Researchers at the National Agricultural Research Laboratories (NARL) in Kawanda [Uganda] have said they are ready to go for open- field trial of the genetically -modified banana, before it is released to the public in 2021.
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[O]pen-field trials … means that they will test the banana varieties with the farmers and the farming communities to make sure they can resist the bacterial wilt in different agro-ecological zones.
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The GM varieties are meant to resist banana bacterial wilt and they are also pro-vitamin A to fight malnutrition among most communities around the country.
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The banana bacterial wilt resistant gene was got from green pepper, which is an edible crop while the pro-Vitamin A gene, was got from a banana variety not grown in this region but only found in South Eastern Asia.
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These genes are added into the already existing varieties to make them resistant to banana bacterial wilt and become pro-vitamin A.
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Bacterial banana wilt was first reported in Uganda in 2001 – all regions were affected, with central and western regions most hit
It was estimated the country lost up $4bn in ten years from the wilt destruction – this is about 17 percent of the country’s GDP.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: Ugandans to Have GMO Matooke in 2021 – Researchers
