IRIN News Examines A. Annua Farming for Malaria Drug Production in East Africa
IRIN News on Wednesday examined the East African industry of cultivating the plant Artemisia annua, which supplies the key ingredient for artemisinin-based combination therapies to treat malaria. Although the plant is not native to East Africa, the area is the "third most important growing region in the world" after China and Vietnam, Nigel Bremner, commercial manager of Botanical Extracts EPZ, said.According to Bremner, farmers began cultivating A. annua 12 years ago, and BEEPZ first contracted farmers to plant the crop in 2002. In addition, the United Kingdom's Department for International Development and the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis in 2004 began offering grants for large commercial farming of A. annua in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. In 2007, BEEPZ completed an artemisinin extraction plant in Kenya and provided Novartis with enough artemisinin for more than 22 million ACTs. According to IRIN News, A. annua farming in 2009 will support about 4,000 farmers growing more than 4,000 hectares of the plant, an increase from the 2,000 to 3,000 hectares grown last year. One hectare of farmland can typically yield about two tons of dry A. annua leaves, and BEEPZ pays farmers about $550 to $600 per ton of dry leaf. The company in 2006 paid $1.7 million to farmers for the crop.
The cultivation of A. annua does not require much fertilizer, and there are few pest problems associated with the crop, IRIN News reports. According to Bremner, the quality of the East African A. annua surpasses that of China and Vietnam; however, BEEPZ still is working to improve its artemisinin extraction capabilities. In addition, the company is discussing technical cooperation with Chinese firms. According to IRIN News, the United Nations General Assembly in December 2008 welcomed the Global Malaria Action Plan, which calls for "the financing and scaling up of artemisinin production and procurement, as appropriate, to meet the increased need" (IRIN News, 1/21). This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
