Conakry is under-supplied with bananas. In addition there are potential markets in bordering countries. In order to ameliorate this situation the full project proposes to create three core banana production-marketing units of 25 hectares each plus 50 smallholder units of a maximum of two hectares each. As Guinea was at one time an important banana producer, small holders have expressed a willingness to put their land into banana production once more. Improvements in the transport, post harvest care and marketing of the fruit are all important elements in the project.
Guinea is a least developed country.
This project is targeted at the poorer strata in society. The Laboratory of Tropical Crop Improvement of the University of Leuven, the Centre of Molecular Biotechnology of Queensland University of Technology, the Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Plant Pathology of the University of Queensland, the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research at Cornell University, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and the University of Hawaii.