Zimbabwe could be losing up to $60 million worth of maize output a year due to failure to adopt new plant breeding varieties resistant to the maize stalk borer, a pest that reduces yields on the country’s major staple, a prominent local crop scientist has said.
Dr Ian Robertson, a Harare-based crop expert . . . [said] that the maize stalk borer has caused farmers to suffer losses of about 10 percent of the country’s output.
. . . .“Every year $60 million goes into the mouth of the stalk borer and yet we could easily harness Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). . . to provide protection from damaging insects such as the maize stalk borer.
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“I find it extremely disappointing that our Government is blocking this . . . technology that could enhance our food security and cut our import bill for maize.”
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We have an excellent pool of crop scientists who can do the work. We are saying to the government remove the ban and support us to do the work.”
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: Maize stalk borer costs Zim millions
