Gates gives banana wrap Down Under

The world’s second richest man has backed a “groundbreaking” biotechnology research project through researcher Professor James Dale at the Queensland University of Technology.

Professor Dale is working to produce vitamin A enriched bananas for production in sub-Saharan Africa, with a $10 million contribution from the Gates Foundation.

Professor Dale attended the Press Club lunch in Canberra last month and also met with Bill and Melinda Gates in December 2011, to discuss progress of his field trials at Innisfail, North Queensland.

In his speech, Mr Gates acknowledged the research and said the banana was an important crop in Africa, central to the diets of people living in Uganda.

“The kids in Uganda have huge deficiencies in iron and vitamin A and so the goal that Professor Dale took on was to breed these bananas, in this case using a genetic technique…so they express a lot more iron and vitamin A,” he said.

“Once you get this (outcome) you reduce this stunting and malnutrition and this lack of brain development.”

Mr Gates said the research project was progressing well and increasing the banana crop’s iron and vitamin A content would be “very magical”.

“It doesn't cost any more to grow these new bananas than it did to grow the old ones,” he said.

“So once that seed is in place, you really are done.”

Professor Dale said he was excited to hear Mr Gates recognise his work with bananas during the Press Club address.

He said the billionaire philanthropist was very supportive of the project and potential technology outcomes.

“Bananas are the world’s eighth most important crop in terms of production and in terms of value,” he said.

“But that’s not well recognised around the world because in places like Australia we think of the banana as a dessert crop but in the tropics and sub tropics it’s considered a staple crop.

“The Gates Foundation has very recently taken on bananas as one of its core crops and that means expanding its nutritional value and production potential, with better disease resistance.

“Resistance is the big constraint for small scale farmers that can’t afford fungicides.

“The idea is to start putting enhanced micronutrients into crops that are disease resistant either naturally or through genetic technology.”

Professor Dale said Australia’s views on GMs were progressing slowly but the debate needed greater focus and understanding on how the technology can help feed third world countries and overcome nutritional deficiencies.

“It’s really important the general public starts noticing the advancements that are made in producing these technologies and understanding the threats to our future,” he said.

“Climate change will have a massive impact in future, not only on third world countries and advanced countries but also Australia.

“To solve the problems with world food production and world food security in future, we’re going to need all the tools we can get our hands on.

“The general public will have to start recognising GMs as one of the tools we need in our tool box - it’s not the only one - if we’re going to avoid a real crisis.”

Professor Dale said his work with the Gates Foundation was targeting Uganda initially as one of the world’s biggest banana producers but would also start looking at West African countries where the banana is also a staple food crop but its production presents a different set of challenges.