MAU NAROK, 28 October 2010 (IRIN) - Wheat stem rust, Ug99, continues to threaten the livelihoods of hundreds of farmers in Kenya's Rift Valley region as controlling it pushes up production costs.

First identified in Uganda in 1998 and reported in 1999, hence the name, the fungus Ug99 was noted in some Kenyan wheat varieties in 2001; by 2003, all Kenyan varieties had been identified as susceptible.

"We have received a lot of reports from farmers this season especially complaining that despite spraying their crop it has been affected by the rust," Hillary Kiprotich Ngeno, the Mau Narok divisional agriculture extension officer, told IRIN. Mau Narok, in Njoro District in Rift Valley, is a major wheat-growing region.

Wet and misty conditions, following successive rainfall seasons since November 2009, are making Ug99, which is spread via wind-borne spores, even harder to control.

"Before, we would spray the wheat field twice but now we are being forced to apply the chemical up to five times. This is adding to our expenses," Joseph Mburu Njoroge, who has leased 4.5 hectares to grow wheat, at a rate of 5,000 shillings (US$62) for about half a hectare, told IRIN. "The land is also degraded and you have to apply fertilizer. You need some extra business on the side to meet these costs."

The cost of a litre of fungicide, about 2,800 shillings ($35), which is enough for a hectare of wheat, and that of hiring a tractor for mechanized spraying, at about 1,200 ($15) per hectare, is pushing up production costs by about 40 percent. Small-scale farmers who account for 80 percent of wheat growers are especially hard hit.

Yield loss

According to a crop breeder with the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) in Njoro, Peter Njau, farmers are embracing disease control measures to avoid heavy crop losses. Spraying fields when infestation is already too high or using the wrong products are some of the problems.

"Wheat rust may account for yield losses of between 50 to 70 percent if uncontrolled. When the wheat has Ug99, farmers think it is ready for harvesting but all they get is chaff and no wheat," Njau told IRIN, adding that in 2007 some farmers had been caught unawares and heavy wheat losses were experienced.

Infected plants produce fewer seeds, and in severe infections, may die.

KARI, through Cornell University, is among the centres working to develop Ug99-resistant wheat varieties with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

"We are working to prevent the spread of Ug99 to Asia, which is estimated to produce 26 percent of the global wheat crop," said Njau.

MAU NAROK, 28 October 2010 (IRIN) - Wheat stem rust, Ug99, continues to threaten the livelihoods of hundreds of farmers in Kenya's Rift Valley region as controlling it pushes up production costs.

First identified in Uganda in 1998 and reported in 1999, hence the name, the fungus Ug99 was noted in some Kenyan wheat varieties in 2001; by 2003, all Kenyan varieties had been identified as susceptible.

"We have received a lot of reports from farmers this season especially complaining that despite spraying their crop it has been affected by the rust," Hillary Kiprotich Ngeno, the Mau Narok divisional agriculture extension officer, told IRIN. Mau Narok, in Njoro District in Rift Valley, is a major wheat-growing region.

Wet and misty conditions, following successive rainfall seasons since November 2009, are making Ug99, which is spread via wind-borne spores, even harder to control.

"Before, we would spray the wheat field twice but now we are being forced to apply the chemical up to five times. This is adding to our expenses," Joseph Mburu Njoroge, who has leased 4.5 hectares to grow wheat, at a rate of 5,000 shillings (US$62) for about half a hectare, told IRIN. "The land is also degraded and you have to apply fertilizer. You need some extra business on the side to meet these costs."

The cost of a litre of fungicide, about 2,800 shillings ($35), which is enough for a hectare of wheat, and that of hiring a tractor for mechanized spraying, at about 1,200 ($15) per hectare, is pushing up production costs by about 40 percent. Small-scale farmers who account for 80 percent of wheat growers are especially hard hit.

Yield loss

According to a crop breeder with the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) in Njoro, Peter Njau, farmers are embracing disease control measures to avoid heavy crop losses. Spraying fields when infestation is already too high or using the wrong products are some of the problems.

"Wheat rust may account for yield losses of between 50 to 70 percent if uncontrolled. When the wheat has Ug99, farmers think it is ready for harvesting but all they get is chaff and no wheat," Njau told IRIN, adding that in 2007 some farmers had been caught unawares and heavy wheat losses were experienced.

Infected plants produce fewer seeds, and in severe infections, may die.

KARI, through Cornell University, is among the centres working to develop Ug99-resistant wheat varieties with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

"We are working to prevent the spread of Ug99 to Asia, which is estimated to produce 26 percent of the global wheat crop," said Njau.