The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has made US$13.8 million available to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture to develop banana varieties resistant to diseases and pests and to fund postgraduate research.
The five-year grant was announced on 23 October.
A statement by the IITA, which is headquartered in Nigeria, said that it expects the improved varieties to help farmers in Uganda and Tanzania to increase their yields by 30 per cent. The two countries produce over 50 per cent of all bananas grown in Africa.
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