Genetically engineered bananas resistant to Xanthomonas wilt disease and nematodes

Banana is an important staple food crop feeding more than 100 million Africans, but is subject to severe productivity constraints due to a range of pests and diseases. Banana Xanthomonas wilt caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum is capable of entirely destroying a plantation while nematodes can cause losses up to 50% and increase susceptibility to other pests and diseases. Development of improved varieties of banana is fundamental in order to tackle these challenges. However, the sterile nature of the crop and the lack of resistance in Musa germplasm make improvement by traditional breeding techniques either impossible or extremely slow. Recent developments using genetic engineering have begun to address these problems. Transgenic banana expressing sweet pepper Hrap and Pflp genes have demonstrated complete resistance against X. campestris pv. musacearum in the field. Transgenic plantains expressing a cysteine proteinase inhibitors and/or synthetic peptide showed enhanced resistance to a mixed species population of nematodes in the field. Here, we review the genetic engineering technologies which have potential to improve agriculture and food security in Africa

Market opportunities for Ugandan banana products: national, regional, and global perspectives

Banana (Musa spp.) is the most important food crop in Uganda, and it is also the most important income source for the majority of the Ugandan farmers, especially in the Western Ugandan Regions. Besides pests, diseases and declining soil fertility, marketing seems to be a major constraint to production and income generation in the banana sector. To address these problems, the project on Improvement of Banana Marketing and Utilization in Uganda, a joint venture of NARO/NBRP, Makerere University and Inernational Institute of Tropical Agriculture (ITTA), seeks new ways of marketing bananas nationally, regionally and globally. The paper discusses the findings of initial surveys on the status quo of banana marketing in Uganda. During a farm and household survey, data on banana supply, marketing and demand have beencollected and analysed. In a survey of secondary data, international banana markets have been evaluated. It is clear that, although the second biggest banana producer in the world, Uganda lags far behind in terms of trade shares. However, global markets are of high competition, high dynamics and a high diversification in terms of banana varieties and products. Conclusions are that, the domestic markets, for the fresh product of matooke, price and income elasticities are low, and productivity increases are not likely to yield revenue increases for farmers. What could be feasible, is re-organising the marketing chain, in favour of the farmers. Processing has various promising perspectives especially in the high elasticity juice and alcoholic beverages sector. Concerning international trade, Uganda faces high competition on saturated markets.Key factors are the re-organisation of domestic production to obtain quantities and qualities required on global markets. Niches like seasonal highs of prices, and organic fruit markets can be exploited

Market opportunities for Ugandan banana products: National, regional and global perspectives

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Farmer evaluation of dried banana based products

A farmer participatory evaluation of dried banana based products was conducted in various districts of Uganda. Bananas were dried using a tunnel solar dryer developed by Post Harvest Handling and Storage project (PHHS) of Kawanda Post-harvest Programme and improved by the National Banana Research Programme. The dried banana was milled into flour using a high speed rotary mill. Porridge and thick-porridge (ugali) were prepared using 100% banana flour, a mixture of banana-millet flour in the ratios of 8:2 and 9:1, and banana-millet-soybean in the ratio 7:2:1, banana-millet-soybean- maize in the ratio of 7:1:1:1 and banana-millet-cassava in the ratio of 7:2:1. Acceptability of the products was tested by farmers and scored on a hedonic scale. Statistical analysis showed the mixture of banana-millet-soy in ratio of 7:2:1 and that of banana-millet in a ratio of 8:2 were best for porridge and thick porridge (ugali), respectively. Key Words: Acceptability, farmer participatory, hedonic scale, Musa spp. RESUME Une évaluation participative des fermiers des produits secs dérivés de la banane était conduite dans plusieurs districts de l'Ouganda. Les banana étaient séchées en utilisant un séchoir solaire en forme de tunnel développé par le projet Post Harvest Handling and Storage (PHHS) de Kawanda Post-Harvest Programme et amélioré par le National Banana Programme. Les bananes séchées étaient transformées en poudre en utilisant un moulin du type rotary à grande vitesse. La bouillie et le foufou étaient préparés sur base de la banane (100%), du mélange banane et millet a un taux de 8:2 et 9:1, et banane-millet-soya à un taux de 7:2:1, banane-millet-soya-maïs a un taux de 7:2:1. L'acceptabilité des produits était testée par les fermiers et marquée sur une échelle hédonique. L'analyse statistique montre que le mélange banane-millet-soya au taux de 7:2:1 et celui de la banane-millet au taux de 8:2 étaient les meilleurs pour la bouillie et l'ugali, respectivement. Mots Clés: Acceptabilité, participation des fermiers, echelle hédonique, Musa spp. African Crop Science Journal Vol.12(1) 2004: 27-3