As part of GMO Answers’ GPS on GMOs series, GMO Answers is highlighting some of science and agriculture’s revolutionary female leaders and their research in specific parts of the world. The following post is the first installment of this series and highlights the cutting-edge research being led by Leena Tripathi, Principal Scientist and Deputy Regional Director of East Africa Hub of International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). Her research focuses on finding a solution to Banana Xanthomonas wilt, a disease devastating the banana crop in the region.
Importance of Bananas
The banana is an important fruit crop globally, and is one of the most important staple food crops in East Africa, particularly for Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda. It feeds more than 100 million Africans and is mainly grown by smallholder subsistence farmers. Annual global production of bananas is about 145 million tons and approximately a third of that production is in Africa. Uganda is the world’s third largest grower with a total annual production of about 10.5 million tons. It is Africa’s biggest producer and consumer of bananas. Annual per capita consumption of bananas in Uganda is the highest in the world at 0.70 kilogram daily per person. The traditional meal called ‘Matooke’ — a mashed meal consisting of green bananas (plantain), which are peeled, boiled (or steamed in banana leaves), is the main food for Ugandans.
Xanthomonas Wilt Disease
The production of bananas is affected by several diseases and pests. Banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW) is a bacterial disease threatening the production of bananas and the livelihoods of millions of growers in East Africa. The disease was originally reported in Ethiopia and first identified in Uganda in 2001 and subsequently in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Burundi. This disease affects all types of bananas in Africa. Economic losses of about $2 to 8 billion have been reported over a decade in East Africa. BXW starts with wilting of leaves or male buds and premature ripening of fruits, leading to the death of plants and rotting of fruits. It causes severe infections, which can cause a complete loss of a plantation. Once BXW occurs in a field, there is no option other than removing all infected plants. BXW disease is transmitted mainly by insects, contaminated farming tools and infected planting materials.
The economic impact of the disease is potentially disastrous because it destroys whole plants leading to complete yield loss, and farmers do not have the option of relocating to new planting sites that are infection free. The production losses are about 65 to 80 percent in Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, and 40 to 50 percent in other countries in East Africa. It causes crop production losses of more than $500 million every year. Solutions have to be found fast before this disease destabilizes food security in the region.
Read the rest of the story at GMO Answers - saving East African bananas.