rule, planting healthy,

certified and treated seed is the first step

for the production of a healthy crop that

can, in turn, result in healthy seed


Maize Seed Field Inspection Protocol

• The Purpose of Protocol for MLN-free

Seed Production is to limit further spread

of the disease into non-endemic areas

• From a phytosanitary perspective, there

should be zero tolerance for MCMV and

SCMV, if either one is detected in a seed

farm, it should be rejected.


Therefore;

• Seed production MUST be done in registered seed farm

• Seeds for Planting MUST be certified free of MLN-

causing viruses

• PHS, TOSCI, Seed Industry and other stakeholders have

to ensure the protocol is developed and implemented

as soon as possible


• Seed production fields must be monitored by

trained and certified staff.

• Leaf samples of all symptomatic plants should be

delivered for diagnostic verification.

• Field inspection records should be maintained,

including all relevant data (date, operator, samples

collected, test results, number of plants rogued).

Field Inspection and Certification


Surveillance

• May 2015, The Ministry Conducted

surveillance in affected regions of

Kilimanjaro Arusha and Manyara.

• Neighboring regions of Dodoma,

Morogoro and Tanga

Mission was to

• delimitation/establish extent of spread

• create public awareness


Met with local leaders, Farmer Groups and

Farmers Field Schools (FFS) leaders

• to assess their levels of knowledge and

adopted practices/technologies to combat

MLND pandemic

• Scoring the disease incidence number of

infected plants out of total plants in an area

and the yield reduction


MLND awareness raising activities in

villages through organized public meetings

• Obligation to Report – From Farmers

Levels to the Ministry Level

MLND awareness


MLND awareness

Farmers in many areas visited

by the team claimed that they

are familiar with the

symptoms of MLN and they

do receive information on the

disease from mass media, public

awareness meetings and from

Extension Officers


The disease is still prevalent in the outbreak area

• farmer’s knowledge of the disease is inadequate

• they can identify the problem and know about the

measures but do not practice them probably because

they do not understand the reasons why the

measures are recommended.

Disease Progression


Season 2015/2016

• The Ministry has not received any new

outbreak in any regions apart from where is

has been previously reported

• Received few reports in Mbeya Southern

Part of Tz, they were confirmed NOT

MLND


Ahsanteni Sana

Ongoing MLN initiatives: Activies on Maize Lethal Necrosis Diseases in Tanzania

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