FSC in dialog: Biological Environment and Crop Productivity

September 26, 2013

The topic “Managing the biological environment to promote and sustain crop productivity and quality” was presented and discussed on September 26, by Fenton Beed from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Dar es Salaam.
To meet global demands for food, bio-fuels and diversified diets; the efficiency of crop production must be increased.
Significant increases in crop production efficiency can be realized by improving disease management by better understanding key ecological interactions. A crop healthcare system is required to enable pre-emptive and cost efficient disease control that encompasses national responsibility, regional cooperation and harnesses global excellence. Components of the crop healthcare system include risk assessment; to predict impacts on food and feed value chains, targeted surveillance, fit-for-purpose diagnostics, refined control intervention packages, dynamic extension mechanisms, enabling policy environments and targeted research to address knowledge gaps. Finally, the link between disease control and improved crop quality, consumer health and safe trade will be demonstrated through biological control interventions for aflatoxin in Africa.