Farmers may think crops are healthy until harvest; the signs only show on roots.
 BBC News by Matt McGrath (excerpts):  UN scientists are warning that a virus attacking the cassava plant is nearing an epidemic in parts of Africa.  Cassava is one of the world's most important crops, providing up to a third of the calorie intake for many people.  The food and agriculture organization of the UN says the situation is urgent and are calling for an increase in funding for surveillance.  None of the varieties of cassava being distributed to farmers in Africa appears to be resistant to the virus.  Cassava is a global food source of particular importance in Africa, as it does well on poor soils with low rainfall, but like many crops, it is threatened by a number of pests and diseases that hinder its production.  Viral infections have periodically wiped out the crop in some regions, leading to famine.  Now the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) says that another virus is threatening the crop in large parts of East Africa.  Scientists say the Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD) is on the verge of becoming an epidemic.   It first appeared in Uganda in 2006, but in the past few months has been found in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo for the first time.  Robson says that a particular problem with this virus is that farmers may think they have a healthy crop, until the harvest, as the symptoms only show on the roots.  

 Commentary:  The prophets of old foretold the devastating drought, famine and crop failures in these last days, "Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not been mindful of the rock of your strength, therefore you will plant pleasant plants and set it with strange slips; in the day you will make your plant grow and in the morning you will make your seed flourish, but the harvest will be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow" Isaiah 17:10-11.  Africans are dying from drought and lack of crops, but this virus is more grief, just as the prophet Isaiah said.  God means business; He is God.  There are people in this world who live whatever lifestyle they choose and think the day of judgment is never going to come, because God loves everybody so much.  He does love his creation, but the law of God must be kept and there is a law of sowing and reaping (Galatians 6:7).  "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to what he has done, whether it is good or bad" II Corinthians 5:10.  There are several large Christian organizations working in Africa to get water, food and the Word of God to these people.  We need to pray that the African people will receive the Lord and pray, which is their only true hope for relief.  Judgment not only pertains to this life, but also eternity.