A genetically engineered banana created to improve the diet of millions of people in Africa is set to have its first human trial, according to Australian researchers. The trial will test the alpha and beta carotene-enriched banana’s effectiveness on vitamin A levels.
The project hopes to have the bananas growing in Uganda by 2020. They are currently being sent to the U.S. to participate in the six week trial.
“Good science can make a massive difference here in enriching staple crops such as Ugandan bananas with pro-vitamin A and providing poor and subsistence-farming populations with nutritionally rewarding food,” says Professor James Dale, a project leader.
The project is being conducted by the Queensland University of Technology and is backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. According to Dale, once the bananas are approved for cultivation, this technology could be used for crops in other countries such as Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and Tanzania.
