Research staff of the Ministry of Agriculture staff are now equipped with the knowledge and strategies to reduce Fiji's vulnerability to the taro leaf blight disease (TLB). In addition, Fiji now has access to a range of taro varieties that are resistant to the disease. These were the two main highlights of the 1-day workshop on taro leaf blight disease held at Koronivia Research Station on Monday, 21st October. The workshop aimed to raise awareness of the nature of the disease and to develop national extension strategies to counter the disease. 

SPC's Land Resources Division, under the AusAID funded Taro Genetic Resources, Conservation and Utilisation (TAROGEN) Project, funded the workshop in collaboration with the Fiji Ministry of Agriculture. The TAROGEN Project focused on selecting and breeding for TLB resistant taro in collaboration with USP and the Samoa Ministry of Agriculture. It was the experience of Samoa with the incidence of the disease that became the wake-up call on the vulnerability of other island countries to TLB. Taro exporting is a multi-million dollar industry for taro exporting countries. Fiji and Niue are the two biggest exporters of taro to New Zealand.

TAROGEN Project Team Leader, Dr. Danny Hunter, discussed the work of TAROGEN with six varieties now released to farmers in Samoa and three in PNG. Most of the breeding work on new taro varieties was carried out in Samoa and PNG.

Head of SPC's Land Resources Division, Mr. Tom Osborn, said the TAROGEN Project will end in December 2003 and is now in the phase of transferring technologies and giving results of the project to its stakeholders. Fiji is the first country to hold this type of workshop, with Niue, Cook Islands and Tonga to follow. The disease is present in PNG, Samoa and Solomon Islands in the South Pacific and Hawaii, Guam and some Micronesian atolls in the north Pacific.

Taro viruses are also of major concern to taro growers with four particularly nasty ones present in the Pacific. Dr. Jacqui Wright of the Plant Protection Service of SPC gave a presentation on taro viruses of which dasheen mosaic was the most common one.

Jay Kumar, Head of Research at Koronivia, expressed grave concern with the incidence of TLB in the Pacific cautioning the agricultural staff to be alert to stop the disease from reaching Fiji. 

Mr. Aliti Turagakula, Principal Agricultural Officer, wanted a firm plan of action in place to tackle a disease outbreak. Workshop participants considered several extension strategies to be put in place as an emergency response in the likely event of a disease outbreak.

To assist with information dissemination and sharing TAROGEN has produced several publications including brochures and leaflets on taro leaf blight. A website on the activities of TAROGEN was demonstrated to the participants before each participant was given a copy on CD-ROM.

Recommendations from the workshop will be available from the TAROGEN Project at SPC.