Staff cleaning green bananas before packaging for export |
A new variety of
highly productive banana plants will be distributed to farmers starting
next month in a bid to improve banana production and fight disease in
one of the priority crops in the country.
The move, under the
government's seven year programme which will come to an end in 2024,
was announced last Friday by the Minister of State in charge of
Agriculture Fulgence Nsengiyumva at the Ministry headquarters.
Nsengiyumva told
The New Times that banana crop accounts for about 23% of the entire
farmland in the country (estimated at 1.4 million hectares according to
figures from MINAGRI), pointing out that apart from serving as a staple
food crop for most, it also provides ripe bananas that he said can also
be increased for export.
But, some farms in
the country have old banana varieties that only produce about five or
three kilogrammes per plant. Farmers and experts in agriculture sector
say that the situation should change because it does not help a country
with small land; but that technology and good agricultural practices
should be enhanced so as to maximise yield per farmland.
"Given the
importance of banana in the lives of Rwandans, as one of the main crops,
we cannot overlook the issue of current seeds getting old and being
prone to disease attacks such as the Banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW),
locally known as 'Kirabiranya'" he said.
He said they were
mapping banana sucker multipliers in districts and using a
technology-based system to scale up their availability to farmers. That
is by means of tissue culture - the cultivation of a plant through the
use of a cutting or other plant tissue.
Developing traditional banana variety
According to the
president of an association of banana juice and makers of alcoholic
beverages (APPROJUBAAR), Juvenal Ndayisenga, the traditional variety is
ideal for the production of banana beverages, and has high level of
sugar, which is good for making such drinks.
He told The New
Times that the improved banana varieties such as Fia, is ideal for the
production of bread, biscuits, and vinegar, but not beer.
"The traditional
banana variety can. What is important is to empower farmers in best
farming practices such as applying manure and taking care of their
crops, including replacing old plants when they have regressed in
productivity," he said.
Nsengiyumva said
that even the old banana variety that has been existing in Rwanda, can
have some of its genes stored in a laboratory.
"It might be a
variety that is resistant to a disease. Therefore, you can take the
resistant trait in that banana variety, and mix it with another variety
which has better yield. And, the resulting banana variety can be both
productive and resistant to diseases which have prevalently attacked
bananas," he said underscoring the importance of developing research for
evidence-based actions.
Addressing BXW
Leonidas
Harerimana, a farmer from Rwamagana District, planted bananas on about
three hectares over three years ago. But, he told The New Times that his
harvest has been adversely affected by Banana wilt as the disease
attacked about two hectares.
He said that he has
been growing newly improved banana varieties such as Fia, and Poyo
which had increased yield by about three times compared to the old
banana variety.
"But the disease
has shattered our hope of a good harvest," he said wondering whether
they could get new variety that can resist such a disease.
Nsengiyumva said
BXW cannot be eradicated apart from uprooting the affected banana plant
and destroying it so that it does not affect safe plants, a task that he
said calls for concerted efforts from various players.
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