Workshop explores ways of combating wheat rust

Experts from nine countries have taken part in a workshop in Syria to develop a common monitoring strategy for the Ug99 strain of wheat rust, which poses a threat to global food security.



Participants pledged to undertake field surveys to monitor Ug99 and other wheat rust races and share the results, which will be used to establish a global early warning system at the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome.



Representatives from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, Turkey and Yemen took part in this first workshop of its kind - in Aleppo on 21-22 April - according to a 26 April press release by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).



Ug99, which was first detected in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia, crossed over to Yemen in 2006. By 2007 it had spread to the main wheat producing regions in western Iran, and unofficial reports have indicated its presence in Sudan and coastal parts of Yemen.



Ug99 can spread relatively quickly through wind movement. Rust experts warn that it is only a matter of time before it moves eastwards from Iran to Central and South Asia, and into the Near East and the Balkan region with potentially devastating results.



Affected countries will be helped to distribute seeds of wheat rust tolerant varieties to their poor farmers.



Several varieties have recently been developed showing very good resistance levels to Ug99 and its variants. These are now being tested for adaptation in the different countries. The best of these varieties will soon be distributed to poor farmers to improve their livelihoods, said the ICARDA press release.



"Food security is a difficult goal, particularly in the context of climate change which has direct effects on the dynamics of disease and insect pests because of high temperatures, particularly in the dry areas. These areas cover 41 percent of the earth's land surface, and are home to a quarter of the global population," said Mahmoud Solh, director-general of ICARDA.



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