{"id":65225,"date":"2024-02-14T06:41:06","date_gmt":"2024-02-14T06:41:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/agric-biotechnology-could-save-banana-varieties-ravaged-by-panama-disease-experts"},"modified":"2024-02-14T07:07:37","modified_gmt":"2024-02-14T07:07:37","slug":"agric-biotechnology-could-save-banana-varieties-ravaged-by-panama-disease-experts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/agric-biotechnology-could-save-banana-varieties-ravaged-by-panama-disease-experts","title":{"rendered":"Agric biotechnology could save banana varieties ravaged by Panama disease – experts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>Scientists in Rwanda have made a case for genetically modified banana varieties that are resistant to the Panama disease \u2013 a devastating wilting disease of bananas caused by a soil-inhabiting fungus species \u2013 to be able to save two varieties that are on the verge of extinction.<\/p>\n

Genetic modification [of crops] is a technology that involves inserting DNA into the genome of an organism.<\/p>\n

Panama disease, one of the most severe threats facing the banana industry worldwide, has, in the past 10 years, spread from Southeast Asia,where it was restricted for almost 20 years, to other parts of the world including Africa. The two banana varieties affected by the disease are locally known as Kamaramasenge (a type of small sweet banana) and Gros Michel bananas.<\/p>\n

The disease has no cure and no banana varieties are resistant to it.<\/p>\n

During a capacity building workshop for journalists in agricultural biotechnology, in Musanze District, The New Times caught up with Pacifique Nshimiyimana, a banana farmer and agricultural scientist at Alliance for Science Rwanda, who shed light on the disease and the need for agriculture biotechnology as a solution to save the staple food in Rwanda.<\/p>\n

The banana sub-sector covers about 23 per cent of the entire cultivated land in Rwanda.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cThe banana crop is among major staple foods in Rwanda that most Rwandans consume every day. There are popular varieties such as Kamara, a type of small sweet banana and Gros Michel bananas, which provide ripe bananas, that are on the verge of extinction due to Panama disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther varieties under extinction include those known as Gisubi and Kayinja that are used to produce banana beer. Genetically modified banana varieties could save them from extinction.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said that the disease persists in the soil for a period of 35 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt requires cutting down the whole banana plantation when the field is attacked, and replacing it with other varieties. That is why some varieties are disappearing. Kamara, and Gros Michel varieties could totally disappear in the next few years. Scientists in Australia have already produced genetically modified banana varieties that are resistant to Panama disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

Due to Panama disease affecting the two varieties, the prices have gone up on the market.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne small bunch of Karama banana type is Rwf1,000 while one ripe banana of Gros Michel banana is between Rwf150 and Rwf100. Any solution that could save this banana type is needed,\u201d said Godelive Akimana, a fruit vendor in Musanze District.<\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s first genetically modified fruit sent for approval<\/p>\n

Scientists in Australia submitted the first genetically modified fruit of banana to regulators there for approval.<\/p>\n

The banana fruit, known as QCAV-4, has been genetically modified to resist a fungus known as Panama disease tropical race 4 (TR4), which is threatening the banana industry.<\/p>\n

If approved, it could be the first GM banana to be approved worldwide.<\/p>\n

A survey in Rwanda, Burundi, north-western Tanzania (Kagera and Kigoma regions) and eastern DR Congo (South Kivu Province), to investigate the distribution and incidence of Panama disease found that it is generally high in the region, as 54.1 percent of all farms had a disease incidence higher than 40 percent, with Tanzania having the highest (63.6 percent).<\/p>\n

The disease was first reported on two commercial banana farms in 2013 in Mozambique.<\/p>\n

According to Athanase Nduwumuremyi, a senior scientist at Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) who is also coordinator of Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa (OFAB) in Rwanda, GM crops that are resistant to diseases could address food insecurity and malnutrition once adopted.<\/p>\n

\u201cUrbanization is reducing arable land and 1.4 million hectares of arable land currently can\u2019t feed over 13 million population if we do not embrace technology to increase production on a small scale since one farmer in Rwanda grows crops on 0.6 hectare as average. There is optimism that GM crops could be used because the law to use GM crops has been passed by parliament,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

While conventional methods can produce new crop varieties within a period of over 10 years, he said, GMO biotechnology could take two years.<\/p>\n

In December 2023, Rwanda passed a bill governing GMO crops.<\/p>\n

Rwanda is finalising a legal and regulatory framework for safe use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), according to Patrick Karangwa, the Director General of Agriculture Modernisation at the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources.<\/p>\n

Members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA)\u2019s Committee on Agriculture, Tourism and Natural Resources also carried out oversight activities to assess policies and laws on GMOs within the East African Community.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. Scientists in Rwanda have made a case for genetically modified banana varieties that are resistant to the Panama disease \u2013 a devastating wilting disease of bananas caused by a soil-inhabiting fungus species \u2013 to be able to save two varieties that are on the verge of extinction. Genetic modification [of crops] is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":65223,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,15],"tags":[760,763,5035,5038,4392,5037,5036,758,5034],"class_list":["post-65225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-rwanda","tag-banana-crop","tag-banana-disease","tag-food-security","tag-gm-crops","tag-panama-disease","tag-rwanda","tag-staple-food"],"yoast_head":"\nAgric biotechnology could save banana varieties ravaged by Panama disease - experts - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Scientists in Rwanda have made a case for genetically modified banana varieties that are resistant to the Panama disease ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/agric-biotechnology-could-save-banana-varieties-ravaged-by-panama-disease-experts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Agric biotechnology could save banana varieties ravaged by Panama disease - experts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Scientists in Rwanda have made a case for genetically modified banana varieties that are resistant to the Panama disease ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/agric-biotechnology-could-save-banana-varieties-ravaged-by-panama-disease-experts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-14T06:41:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-14T07:07:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2024\/02\/sm_1707881794.172559.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"562\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/agric-biotechnology-could-save-banana-varieties-ravaged-by-panama-disease-experts#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/agric-biotechnology-could-save-banana-varieties-ravaged-by-panama-disease-experts\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Agric biotechnology could save banana varieties ravaged by Panama disease – experts\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-14T06:41:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-14T07:07:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/agric-biotechnology-could-save-banana-varieties-ravaged-by-panama-disease-experts\"},\"wordCount\":771,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/agric-biotechnology-could-save-banana-varieties-ravaged-by-panama-disease-experts#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2024\/02\/sm_1707881794.172559.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Rwanda\",\"banana crop\",\"banana disease\",\"Food Security\",\"GM crops\",\"Panama disease\",\"Rwanda\",\"staple food\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/agric-biotechnology-could-save-banana-varieties-ravaged-by-panama-disease-experts#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/agric-biotechnology-could-save-banana-varieties-ravaged-by-panama-disease-experts\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/agric-biotechnology-could-save-banana-varieties-ravaged-by-panama-disease-experts\",\"name\":\"Agric biotechnology could save banana varieties ravaged by Panama disease - 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