Dr Annabel Banda
Most people in rural Zimbabwe turn to wild indigenous fruits for food and income, especially in times of drought, noted Dr Annabel Banda. However, man-made activities such as clearing of land for farming and housing, as well as veld fires, have had a great impact on the environment, resulting in a decrease in pollinator abundance and diversity. This is worrying because a decrease in pollinators has a subsequent effect on plant diversity, which needless to say, affects the natural ecosystem that supports human life.
Given these challenges, Dr Banda’s research aims to help us better understand dipteran pollinator community diversity among baobab and marula trees. These are some of the trees of economic importance in Zimbabwe, as fruits from these trees are traded internally and externally.
“Sadly, research is slowly dying in Zimbabwe, mainly due to brain drain. There has been a mass exodus of researchers moving to greener pastures”, said Dr Banda. As the lead researcher in this project on pollinators and indigenous fruit trees, Dr Banda sees an opportunity to transfer her knowledge skills by training students and young researchers, hopefully reviving and expanding this area of plant research in Zimbabwe.
In addition to helping preserve our natural ecosystems, this work has a long-term impact in bringing livelihood to those who rely on fruit trees for food and income. Dr Banda hopes to expand her collaborations with those who share similar research interests, to address the pressing needs in this critical field of research.
Biography: Annabel Banda is the Vice President of Zimbabwe Young Academy of Sciences (ZIMYAS) and a lecturer at Gwanda State University. She is also a treasurer for the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD), and a recipient of the Orange Knowledge Scholarship for geographic information systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing, as well as a RMCA-DGD scholarship for training in Identification, Taxonomy and Curating of African Dipteran Pollinators. Her research focuses on pollinators, rodents, as well as rodent ecto- and endoparasites.
Contact: annabel.banda@gsu.ac.zw
Editor: Ben Chimukangara is a widely published medical research scientist, peer reviewer and blog editor. He is passionate about simplifying science communication for effective engagement with non-scientific communities.
