About 51 farmers were on Wednesday trained by the Enugu State Government in how to identify and prevent cassava brown streak disease.

The CBSD is a devastating disease responsible for loss of cassava root (tuber) production and quality and render susceptible varieties unusable if cassava roots are left in the ground for over nine months.

The beneficiaries were drawn from farmers, Extension Agencies, Subject Matter Specialists and Zonal Extension Managers among others selected across the 17 Local Government Areas in the state.

Declaring the event open, the state Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-Industrialisation, Patrick Ubru, said that the disease was a dangerous and serious one that could cause 70 per cent to 100 per cent failure in cassava tubers.

Mr Ubru, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Victor Ngwu, said the disease was currently in East Africa and Central Africa and spreading westwards to West Africa.

Thanking them for participating in the training, the commissioner urged them to pay attention and ask the necessary questions that would enable them to spread what they learnt to others in the rural areas.

In his remarks, Director Extension Service, Enugu State Ministry of Agriculture, Boniface Eze, noted that Governor Peter Mbah had passion for agriculture especially cassava.

He added that the desire of the state to establish an ethanol production company would be defeated if they did not protect cassava production and would be disastrous if the disease was allowed to affect cassava as it had no control.

Mr Eze said that farmers could identify the diseases through the symptoms on their cassava.

Highlighting the symptoms, Recognition and Prevention of the CBSD, the Director of Agriculture, Mathew Ugwuona, explained that the disease was different from cassava mosaic disease.

Mr Ugwuona stated that its symptoms included yellowing of the leaves and rot on the cassava tuber.

He noted, “It is also found on the stem, root and leaves of cassava and can spread through planting stems from disease cassava plants as well as through insects called whiteflies. Buy cassava stems from certified seed producer, check your farm regularly and practice good field sanitation like weeding and burning of the infected cassava stems to prevent it.’’

A cassava farmer, David Okoro, while commending the ministry for organising the training, assured that he would take the message to farmers in his Nsukka area.

(NAN)