Better bananas for Africa

This project illustrates the way that engagement can maximise the impact of research, including on an international scale.

Professor James Dale of QUT's Centre for Tropical Crops and Biocommodities is one of the world's leading plant biotechnology researchers with a particular interest in bananas. Through his research locally, he has pioneered the use of 'biofortification' in bananas - a technique that uses our knowledge of the DNA structure of plant species to improve the nutrient content of bananas.

Professor Dale with other QUT researchers has established a strong partnership with Uganda's National Agricultural Research Organisation to apply this research to the issue of nutritional health in Africa. This technology is particularly relevant in Uganda for two reasons:

1. bananas are the staple food (each Ugandan eats an average of one kilogram of bananas each day), and
2. the banana variety most commonly grown in Uganda is low in vital nutrients such as iron, vitamin E and pro-vitamin A

If successful, the project will provide major benefits to all East African nations which grow the highland bananas.

The next stage will be to conduct nutritional biofortification trials on Australian Cavendish bananas and then provide the techniques to Ugandan scientists for application to their local bananas. A critical element of the project involves a Ugandan PhD student and a Kenyan Masters working with the project team as the techniques are trialled. The ultimate goal is to create a sustainable system independent of QUT.

The $5 million grant received from the Grand Challenges in Global Health Initiative (funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) will see the project extended to Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda.