Experts Warn of New Mosaic Virus Threat to Nigeria’s Cassava Crop

News in Brief:

—WAVE has launched a sensitisation campaign in Kebbi State to alert cassava farmers to a new mosaic virus threat spreading across Africa.

—Farmers were taught how to identify symptoms and report suspicious cases quickly, saying early detection and rapid response can prevent the virus from causing disaster.

The Central and West African Virus Epidemiology for Root and Tuber Crops (WAVE) has intensified its campaign to sensitise cassava farmers in Kebbi State on the dangers of a new cassava mosaic virus spreading across Africa. The warning came during a farmers’ engagement held on Tuesday at Tungar Noma community in Argungu Local Government Area, where experts explained how the disease can damage cassava farms and threaten food security.

Prof. Ibrahim Umar, the Country Director of the centre, stated that the campaign was designed to help farmers identify suspicious symptoms early and report them before the disease spreads further. He claimed that WAVE, in collaboration with Abdullahi Fodio University of Science and Technology, Aliero, had established six demonstration plots across the North-West and North-East to improve cassava productivity and strengthen disease management.

Vigilance Encouraged Among Farmers

Umar explained that the sensitisation exercise was not only about warning farmers, but also about involving them directly in disease surveillance. According to him, the centre distributed flyers with pictures of disease symptoms so farmers could quickly raise the alarm whenever they noticed unusual signs on their cassava plants.

He noted that Nigeria already battles cassava mosaic disease, but warned that other cassava diseases circulating in Africa, especially in East Africa, are gradually moving westward. 

In his explanation, Umar noted that the East African Cassava Mosaic Disease-Uganda variant can tank entire harvests, leaving farmers with nothing.

“It has already been reported in some West African countries, though not yet in Nigeria,” he added.

While the exact spread pattern of the specific virus variant was not independently confirmed in the retrieved sources, WAVE’s research materials show that cassava viruses remain a major threat to root and tuber production and that West Africa must maintain strong surveillance systems.

Food Security Concerns Arise

With the threat to entire yields, Umar revealed that if the virus enters Nigeria and spreads unchecked, the consequences for food security could be severe, especially because cassava remains one of the country’s most important staple and industrial crops.

He further stressed that early detection and rapid response remain the best defence against the disease. According to the report, the sensitisation campaign has already started producing results, as some farmers have begun contacting the centre whenever they notice unusual symptoms on their farms.

WAVE’s broader research programme has long focused on cassava mosaic disease and cassava brown streak disease, which the centre says can cause major yield losses across affected regions. The organisation has also been surveying fields, mapping disease and developing clean planting materials to reduce infection risks and protect cassava farmers.

The latest outreach in Kebbi adds to that effort by bringing farmers into the reporting chain and strengthening early-warning systems at the community level. For many growers in the state, the message was clear: healthy stems, timely reporting and close monitoring could determine whether cassava farms survive the spread of the new virus threat.