Lominda Afedraru
Orange-colored bananas? New variety packed with 10x the vitamin A developed in Uganda provides essential nutrients for children and pregnant women – if approved
Research has shown promising results, with the transgenic banana variety having 100 percent vitamin A content. The fortified variety has ...
African agricultural scientists cite continent-wide double standard in embracing GM COVID vaccines while blocking GM crops
Most African countries are still in the early stages of COVID-19 vaccination dissemination, if they’ve begun imports of the shots ...
Banned in Uganda: While the Irish potato faces disease and climate change, politics stymie farmers eager to adopt still unapproved GM seeds
It's a five-hour drive into the western part of Uganda to Kachwekano Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute (KaZARDI), where ...
Climate change is roiling the African continent. With cutting-edge biotech solutions largely blocked, governments rely on tweaks of more traditional technologies to boost output
While Africa is currently responsible for a negligible amount of total global greenhouse gas emissions, the continent is under significant ...
African biotechnology advance: Vaccine breakthrough could prevent ‘catastrophic’ tick-borne diseases that cost farmers $19B annually
Livestock breeding is expected to be one of the engines of economic growth in Africa as it struggles to recover ...
Facing disease crisis, Ugandan farmers say they’ll illegally grow GMO cassava to feed their families, increase yields
Cassava is one of the most important food crops in the Africa, a primary component of the rural economy. It ...
If Africa adopts biotech crops, will anti-GMO Europe retaliate against the continent’s most important trading partner?
How would Europe react if GMO crops became commonplace in Africa? ...
Plans to introduce GMO crops in disarray, legislators angry after Uganda’s president rejects GMO cultivation law for second time
The lawmakers could attempt to enact the legislation without the president’s signature ...
CRISPR and other new breeding techniques could be key to unlocking potential of global wheat production
Scientists and policy makers are calling for wider use of new breeding techniques ...
People in Africa eat GMO foods. So why do they oppose new crops developed by their own scientists?
GM foods are already sold in supermarkets throughout Africa, but the fear remains ...
Uganda’s anti-GMO activists blamed for stonewalling nation’s new biosafety rules
A campaign by non-governmental organizations is determined to keep Uganda free of GMOs ...
Quest for disease and pest-resistant rice: Ugandan researchers turn to hybrid, GMO breeding programs
Key crop researchers are pushing for the development and eventual commercialization of GMO varieties tailored to suit Uganda's needs ...
Uganda GMO banana research progresses despite legal uncertainty
The Ugandan researchers who have been working since 2005 to breed more nutritious bananas say their progress won’t be hindered ...
New biotech crop-breeding technologies struggle for traction across much of Africa
"Multinational companies from the developed world don’t want any scientific progress going on in Africa," says Ugandan researcher ...
Uganda’s young cassava farmers want access to GMO crops
Though Uganda’s Parliament passed a biosafety bill [the week of November 26], it remains unclear whether it will benefit a ...
Ugandan researchers look to biotechnology to bolster food production in the face of climate change
As the impact of climate change continues to grow worldwide, farmers are likely to face new challenges in the form ...
Vitamin-A fortified GMO banana may finally debut in Uganda in 2021, 16 years after research began
Ugandan scientists are eying a 2021 release date for genetically modified bananas fortified with vitamin A, provided the nation passes ...
Ugandan researchers hit the road to battle anti-GMO propaganda
As Uganda continues to grapple with its biotech future, scientists have launched an initiative to help local farmers better understand ...
Scientists can save one of Uganda’s staple crops with genetic engineering—if lawmakers will let them
Ugandan scientists are accelerating their outreach to lawmakers to make them aware of improved crops like disease-resistant cassava .... Cassava, ...
Why Ugandan banana breeders say it’s critical to add genetic engineering to their toolbox
Ugandan researchers have been successful at developing robust hybrid bananas through conventional breeding techniques. Yet they see a strong need ...
Opportunity lost: Has Uganda paid a price for not embracing GMOs, biotechnology?
It has been more than two decades since the commercial introduction of GMO crops. They have delivered a range of ...
Seeking medicine from the plants of Uganda
Researchers have long looked to the plants of our world to solve many of the medical problems we face. But ...
Will Africa embrace CRISPR gene editing and the next phase of the biotech revolution?
Scientists around the world are increasingly turning to the promise of CRISPR gene editing to tackle any number of problems ...
Searching for biotech solutions to problems plaguing livestock in Africa
In Africa, scientific research involving biotechnology innovations in agriculture has largely focused on finding ways to produce better crops. But, ...
Uganda’s scientists strive to use biotechnology to solve agricultural, health and environmental challenges
It is morning time, we are in a hotel based at the center of Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, ...
Ugandan farmers struggling with cassava viruses await GMO solution
Cassava is a major staple food for millions of people in the tropical regions of the world. In Uganda it ...
Ugandan legislator on why his nation needs to ‘wake up’ on GMOs
Robert Kafeero Sekitoleko is an engineer, legislator and chairperson of the Sectoral Committee on Science and Technology in Uganda’s Parliament ...
GMO maize could halt devastating fall army worm invasion in Uganda—if it gets approved
Mary Yangi trekked a long journey from South Sudan to Uganda’s West Nile region to settle as a refugee and, ...
