Uganda tests GM bananas

According to the newspaper East African, which is published in Nairobi, Uganda will soon begin field trials with a genetically modified banana variety. The manipulated fruit is said to be more resistant to pests and disease than common varieties. The GM banana was developed at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium in cooperation with the Ugandan National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO). It is reported that the field trials will be conducted at the Kawanda Research Institute in Kampala. According to the newspaper report, the Ugandan approval agency has already given the green light for the tests. The researchers hope that the genetic modification can be transferred to other varieties too, for example the cooking banana, which is a staple food in East Africa. In recent years, farmers in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania have had to deal with losing up to 60% of their crops due to disease and infestations of pests. However, there is still no law in place in Uganda on how to handle genetically modified organisms. Without such legislation, a successfully tested GM banana cannot be approved for cultivation. (ell)