Bananas are a staple food in countries like Uganda, where the average person eats more than two pounds of the fruit every day. But banana-based diets are deficient in iron and vitamin A, leaving many Ugandans malnourished. A research team led by James Dale at Queensland University of Technology in Australia is genetically modifying Cavendish bananas so that they provide enough iron and beta carotene to meet recommended daily intakes of those nutrients.

The team has been conducting field trials for over a year in Australia, and expects to test the technology on Ugandan soil this year, making the banana the first biotech crop to be field tested there.