EAST AFRICAN LEADERS URGE BURUNDI TO POSTPONE ELECTION

Elections in Burundi should be delayed by at least a month and a half and all violence must stop, East African leaders said Sunday after a regional summit on the crisis.

"The summit, concerned at the impasse in Burundi, strongly calls for a long postponement of the elections not less than a month and a half," the East African Community (EAC) said in a statement read out by its secretary general Richard Sezibera after the meeting of regional leaders in Tanzania.

The statement called "on all parties to stop violence," for the "disarmament of all armed youth groups" -- a clear reference to ruling party supporters accused of attacking opponents -- and for "the creation of conditions for the return of refugees" who have fled the turmoil.

The crisis in Burundi erupted after the ruling party designated Nkurunziza, in power for 10 years, as its candidate for upcoming elections.

The opposition and rights groups say this violates the constitution as well as a 2006 peace deal that ended a 13-year civil war.

The war left hundred of thousands dead, and there are widespread fears that the current crisis could push the impoverished, landlocked country back into conflict.

Burundi's government has insisted that parliamentary elections will take place on June 5 despite weeks of civil unrest that has left at least 30 people dead. The presidential election is scheduled for June 26.

The summit has been seen as an important opportunity to resolve the crisis, with talks between Nkurunziza's camp and the Burundian opposition deadlocked.

However the leaders stopped short of telling the president to back down, only calling for a "return to the constitutional order" in Burundi.

- Nkurunziza 'campaigning' -

The Burundian president, however, failed to turn up: his spokesman said he instead would be pushing ahead with his re-election campaign.

It was during a first crisis meeting on May 13 in Tanzania's economic capital, attended by Nkurunziza, that a top general launched an unsuccessful bid to oust him -- and the president was seen as being wary of again leaving the country. 

There was no immediate response from the Burundian government to the call for an election delay.

According to a diplomat close to the talks, Nkurunziza will also be expected to "give the opposition and independent media an opportunity to freely express themselves".

The EAC summit was attended by leaders from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Rwandan President Paul Kagame, a key regional player and Burundi's neighbour, sent a minister to represent him, although South African President Jacob Zuma did join the talks.

Nkuruniza, a former rebel leader from the Hutu majority and a born-again Christian, insists he has every right to stand again, arguing that for his first term in office he was appointed by parliament and not after a general election.

Asked to rule on Nkurunziza's candidacy, Burundi's constitutional court found in favour of the president, but not before one of the judges also fled the country, claiming that its members were subject to death threats.

- Demonstrators disappointed -

Key international donors have withdrawn their support for the polls, as has the influential Catholic Church in Burundi, and on Saturday it emerged that a senior member of the election commission had fled the country -- further plunging preparations for the polls into disarray.

The country's main opposition leader, Agathon Rwasa, also said elections would be a "masquerade" if they go ahead.

UN special envoy Said Djinnit said on Friday that talks between the Burundian government and opposition had made progress on several issues -- including the reopening of independent media and the release of detainees -- but not on the key issue of a halt to protests in return for Nkurunziza's agreement not to stand again.

He said both sides "have agreed to resume their talks after the summit in Dar es Salaam".

But demonstrators on the streets of Bujumbura said they were disappointed by the outcome of the summit.

"It doesn't change anything. One month is not enough. there are lots of problems -- independent media has not reopened, the rights of protestors are violated. All of this needs to be resolved before elections can be held," said Antoine, an anti-Nkurunziza activist who asked that his full name not be published.

"It shows that the heads of state don't have the will to deal with Nkurunziza," said another demonstrator. "The crisis will continue, even get worse."

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AfRICA’S FOOD SECURITY THREATENED BY DEADLY MAIZE DESEASE

More than 150 participants are meeting  in Nairobi for an international conference to share knowledge on the latest diagnostics and screening methods for the maize lethal necrosis (MLN) disease, and assess ways of curbing its spread across Africa to help mitigate its effects, particularly large-scale crop losses for smallholders and seed companies.

The conference is timely because quality seed is the pillar of agriculture in Africa and the world. It is therefore important to protect the maize seed value chain from MLN through concerted action by both the public and private sectors.

“The maize lethal necrosis disease has caused losses worth millions of dollars for farmers and seed companies in the affected regions in sub-Saharan Africa, where maize is both a food and cash crop. It is also affects food consumers since farmers have no maize crop to release to the market. This therefore calls for urgent need to find a sustainable and widely applicable solution as key stakeholders,” said Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

To this end, AGRA, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in collaboration with the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) have organized a conference on MLN Diagnostics and Management in Africa. The event will bring together scientists, policymakers, seed companies and regulators to take stock of current knowledge and best practice in managing MLN, and to build consensus on the actions needed to check its spread.

The situation is particularly critical as most of the maize varieties in East Africa’s seed market are vulnerable to MLN. In Kenya for example, the disease is widespread across most maize-growing areas causing an estimated loss of 10 per cent of national maize production per year (equivalent to USD 50 million).

This means that Kenya and neighboring countries (DR Congo, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan and Uganda) where the disease has been reported are on the verge of serious food insecurity, unless urgent and intensive action is taken.

“The profound implication of MLN for Africa’s most important grain – maize – is a reality that cannot be ignored. We have a responsibility to work together and control its spread, as

scientists continue to work hard in developing maize varieties that can effectively resist the MLN viruses,” said Dr. Prasanna Boddupalli, Director of CIMMYT’s Global Maize Program.

The rapid spread of the MLN disease is a major concern for scientists, regulators and maize seed companies. The conference will therefore focus on finding practical solutions to strengthen MLN diagnostics and surveillance capacity. Other solutions include MLN-free seed production and safe exchange to non-endemic areas, which is a key step in controlling further spread and impact of MLN in sub-Saharan Africa.

“At AGRA, we have years of experience in working with seed companies to produce quality, certified seed. We hope to draw on that experience as we collaborate with all stakeholders involved in the MLN mitigation effort to ensure that Africa’s farmers continue to access quality, MLN-free seed to safeguard their livelihoods and food security,” said Dr. George Bigirwa, AGRA’s Head of the Regional Team for East and Southern Africa.

Collaboration with national agricultural research bodies like KALRO has been instrumental in the ongoing efforts to identify and develop MLN-tolerant maize varieties. The establishment of the MLN screening facility in 2013 at Naivasha, Kenya, by CIMMYT and KALRO in response to the MLN outbreak in East Africa was a welcome and much-needed intervention. Recently, a few MLN-tolerant maize varieties have been released in East Africa, and several more are in the pipeline.

“This facility was a critical breakthrough in our efforts to manage MLN. So far, more than 40,000 maize accessions have been evaluated and promising lines with levels of resistance to MLN have been selected. Our collaboration with key partners will remain steadfast until we eliminate MLN in Kenya and Africa. This is a commitment that KALRO will faithfully uphold,” said Dr. Eliud Kireger, Director General of KALRO.

Dr. Anne Wangai, KALRO’s Chief Researcher, who played a key role in reporting the disease in Kenya in 2011, adds, “The occurrence of MLN in Kenya was a new phenomenon that meant scientists had to initiate basic research to understand this new disease and seek urgent measures to manage it both the short and long term. Research will remain a pillar of MLN management, integrating various technologies that our farmers must adopt at their level to control the disease.”

The decisions from the conference will be critical for seed companies in Africa to produce and exchange MLN-free seed, and for helping smallholder farmers to effectively tackle MLN to safeguard their subsistence and livelihoods

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