| Improving the management of banana and plantain genetic resources of Africa - a strategy towards improving the livelihoods of resource-poor farmers |
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Duration
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Three years
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| Total grant |
$854,450 |
| Donor |
Gatsby Charitable Foundation, in the framework of the Global Conservation Trust |
| Location |
Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Belgium |
| Goal |
To ensure that Musa germplasm of interest in Africa, which is held by INIBAP as part of its 'in trust' collection, is maintained in accordance with internationally agreed standards. |
| Brief description |
The project aims to support the technical upgrading of the INIBAP genebank in order to meet the conservation commitments agreed between IPGRI/INIBAP and FAO. In this respect, the project will focus on the following activities:
• Working in partnership with a laboratory in Africa, 600 Musa accessions of Africa origin/of interest to Africa will be placed in cryopreservation for long term storage.
Cryopreservation technology will be transferred to Africa and technicians trained;
• 400 accessions will be sent to field collections for rejuvenation and checking for trueness-to-type;
• A collecting mission will be held in the Congo basin to collect plantain diversity presently missing from existing ex situ collections;
• A conservation strategy for African Musa germplasm will be developed, based on the complementary use of in situ and ex situ methods.
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| Partners |
• Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
• African NARS
• Univeristy of Kisangani
• CARBAP
• NARO |
| Coordination |
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| Final report |
Conserving banana biodiversity for Africa: A strategy towards improving the livelihoods of resource-poor farmers |
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gatsby grant