Interview with Priver Namanya Bwesigye
Priver Namanya Bwesigye, head of Uganda’s banana research programme at the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO), recounts how despite being a girl in a traditional society, her father encouraged her to go to school, which then allowed her to pursue a career in banana research.
How can we break tool-mediated spread of Xanthomonas wilt? Wash your garden tools with soap!
For the past 2 decades, Xanthomonas wilt of banana (aka XW) has severely compromised the livelihoods of millions of banana dependent households in the East and Central African (ECA) region. Where XW has occurred, it has reduced the availability of banana in households and markets; often increased food prices, food and income insecurity; led to loss of key ecosystem services (e.g. erosion control) and in general led to socio-economic insecurity. Like the coronavirus that quickly spreads within a susceptible human population, the bacterial pathogen that causes XW can disperse rapidly through a population of susceptible banana plants.
El papel de MusaLAC en la investigación pionera del plátano y en la anticipación de la amenaza de la raza tropical 4 de la marchitez por Fusarium en América Latina y el Caribe
La raza 4 Tropical de Fusarium fue recientemente reportada e Sullana, Perú, donde hace 10 años atrás MusaLAC celebró su Primer Congreso Latinoamericano y del Caribe de Plátanos y Bananos. En ese congreso, la amenaza de Foc R4T, y la necesidad de su prevención fue ampliamente discutida en el marco del cambio climático.
Virtual Symposium – Sept 2020
On 22nd September 2020, “The 4th Symposium on Exchange and Cooperation to Enhance Innovation for Agricultural Science and Technology in South & Southeast Asia” was held successfully in Kunming City, China.
Pacific collecting missions
Despite the motivation and dedication of the international banana community, there are still gaps in our understanding of banana diversity and its conservation. As an example, the 2016 Global Strategy for the Conservation and Use of Musa Genetic Resources highlighted gaps in the conservation of bananas typical to the Pacific region such as the cooking Maoli – Populou and Iholena and the rare, pro-vitamin A rich Fe’i bananas.
