"A devastating bacterium is attacking plants and soil. And if nothing is done, cabbage production could drop sharply throughout the Niayes region." The warning comes from agricultural experts and producers, who are calling for widespread mobilization and concerted action to eradicate this disease, which is decimating crops.

The cabbage interprofessional organization brought together all the producers in the sector in the Niayes area, from Keur Mbir Ndao to Diogo, from Cayar to Notto-Gouye-Diama, to discuss with stakeholders this phytosanitary problem that has been plaguing the region for two years, mainly affecting two varieties of cabbage. "We received samples in our laboratory that were sent to us for analysis, which showed the presence of a devastating cabbage bacterium, in the plants and in the soil samples that were taken," said Professor Nala Mbaye, a lecturer and researcher in the Department of Plant Biology at the Faculty of Science and Technology at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar.

Professor Mbaye realizes, through the producers' testimonies, that "this disease is raging practically throughout the Niayes area. The damage that has been observed over the past two years requires a synergy of actions at the level of all the actors involved, the producers, the technical departments of the Ministry of Agriculture, to succeed in controlling this disease, otherwise, with the extension that we see, it will permanently compromise cabbage production in the entire Niayes area, particularly in Keur Mbir Ndao and Notto-Gouye-Diama, where it is raging with extreme severity."

For the president of the Senegalese Cabbage Interprofessional Organization, "cabbage is disappearing in the Niayes region. From Notto-Gouye-Diama to Cayar, via Keur Mbir Ndao, hectares of cabbage have been devastated in recent years." For those in charge of the state's technical services, "concerted action is needed to find solutions and resolve this problem, which is causing significant losses and incalculable damage."