In a press release entitled "Bananas not on verge of extinction", FAO responded (30 January) to recent media reports that bananas may be extinct within 10 years and urged producers to promote greater genetic diversity in commercial bananas. FAO pointed out that small-scale farmers around the world grow a wide range of bananas that are not threatened by the disease currently attacking bananas sold mostly in Europe and North America. The press release continues "Fortunately, small-scale farmers around the world have maintained a broad genetic pool which can be used for future banana crop improvement. Banana is essentially a clonal crop with many sterile species, which makes progress through conventional breeding slow and difficult. Because of this, new breeding methods and tools, including biotechnology, will be helpful to develop resistant bananas for cultivation. This does not necessarily mean the use of transgenics". See http://www.fao.org/english/newsroom/news/2003/13120-en.html (available in English, French and Spanish) or contact [email protected] for more information.

05/02/2003