Regional Emergency Meeting for emerging pests and diseases kicks off in Harare, Zimbabwe
(World News Egypt)

A three-day Regional Emergency Meeting discussing new transboundary crop and livestock pests in Southern Africa kicked off today with a call for increased investment in preparedness and response capacities to new and endemic threats in Southern Africa. The region is experiencing an upsurge of new crop and livestock diseases that are threatening the livelihood of a big proportion of the population that depends on agriculture for subsistence. The Fall armyworm, the latest pest to invade the region is difficult and expensive to control and is already causing extensive damage to food crops, mainly maize. The red and migratory locusts, the tomato leaf minor and maize lethal necrosis disease are...