BARNESA

Research may save future banana cultivation

dianah — Mon, 17 Feb 2014 10:23:17 +0000

Bananas are the cheapest fruit in the produce aisle today, but due to climate change and the lack of genetic diversity among the banana crop, the price to produce and export this fruit is increasing.

This is according to Brian Machovina, a researcher of the Department of Biological Sciences, who studied the impact climate change will have on banana plantations in Latin America within the next 50 years, although the effects of extreme weather can already be seen. “It’s starting to affect banana crops right now,” said Machovina.

Machovina presented his study, “Climate change driven shifts in the extent and location of areas suitable for export banana production,” at a conference hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Ecuador last month. In the meeting, Machovina modeled the future of Ecuador’s banana plantation in the midst of climate change alongside Germán A. Calberto Sánchez, associate scientist on commodity crops and climate change at Bioversity International.

He said the purpose of the presentation was to provide Ecuador with information so they can determine the future of their banana crops. However, Machovina informed the U.N. that Ecuador will not suffer climate change as severe as other countries in Latin American. “They were pleased to hear that,” he said. Banana crops are a $2 billion industry and Ecuador is the number one exporter in the world, distributing three times as many bananas as the second largest exporter, Costa Rica. More..

Share your crop knowledge

Bioversity Banana Team — Mon, 03 Feb 2014 12:52:35 +0000

Help identify stress-tolerant species

Bioversity International is conducting a survey (Deadline: 7 February) to assess perspectives from around the world on which traditional crops are tolerant of stressful growing conditions. This is part of an effort to document and draw attention to the role of traditional crops in climate change adaptation under the IFAD NUS (Neglected and Underutilized Species) project and CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).
There is a wide diversity of minor crops and landraces that form a valuable part of farmer’s and communities’ livelihoods. Greater use of these traditional crops could be integral in building resilience , as many are tolerant to harsh conditions linked to climate change such as extreme weather (drought, heat, flooding) and high pest pressure.

If you are an agricultural researcher, someone working with farmer communities, a farmer or a gardener, we appreciate your input into this investigation. We have 14 questions that take only a few minutes to answer.

The results will be useful in guiding decisions on which crops should receive greater research attention and be prioritized in climate change adaptation strategies.

More information here

Click here to start the survey

Nominations open for ‘The World Academy of Sciences Prizes 2014′

dianah — Wed, 22 Jan 2014 12:01:03 +0000

Deadline: 28 February 2014

The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) is inviting nominations from all its members as well as science academies, national research councils, universities and scientific institutions in developing and developed countries for TWAS Prizes 2014. The major aim of the award program is to recognize and support outstanding achievements made by scientists. Follow more on this link

Costa Rica to host International Banana Congress

dianah — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 07:53:35 +0000

The event, organised by national banana corporation Corbana, will focus on technical and commercial challenges facing the banana business today

Managing the risk posed to global banana production by diseases such as Black Sigatoka and Panama disease will be one of the key topics up for discussion at the V International Banana Congress, which is taking place in Costa Rica in February. With a highly aggressive new strain of Panama disease spreading to new production areas, delegates will hear from experts on the latest methods of controlling its spread, including biological and genetic methods that are showing promise. more…

New Products from Banana stalks to raise Farmers’ Income

dianah — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 07:00:26 +0000

Banana stalks have industrial uses that can give banana growers additional income, government-funded research has found.

Banana stalk fiber may be used in pulp paper production and composite fiber boards, with researchers noting that the stalk is also a source of dietary extenders for meat products such as burgers, frankfurters and ham. Readmore

Banana Peduncle explored anew

Initially underutilized and left to waste, the banana peduncle is now considered as an agricultural innovation with various potentials that can significantly improve farming, health, and income in Manila Philippine. “Fiber and juice are the main components …

Banana Fungus poses global risk

dianah — Tue, 07 Jan 2014 09:18:24 +0000

A devastating fungal disease has hit a leading variety of banana in Africa and Middle East. There are now fears that the world’s major banana production in Latin America will be affected. Read more:

Towards a better access to literature on bananas

Bioversity Banana Team — Wed, 30 Oct 2013 09:50:43 +0000

A new version of Musalit, the largest repository of references on banana, was recently put online. The new Musalit interface provides better access to documents and improved search functionalities to help users navigate the database’s close to 15,000 records. In addition to offering more search fields, it also makes it possible to refine the results of a search by language, author, keyword or type of document, to name only a few. Users can also produce bibliographies by selecting records and exporting them in citation format, as well as save a search as a unique URL. The results will be automatically updated with any new record matching the search criteria.

Read more about the database on Promusa blog

Look for publications on Musalit: (www.musalit.org) and take this opportunity to check if all your published papers on banana are recorded in the database. If you want to add a reference, correct an error in a record or provide missing information, contact Leïla Er-Rachiq

BARNESA Steering Committee Meeting

dianah — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 11:44:38 +0000

The BARNESA Steering Committee meeting is on going 15^th-18^th October.

BARNESA Steering Committee meeting was officially opened on 15/10/2013 by the Deputy Director General NARO-Uganda Dr. Imelda Kashaija. Have a look to the report of the BARNESA Meeting 2011.

Second announcement of the ISHS/ProMusa Symposium: Unravelling the banana’s genomic potential

Bioversity Banana Team — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 13:48:16 +0000

The upcoming ISHS/ProMusa Symposium will be held as one of the symposia of the 29th International Horticultural Congress in Brisbane, Australia on 17-22 August, 2014.
Banana acts as a starchy staple food crop for approximately 500 million people, particularly those in the least developed countries, where many poor families are involved in its cultivation and many others benefit as consumers. In many parts of the world, productivity remains well below the optimum and, in certain areas, pitifully poor. Banana is also a potential gold mine of vitamins and micronutrients. With the banana genome recently unravelled, that potential is now more than ever ready to be exploited by the scientific community beyond boundaries not yet imagined. The genome sequence provides access to the plant’s over 36,000 genes, making it possible to identify those genes responsible for particular traits, such as disease resistance, dwarfism, fruit quality and many more, and opening up many exciting new opportunities.
This symposium will take stock of ongoing research efforts with the impact of the recently sequenced genome but also other areas of research. Special attention will be given to Fusarium wilt tropical race 4, which is already a major problem in Asia and poses a huge threat for banana production in Africa and Latin America. The contribution of banana to human health and nutrition will also be highlighted, with a special focus on the crop’s diversity.
More symposium information here

Just published

Bioversity Banana Team — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 16:39:50 +0000

Bananas and plantains: Towards sustainable global production and improved use

The proceedings of the ISHS-ProMusa symposium are available.

You can read the abstracts of the papers presented by regional scientists on the Latest publications pages.

Leaping and learning: linking smallholder farmers in Africa to markets

Policy Analysis and Advocacy Programme (PAAP) Newsletter Vol 16 No. 14

How can smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa use a combination of agricultural growth and links to markets to raise their incomes and reduce poverty and hunger? more