Genetically modified bananas for communities of the great lakes region of Africa
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Date
2020
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Academic Press
Abstract
Over 50 million people in the East and Central African region including Uganda,
Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, DR Congo, and Kenya depend on the East African
Highland banana (EAHB, AAA-EA, Musa spp.), a unique type of cooking bananas,
as a staple food and for income. East and Central Africa are considered a secondary
center of diversity for the EAHBs, also called Matooke. Annual regional production
is worth US$ 4.3 billion, which is about 5% of the East and Central African (ECA)
region’s gross domestic product (FAOSTAT, 2014). Banana has the unique advantage
of producing acceptable yields amid erratic rainfall, coupled with an allyear-
round fruiting characteristic. It is therefore, not surprising, that there is
relatively less poverty and food insecurity incidences among the bananadependent
communities. The banana’s extensive root system and leaf canopy have
environmental benefits in terms of reduced soil erosion and stabilizing agroecologies
(Karamura et al., 2016). Furthermore, the banana forestelike plantations capture
significant amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which is quickly
recycled into soil organic matter (Kamusingize et al., 2017).
Description
Keywords
Genetically modified bananas, Communities, Great lakes region, Africa
Citation
Priver, N., Jimmy, T., Stephen, B., Josephine, N., Jerome, K., & Wilberforce, T. (2020). Genetically modified bananas for communities of the great lakes region of Africa. In Genetically Modified and Irradiated Food (pp. 117-130). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-817240-7.00007-3