More Fruit Diversity for Food Security

At the end of the 20th century, the governments of Tanzania and Belgium embarked on an ambitious program to introduce disease-free materials. Now, more than 20 years later the effects of climate change are increasing and bringing an additional challenge. A significant negative correlation was found between the on-farm presence of the endemic East African Highland Bananas and a warmer and drier environment. Hence there is a tendency for the East African Highland Bananas to be absent on farms when the environment gets drier and warmer. We are therefore investing in capacity sharing and studying and conserving the surviving types, in setting up seed systems offering healthy true to type plantlets and introducing alternative varieties in the farms. We are engaging with local partners and sharing capacity with East African Banana scientists to join forces and empower East African Great Lakes region farmers to tackle the challenges of future climates. 

• Gene bank gap filling: conservation and evaluation of local diversity 
• On station characterization of growth in function of transpiration behavior of 12 wild diploid banana parents to identify sub-traits for drought tolerance under random soil moisture stress conditions at Sendusu Research Center 
• On station characterization of physiological and phenological diversity of East African highland bananas in relation to drought tolerance and anticipated climate change traits under field conditions at Kawanda 
• Citizen science on farm testing: Tricot evaluation of seven cultivars of banana on 112 farms in Kagera and Mbeya regions of Tanzania 
• Capacity sharing: Training of postgraduate students 

Other Project Members

• Mpoki Shimwela ([email protected])  
• Robooni Tumuhimbise ([email protected] or [email protected]) 
• Alex Barekye ([email protected] or [email protected]) 
• Moureen Nansamba ([email protected]) 
• Rony Swennen ([email protected]) 
• Brigitte Uwimana ([email protected])