Kampala
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture has announced a $74,000 (sh116m) grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to sponsor the Banana Conference 2008. The meet, to be held from October 5 to 9 in Mombasa, Kenya will be opened by Anna Tibaijuka, the UN undersecretary-general and director of UN-HABITAT.

The Pan-African conference, the first of its kind to link state-of-the-art research to new markets, seeks to develop a 10-year research-for-development strategy that will stimulate trade and boost the growth of the banana industry in Africa. Banana researchers, major industry players and farmers’ groups will participate, said the institute in a statement.

Bananas are among the most important food and staple crops in Africa, providing food security, nutrition and livelihood for millions of smallholder farmers.