How can better data curb Africa’s crop loss crisis?

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Season 4, Episode 62

Across Sub-Saharan Africa, farmers are losing large portions of their harvest before crops ever reach the market. Pests, droughts and shifting weather patterns are decimating yields, while weak data systems make the crisis even harder to fight.

In this episode of Africa Science Focus, we look at how better data and stronger plant health systems can help countries respond more effectively.

Our reporter, Michael Kaloki begins in Kenya, where cereals remain central to national food security. Anthony Kioko, chief executive officer of the Cereal Growers Association, explains that farmers routinely lose up to 40 per cent of their harvest and in some seasons as much as 100 per cent. He says losses directly affect farmers’ income, food security and ability to keep farming.

To unpack the impact of crop loss, Kaloki speaks with experts from the Global Burden of Crop Loss (GBCL) project, an initiative led by the agricultural research organisation CABI (the parent organisation of SciDev.Net).

Rasaki Arasah, a digital development project manager at CABI, says losing less of what is grown is one of the most efficient ways to strengthen food systems without expanding farmland.

Negussie Efa, a senior scientist at CABI, says many African countries still lack reliable diagnostic and surveillance systems. Without consistent data, he says, it is difficult for governments to identify where losses are concentrated or which emerging threats need coordinated action.

To understand the science behind crop losses, Kaloki speaks with Tilahun Negassa, assistant professor of plant biotechnology at Addis Ababa University. He explains how fungal diseases such as rusts, Septoria leaf blotch and Fusarium head blight can devastate staple crops like wheat by damaging the plant’s photosynthetic tissues. He adds that weeds, insect pests and increasingly extreme weather conditions compound the pressure on crops, reinforcing the need for stronger plant health services and improved diagnostics.

Technical lead of the GBCL project, Anna Szyniszewska explains how the team use data on climate and local farming conditions to estimate “attainable yield” and compare it with actual production to assess crop losses.

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Africa Science Focus is produced by SciDev.Net and distributed in association with your local radio station. 

This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.

This episode is supported by CABI’s Global Burden of Crop Loss (GBCL) project. GBCL is funded by UK International Development of the UK government and the Gates Foundation.