Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata(L.) Walp.) is an important grain legume cultivated in most tropical and some temperate regions. It is one of the most widely adapted, versatile grain legumes of high nutritious value. Cowpea production across Africa accounts for approx.91 % of world output. Cowpea has an impact on nutrition as valuable protein source and livelihoods of small scale farmers and plays a key role in the life of many people, especially in developing countries. The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Nigeria, holds the largest cowpea germplasm collection worldwide. Many literature sources cite that biodiversity is constantly diminishing and exposed to different hazards accelerating the speed of biodiversity loss. To avoid future losses of cowpea genetic diversity it is important to assess the cowpea accession collection at IITA to get an overview about the current conservation status and to guide future sampling. For the present study a gap analysis is an evaluation technique to estimate the degree of coverage of already sampled regions, to identify regions that need additional sampling and those where no collections have been performed yet. First the country coverage of georeferenced cowpea accession was estimated. Then Eco geographical site descriptors (temperature, precipitation, length of growing period, altitude) were extracted to deter-mine areas with environmental conditions favoured by cowpea. Afterwards regions with similar environmental conditions were identified by using GIS techniques to predict areas where the possibility of filling gaps in the collection is most likely. Furthermore, this study used the spatial analysis tools FloraMapTM, HomologueTM,ArcGISTMand DIVA-GIS to identify potential areas for future conservation activities of cowpea. The geographical scope of the present study was focused on sub-Saharan Africa. Results indicated that cowpea can be found approx. between 15◦N and 20◦S. With respect to new collections main focus should be put on countries where so fare no collections have been done, but where the spatial analysis showed high probability of encountering cowpea —Burundi, Eritrea, Equatorial-Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Namibia and Rwanda respectively. In countries with few georeferenced accessions, existing no georeferenced passport data need to be complemented or new sampling should be carried out.

During the past several decades, significant progress has been made in reducing global hunger and malnutrition. The number of people suffering malnutrition, however, is rising again. The hidden costs and externalities in the agrifood systems are among the major contributors to various economic, social, and public health crises including food insecurity, zoonotic diseases, climate change, and malnutrition. Compounding the ongoing challenges facing the global agrifood systems, the COVID-19 pandemic, beginning in 2020, has intensified food insecurity and malnutrition in many parts of the world. Global food price indexes increased by more than 27.3 percent from the second half of 2020 to March 2021. Moreover, with many people losing their jobs during the COVID-19 outbreak and therefore facing a dramatic income decrease, the number of people confronted with food crises and extreme poverty increased significantly. Furthermore, the outbreak and prevalence of COVID-19 also increased regional inequalities in global food security, especially in Africa and the Middle East.

The tristeza virus and its vector Toxoptera citricidus are present in Guyana, as well as the susceptible rootstock sour orange. Indexing was carried out between 1964 and 1974 and interest was revived in 1982 but this has yet to be resumed

Second to Black Sigatoka (Mycosphaerella fijiensis), Moko (Pseudomonas solanacearum race 2) is the most threatening disease to plantains and bananas. No resistance has been found on commercial varieties. It is present throughout Central America, as well as in Trinidad, Grenada, Brazil, Surinam, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru and suspected in the Dominican Republic. Its detailed distribution in Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru is described. Symptoms, pathogenesis and survival of race 2, which is pathogenic and divided into SFR, the major disease agent on bluggoe, and A and B are described. Disease control by elimination of diseased plants by glyphosate injections is detailed. Good control was achieved in 70 % of infected farms with a 90 day fallow after injection

Damage to citrus is mainly due to citrus weevils (Diaprepes spp.), scale insects and aphids. Other minor pests are listed. Exocortis and Tristeza are absent but diseases of minor importance are greasy spot (Mycosphaerella citri) and melanose (Erisiphe sp.)