Written by Henry Neondo
KENYA. Africa Science News Service - Nairobi,14 October 2008
He said examples from cassava in West Africa can teach one thing or the other to banana growers in east, central and southern African states saying that it is an excellent model to be emulated. To help popularize cassava, Nigerian President initiated a move to change perceptions around cassava---“a tough job in itself just as it is to change consumer tastes and preferences”, noted Hartman. The initiative began a media campaigns for 18 months and got support from the private sector to write on various issues on cassava in leading dailies and broadcast on showing the masses that agri-business is the way out for Africa’s subsistent farming. Cassava leaves, which are 20 percent protein and rich in fiber and energy, are being turned into animal feeds by processing firms who are now having ready markets in Botswana.
Africa can overcome her food problems, but it has to develop and harness the huge potential presented by such crops as banana, hitherto considered as food for the poor and help farmers put money in their pockets out these crops.For this to be realized, farmers must be shown growing banana is profitable. Peter Hartman, CEO, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, IITA said in Mombasa at the first conference on banana and plantain in Africa that the continent needs to be doing things differently and need to realize the internal markets for banana and other crops---by itself huge.
“There is big enough market within Africa and the least worry for the continent now should not be external markets with exceptions for cash crops”, he said.
He said African farmers must be made to have some income in their pockets from whatever the crop they plant.
He said examples from cassava in West Africa can teach one thing or the other to banana growers in east, central and southern African states saying that it is an excellent model to be emulated. To help popularize cassava, Nigerian President initiated a move to change perceptions around cassava---“a tough job in itself just as it is to change consumer tastes and preferences”, noted Hartman. The initiative began a media campaigns for 18 months and got support from the private sector to write on various issues on cassava in leading dailies and broadcast on showing the masses that agri-business is the way out for Africa’s subsistent farming. Cassava leaves, which are 20 percent protein and rich in fiber and energy, are being turned into animal feeds by processing firms who are now having ready markets in Botswana.
Today, says Hartman, cassava is no longer seen as poor man’s crop and the rich are in cassava---with some having over 1000 hectares of land under the crop in bid to support numerous processing factories for cassava products such as flour, bread, cakes, glue and breweries factories.
According to Victoria Ndung’u, Senior Programme Officer, Africa Harvest, banana is good business without doubt. On the farmers’ side, she said, research has shown increasing incomes especially in three to eight years of establishing the orchard.
“Our study in some model farms in Kenya showed total cost in the first year of establishment of the orchard is USD1, 635 and net income was USD470. This however changed by the fifth year to USD532 for operational costs and USD2, 224 as net income”, she said.
“But efforts must be made to first change the mindset of farmers. They have known banana as a subsistence crop. Farmers have to see the crop and treat it equally as coffee and tea and have to be taught to manage their crop as those classified as high horticultural crops---giving it good agronomical practices".
Farmers have to be made to know the various products they can derive from bananas as to minimize losses, now estimated at 40 percent in east Africa.
Examples from Uganda, Ghana, South Africa and Tanzania are showing that there are moves across Africa to add value to banana and in effect change the way banana has been perceived.
Dr Irene S. Egyir, lecturer, University of Ghana said processed banana products such as banana juice have a niche market in Ghana’s second largest city, Kumasi.
“We target those who are healthy conscious and youths and try to compete with Coca cola. Our industry for example, sales off 200 boxes each of which contains 30 bottles of 350 ml of juice off in a month. This is a clear indication of the demand for the product”.
Agreeing, Mrs Mariam Asigri, Masig Natural fruits industries said the move to process banana is providing jobs to rural youths who would not have earned employment.
For example she said, her firm, although still small scale employs five people, all youths, and in high season when there is high demand, other casual labour gets hired.
Jones M. Mwandawiro, regional manager for Kenya Horticultural Development Authority for coast region said today in Kenya and in most of Africa, the demand for banana far outstrips supply.
“My organization began bringing TC banana in the coast region some 3-4 years ago for farmers to buy. After overcoming initial hurdles we are now struggling to meet demand for planting materials.
Prof Esther Kahangi, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology said the move in Kenya where farmers are currently seeing uprooting coffee and tea plantations and replacing them with TC banana is testimony that banana is big business.
“As a scientist, I am seeing many laboratories being set up to do work on TC banana and in turn sale them to farmers on the upper end while on the lower end, farmers are teaming up together and forming groups that buy TC germplasm from laboratories and establishing greenhouses where they grow the seedling to sale them in turn to their neighbours”.
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