{"id":12704,"date":"2026-06-20T12:24:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:24:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/the-bbtv-alliance-team-rendezvous-in-nigeria\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T12:24:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:24:51","slug":"the-bbtv-alliance-team-rendezvous-in-nigeria","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/the-bbtv-alliance-team-rendezvous-in-nigeria\/","title":{"rendered":"The BBTV ALLIANCE team rendezvous in Nigeria"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><strong>Multidisciplinary team of experts meet in IITA, Nigeria, to take stock  and discuss plans to stop the further spread of banana bunchy top disease debilitating banana production in sub-Saharan Africa<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/newint.iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/BBTV_banner.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8318 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/newint.iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/BBTV_banner.jpg\" alt=\"Picture of BBTV banner\" width=\"700\" height=\"243\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The International Institute of Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan is hosting the 3rd Annual Workshop of the Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) Learning ALLIANCE, 23\u201328 May 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The workshop <em>\u201cRecovering banana production in BBTD affected areas \u2013 strengthening cross-site learning tools in epidemiology, gender  and social relations  and participatory experimentation approaches\u201d<\/em> will be held at the Herbert Albrecht Conference Center of IITA  and brings together implementing partners of the CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers  and Bananas (RTB) from IITA, Bioversity International,  and CIRAD. National program partners involved in banana production recovery pilot schemes in Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Malawi,  and Nigeria will also be in attendance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the six-day conference, participants will deliberate on several topics related to the ALLIANCE\u2019s campaign against Banana Bunchy Top Disease (BBTD) including an assessment of project progress, a review of pending activities,  and devising effective plans for advancing the campaign in 2017  and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The focus of discussions at the conference will be on (i) reviewing experiences to date in pilot sites  and identifying key elements in mobilizing communities  and their partners for the recovery of banana production in BBTD-affected areas as a basis to (i) develop guidelines for integrated management of BBTD; (ii) prepare workplans for finalization of products for the RTB complementary project on BBTD; (iii) discuss epidemiological modeling  and particularly the protocols for compatible sampling;  and (iv) discuss  and review projects  and proposals for the next phase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe hope that this workshop, the third of a successful series, will form a platform for interdisciplinary experts to come together for exciting presentations  and fruitful discussions,\u201d says event convener  and IITA Virologist Dr Lava Kumar. \u201cThis is a crucial workshop as the ALLIANCE project has entered into its final year, which is also a transition year for migration into new RTB programs starting 2017\u201d, he added. \u201cReflections on past activities  and preparation of technical reports,  and planning for the future are going to be one of the main agendas of this workshop,\u201d concluded Dr Kumar who is convening the workshop with Dr Charles Staver of Bioversity International. He also thanked the CRP on RTB for financial support to the workshop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The conference will also witness the unveiling of a new Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation funded initiative \u201cBBTV mitigation: Community management in Nigeria  and screening wild banana progenitors for resistance\u201d. The initiative will be launched formally on 27 May  and will be led by the University of Queensl and (Australia) in collaboration with IITA, Bioversity International, National Institute of Horticultural Research (NIHORT) Nigeria, University of Agriculture K\u00e9tou (UAK) B\u00e9nin,  and other partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) is an invasive virus disease seriously threatening banana  and plantain production in Africa. The \u2018ALLIANCE\u2019 is a multinational, multi-stakeholder, interdisciplinary team formed under the framework of the CGIAR Roots, Tubers  and Banana (CRP-RTB) program, to mount a coordinated action to halt the expansion of banana bunchy top (BBTV) disease  and recover banana production in disease-affected areas, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. BBTV renders plants unproductive, eventually killing them. The virus occurrence is confirmed in 15 countries in Africa. With the exception of Egypt, all other countries affected by BBTV are located in sub-Saharan Africa. Extensive disease spread into new production areas was observed during the last two decades. Since 2011, BBTV outbreaks were recorded in Benin (2011), Nigeria (2013),  and most recently (2015) in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>About IITA<\/strong> www.iita.org<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Nigeria, is an international nonprofit organization created in 1967. We conduct research for development (R4D) that focuses on addressing hunger, poverty,  and the degradation of natural resources in the tropics. We work with public  and private sector partners to enhance crop quality  and productivity, reduce risks to producers  and consumers,  and promote sustainable livelihoods from agriculture. We are a member of the CGIAR Consortium, a global research partnership for a food-secure future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For further information about the workshop, contact: Katherine Lopez [<a href=\"mailto:k.lopez@cgiar.org\">k.lopez@cgiar.org<\/a>], IITA Head of Communication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The International Institute of Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan is hosting the 3rd Annual Workshop of the Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) Learning ALLIANCE, 23\u201328 May 2016.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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