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St. Louis Business & Technology News
"When you think Saint Louis, think Saint Louis Front Page," a weekly publication covering the news and events in the greater St. Louis area. 
How To Reach Us:St. Louis Front Page P.O. Box 1354 St. Louis, MO 63188 Voice: 314-771-0200 Fax: 314-771-0300 To submit news, contact: editor@slfp.com To advertise, contact: advertising@slfp.com |
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Danforth Plant Science Center Receives $2.5 Grant to Improve Food Security in Africa ST. LOUIS, MO, (SLFP.com), November 22, 2009 - The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center was recently awarded a five year $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development from the American people (USAID) to support the product development phase of virus resistant cassava research currently underway at the Center. The research is focused on developing virus resistant cassava varieties for East Africa, where the yearly harvest has been critically affected by infections spread by whiteflies and by cuttings-which is how cassava is commonly propagated by farmers. Cassava is a starchy root crop that is a primary source of calories for more than 250 million people living in sub-Saharan Africa. Cassava has the ability to grow on marginal land where cereals and other crops do not grow well because it can tolerate periods of drought and can grow in low-nutrient soils. Roots are processed into a wide variety of pastes or flours or consumed freshly boiled. Each year, cassava farmers lose at least 30 percent of their crop to cassava mosaic disease (CMD) alone. Cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) can be responsible for a complete loss of the harvest. In the Lake Victoria area, more than seven million people are at risk of famine because of plant disease threats. In a humanitarian project aimed at enhancing food security in Africa, researchers at the Danforth Center have teamed up with partners in Kenya and Uganda under the umbrella of VIRCA, which stands for "Virus Resistant Cassava for Africa". Project partners are working to develop farmer-preferred cassava varieties with enhanced resistance to CMD and CBSD and deliver them to African smallholder farmers. Researchers are evaluating different techniques that rely on enhancing the plant's natural ability to defend itself against infection. One approach is to 'teach' the plant to recognize the virus when it first enters the plant, and destroy it before it can get established. A second technique depends on a naturally-occurring protein that can disable the virus. At the appropriate time, all technologies developed by VIRCA and used to produce these plants will be freely transferred to African partners, so that they will be in a position to repeat the work if they wish to do so. No royalties or licensing fees will be paid to the research team or institutions that provided the new varieties. "We are very grateful for this support from U.S.A.I.D. as the project moves from the laboratory and greenhouse stages to field trial evaluations in Africa," said Paul Anderson, executive director, Office of International Programs, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center.  
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