A genetically modified East African Highland Banana variety is set to be released commercially in east Africa in 2019, the lead researcher have said.
Australia’s Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Prof. James Dale told journalists in Nairobi that the banana will be enriched with vitamin A.
"In order to address the high level of micronutrients deficiency in east Africa, we hope to release the East African Highland Banana by 2019," Dale said during the 69th Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa.
The conference brought together over 100 stakeholders to review biotech developments in Africa. Dale said that field trials of the genetically modified banana have been going on in Uganda since 2010.
The 15 million U.S. dollars project is a collaboration of the National Research Organization of Uganda, QUT and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.The target is to develop an orange fleshed biotech banana rich in both Beta carotene and iron.
The researcher said that there is currently a variety of banana known as the Asupina, which is common in Papua New Guinea rich in beta carotene. "However, due to its bitter taste, it has not spread to other parts of the world," he said.He added that the improved fruit crop will have a positive effect on health as vitamin A deficiencies have been linked to blindness and low immunity levels.
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| NAKURU. Laborers offload bananas imported from Uganda at a market in Nakuru, 140 kilometers northwest of Nairobi. Uganda is the world’s second largest producer of bananas, locally known as ‘Matooke’, yielding over 10 million tons a year but a bacterial disease ‘Xanthomonas Wilt’ has affected the yield of the East Africa valuable crop, and researchers have embarked on genetic modification trials to tackle the problem. PHOTO - SHEIKH MAINA |
He said that the banana variety will initially be released in Uganda and later in Kenya, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Burundi.
"Our target population is to reach at least 125 million consumers," he said.
Dale, who is also the Director Centre for Tropical Crops and Bio commodities said that micronutrients are among the biggest public health challenges in east African region.
"The most common deficiencies involve vitamin A, iron, zinc, iodine and folic acid. However, micronutrients deficiency is normally tackled in developed countries through use of supplements, " he said.
