2013-06-07 | permalink

Field trials with bacteria-resistant GE bananas to begin Kenya in 2014

Confined field trials on Genetically Modified banana variety genetically engineered to resist a bacterial disease that has been decimating crops across Africa will begin in Kenya in 2014, a researcher said on Thursday. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Plant Biotechnologists Dr. Leena Tripathi told journalists in Nairobi that the research conducted so far in Uganda shows that the variety holds a lot of promise. “We have proof of concept for bacteria wilt resistance and so another set of trials will be conducted in Kenya from 2014,” Tripathi said during an Open Forum for Agricultural Biotechnology conference (OFAB) in Nairobi.

• Global Times, China: GMO banana trials to begin Kenya in 2014