By Raphael Ede
Enugu
Director General, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Dr Nteranya Sanginga, said negative consequences of climate change on agricultural production and productivity are with us and resolutions must be implemented to save West and Central Africa.
Addressing national and international researchers attending a conference on ‘Biotic Stresses, Climate Change and Agricultural Production’ in Cotonou, Bénin, on Monday, Dr Sanginga noted that the emergence of agricultural pests such as the Papaya Mealbug was closely linked to climate change, and stressed that there was the need to go beyond rhetoric to action.
“Whatever recommendations we make at this meeting, let’s work towards implementing them,” he said. The director general identified agricultural research and the capacity development of adequate human resources as the critical tools needed to tackle the challenges posed by climate change.
He cited the example of cassava pests (cassava mealybug) in which past research by IITA and partners had played a critical role in solving the problem and saving the crop from probable extinction in Africa.
The interim director general of AfricaRice, Dr Adama Traoré, pledged that his organization would support the implementation of the meeting recommendations, as they would go a long way in addressing agricultural productivity in the region.
Studies suggest that climate change might adversely influence established biological control by curbing natural enemy–pest interactions. Also, extreme climatic events may affect the benefits provided by living things in the soil ecosystem such as endophytes, rhizobia, and mycorrhiza.
“All these interactions need to be properly assessed and documented to develop and deploy preemptive and adaptation strategies,” said Dr David Arodokoun, the Director General of the National Institute of Agricultural Research of Bénin (INRAB).
The meeting was convened by IITA, INRAB, AfricaRice, Bioversity, CIRAD, and CORAF with donor support from the Swiss Development Cooperation.