Maize lethal necrosis, a corn disease first found in Kenya in 2011, has spread to eastern Uganda in a possible threat to the country’s food security, according to plant-disease researcher CABI.
Uganda produces about 2.7 million metric tons of corn per year and exports the grain to South Sudan, Tanzania and Kenya, so the disease’s spread could have an impact on other countries. Maize lethal necrosis was found in Kenya’s Rift Valley province in 2011 and 2012 and has also been observed in Tanzania, according to CABI.