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Uganda will this week import genetically modified sweet banana plants from
Belgium for field trials. The transgenic plants ? plants that possess a gene
or genes that have been transferred from a different species ? are resistant
to pests and disease by Esther Nakkazi .
The GM sweet banana locally known as ?bogoya? and mostly eaten as a dessert,
will from this month, be tested at the Kawanda Agricultural Research
Institute (KARI) for resistance to the notorious bacterial wilt and Black
Sigatoka fungal disease.

Field results are expected within 5-10 years.

The new variety is expected to save up to 50 per cent of yields that are
destroyed by pests and diseases thus increasing production of the country?s
staple crop, which is also popular in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and the
Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to Geoffrey Arinaitwe, the Ugandan scientist who was involved in
the development variety, if the field trials succeed, Uganda will be the
provider of the technology in Africa.

Mr Arinaitwe said after the field trials in Kawanda, the best transgenic
line will be selected and multiplied. Later, the technology will be
transferred to highland bananas locally known as matooke and to the plantain
variety.

The banana wilt is the number one fungal disease that affects banana
production world wide. The wilt wipes out at least 90 per cent of the fruit
on the trees it affects. An infected tree is poisonous to both humans and
animals.

Scientists say the commonest way in which the disease is spread is through
pollination by bees that pick pollen from the female of the plant and
transport it to male banana plants for cross-pollination.

However, with the GM banana variety, scientists say there is no risk of
contamination of other plants and to the environment in case of a disease
breakout.

?The gene within the GM plant cannot be transferred to another plant because
the banana will not produce fertile pollen. So there is no risk of gene
contamination for other plants and the environment,? said Mr Arinaitwe.

Bananas are cultivated in 80 tropical countries, representing the fourth
most consumed food crop in the world. Efforts in the region include, a virus
resistant sweet potato currently undergoing field trials in Kenya, while
insect-resistant maize and cotton will be tested soon.

Pest and disease-resistant GM crops have significantly reduced the use of
chemical pesticides. The most important potential benefit of GM crops will
be their contribution to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of reducing
poverty and hunger by 50 per cent in 2015.

Prof Jocelyn Webster, executive director of AfricaBio a research
organisation said cultivation of GM crops is one way of increasing food
security in Africa. ?These crops are not the final solution, but a vital
tool in the fight against food insecurity in Africa and to make the
continent less dependant on food aid,? she said.

The Uganda National Council for Science and Technology has already provided
a permit for the importation of the transgenic materials and the test site
has been prepared.

Construction of a screen house to test the crop, said Tilahun Zeweldu, a
biotechnology advisor at the Agricultural Productivity Enhancement
Programme, working under aid agency Usaid.

Almost 24.5 per cent of incomes in Ugandan households come from bananas,
while 70 per cent of farmers grow bananas as a staple food as well as for
making local alcoholic brew and for spirits for export.

Andrew Kiggundu, a plant biotechnologist at KARI said strategic crops such
as cassava resistant to the mosaic virus, sweet potatoes rich in Vitamin A
and cotton have been earmarked for testing before the end of the year at
Namulonge Research Institute and the National Agricultural Research
Organisation.

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