CGIAR System Organization - Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers
CGIAR System Organization - Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers
09/17/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 09/17/2024 05:27
Global collaboration for banana innovation: IITA and CATAS team up to boost banana sustainability and productivity
Banana is one of the most important staple crops worldwide, following rice, wheat, and maize. In Africa, bananas and plantains are also an important source of income for 5.6 million households and are cultivated on 3.9 million hectares. The forecast is that the production of bananas and plantains over the next 30 years will become 60 million tons annually after cassava and vegetables and ahead of any cereal.
As a mandate crop in IITA, the institute has developed a large expertise in cooking banana and plantain over the past 40 years to improve yields via breeding for pest and disease resistance, seed systems, plant health, and production. The acceleration of the breeding cycle to develop new varieties faster and the release of new varieties has especially attracted more attention from China.
Therefore, Professors Jianghui Xie and Jingyang Li of the Tropical Crops Genetic Resources Institute (TCGRI), Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Hainan (CATAS) visited the IITA on 3 September. They visited the Genetic Resource Center and the plantain breeding program.